Chapter 2

At that thought, I gave in.

My voice caught in my throat as I stepped forward and took Rachel's hand.

"I still have forty thousand dollars in my account. You can have all of it to help with household expenses.

"Just delete the video, okay? I'm begging you."

Rachel refused a few times out of courtesy before sheepishly accepting the bank card.

Only after seeing her delete the video with my own eyes did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the video had not yet been pushed into the platform's recommendation feed. The only viewers were friends and acquaintances.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by a ringing phone.

A friend I hadn't spoken to in years sounded excited.

"Anna, you've gone viral! Since when did you become an actress? Don't forget to give me an autograph!"

A bad feeling immediately settled in my stomach.

After brushing her off with a few casual responses, I opened the trending searches.

One glance was all it took.

A layer of cold sweat broke out across my forehead, and my hands and feet turned ice-cold.

Unable to hold back any longer, I kicked Sean awake and shouted at him, "What the hell is wrong with your sister-in-law? She took the money, so why is she still using my face to generate videos? Do you have any idea how serious this is?"

Sean rubbed his eyes and casually glanced at the video.

"Oh, that? I told her to do it.

"You're the female lead now, aren't you? What are you still complaining about?"

Tears streamed down my face as I roared, "Can any of you understand plain English? I said I don't like showing my face!"

Shirley kicked the bedroom door open and pointed a finger at me.

"Anna Hall, Rachel's video has gone viral. She's going to make millions from this.

"I haven't even settled the score for how you tried to trick her out of it using forty thousand dollars last night, and you still have the nerve to make a scene?"

I pointed at Rachel, who was hiding behind Shirley.

"I'm taking this copyright violation all the way. Anyone who broke the law will answer for it."

I turned and walked out the door, accompanied by the vicious insults hurled after me by Sean and Shirley.

I knew that one wrong move could push me straight into a dead end.

But what was done was done.

I forced myself to suppress my emotions, stay calm, and focus on solving the problem.

After arriving at the psychiatric hospital, I stepped up my search for evidence.

I slipped into the hospital archives ahead of schedule.

My fingertips had just brushed against a file marked "Accidental Deaths of Psychiatric Patients" when I sensed footsteps approaching from behind.

The steps were deliberately light, tapping softly against the floor.

I could feel the person's gaze fixed on the back of my neck like a vulture stalking its prey.

"Anna Hall."

He finally spoke, his tone deliberately casual, yet he called me by my real name.

My grip tightened around the file until my knuckles turned white.

I waited a moment before slowly looking up.

I put on the dull, timid expression expected of a hospital orderly.

"Dr. Warren, my name is Sophia Jones. You must have mistaken me for someone else."

The director, Daniel Warren, let out a short laugh, his eyes dropping to the file in my hands.

"It's nothing. You just happen to look a lot like that actress from the short drama that's been trending lately."

My heart sank.

I feigned clumsy nervousness and set the file back on the desk.

"Really? I... I don't usually watch that kind of thing."

His gaze lingered on my face for several seconds, openly scrutinizing me.

"Now that I look closer, you don't really resemble her that much after all. Maybe I was mistaken. What are you doing in here?"

I carefully controlled my breathing and forced myself to sound relaxed.

"The head nurse asked me to deliver some paperwork. I noticed the room was a little dusty, so I thought I'd clean up while I was here."

As I spoke, I picked up a broom nearby and began sweeping.

Without another word, he left the archives room.

Yet I could still feel that probing gaze lingering on me long after he was gone.

It followed me all the way until I stepped out of the archives.

Even though I was wearing makeup and hadn't revealed any obvious flaws, unease continued to gnaw at me.

I immediately sent a message to the police officers I was working with.

The operation might have to be moved up at any moment.

When they replied that they were on standby and ready to act, some of the tension finally left my chest.

But in the very next second, I glanced casually out the window, and saw Rachel leading a large crowd straight toward the entrance of the psychiatric hospital.