All Chapters of The Contract That Poisoned Them All: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Before I had even finished, a coworker protested, "Come on, Nora, the food at your family's place is so good!"I didn't answer.My family's restaurant was small, but it was spotless.My parents grew all the vegetables themselves.They bought the beef and fish only from trusted suppliers.Even the spices had to be certified organic.In my last life, to take the company's order, I had my parents drop several long-standing regulars.We started stocking up two months ahead and were run off our feet.This time, I refused to put my family through that again.Before the coworker could press me further, Fiona cut in, "What is this? Three dishes and she has the nerve to charge eight dollars? Nora, do you think this company belongs to your family? Exactly how big a cut are you taking?"She rattled the menu aggressively."Ratatouille, prawns in wine, char-grilled pork neck. Aren't those all ordinary dishes? A tray of shrimp costs only a few dollars at the grocery store, and you charge eight dolla

Fiona set her fork down and gave her a look.She was smiling, but every word was barbed. "Some people just can't afford the good stuff, so they can't stand watching other people enjoy it. This foie gras came from a three-star hotel and was personally selected by the chef. How did it suddenly become unsafe just because you two say so? If you're envious, just say so. I don't mind giving you each a bite."Beside her, the coworker who'd spearheaded the cold-shoulder campaign against me in my last life jumped in immediately, her mouth crammed full of food.Her mouth still crammed full of food, she shouted over the rest of the group, "Exactly. These people are just jealous of Fiona! Envious that we eat well! We eat foie gras and lobster for three dollars and they pay eight to gnaw on greens. I'd be bitter too."She shoveled in another huge bite, grease shining on her lips as she chewed.In my last life, she had led the entire department in freezing me out and spreading rumors about me behind

Gavin instinctively went to step forward, but his feet felt as heavy as lead.He looked down and saw dark red blood dripping from his nose onto his shoe.He wiped at it, only smearing more blood across his face, his fingertips bright red.He gritted his teeth and tried to keep moving toward Fiona.But half a step in, the room spun and his vision went black.Gavin staggered a couple of paces, grabbed the corner of a desk for support, and slowly sank into a chair.He was breathing hard, cold sweat covering his forehead.Coworkers immediately crowded around to steady him. "Mr. Shaw! Mr. Shaw, are you all right? You've gone completely white. Should you go to the hospital too?"People from the nearby desks gathered too, whispering in panic. "Something has been really wrong lately... Last week I was chopping vegetables at home when my vision went black and I collapsed. The knife nearly caught my hand. It still scares me to think about it.""Me too. Several mornings in a row I've woken up nau

Life in the new city went more smoothly than I'd imagined.Theo made me feel secure from my first day.He showed me around the office, then introduced me openly to everyone. "This is a friend from university. She's better at the technical side than I ever was.""Nobody gives her a hard time. If you don't understand something, ask her."Theo spoke without hesitation, as though I had always belonged there.Gavin, by contrast, had treated every extra word we exchanged at work as though it exposed an affair.Theo's openness let me relax immediately. I picked the work up fast and the project moved smoothly.We built software tools, and within a few months of launch, our user base had grown severalfold.The mood in the office kept getting better, and people put in extra hours willingly.I was run off my feet every day, but I felt settled.Just when I thought everything had finally found its footing, Gavin showed up.That afternoon, I had just returned from a meeting when reception called to

The company set up an investigation team quickly.The investigation uncovered one problem after another, each worse than the last.Fiona had said she simply came across that three-star hotel by chance.But the chat records they pulled showed plainly that she had been in frequent contact with the hotel's sales manager long before.Fiona, it turned out, had been the one taking kickbacks from the hotel.Fiona tricked her coworkers into eating poisoned lunches for two months, and the hotel paid her a $60,000 kickback.The day the investigation report came out, the whole company was stunned.The company issued a formal notice that same day dismissing Fiona for gross misconduct.The company also reported her to the police and demanded that she be held accountable.HR created a dedicated channel to tally medical costs and prepare a civil damages claim against Fiona.After she was dismissed, Fiona moved twice, and both times colleagues tracked her down.One furious former coworker livestreamed