Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Oh No, We’re in Big Trouble

"Jason."

Tiana Lynch gently placed her hand over the back of his, forcing herself to appear gentle, charming, and understanding. She whispered seductively, "She was my best friend, and she was the woman you once loved most. But Jason, if she’s really been reincarnated, with her personality, she would never just sit back and wait for death. She knows all our plans, she knows what we have, she knows the hiding spots for all the supplies and the locations of the Safe Houses after the apocalypse comes. She’ll definitely come back to sabotage us, to get her revenge. Jason, she will make sure we die!"

She paused, watching Jason Sterling’s expression grow darker and darker. She narrowed her eyes slightly and continued, "There are still nine days until the apocalypse. It’s not a long time, but it’s not short either. We kill one person, hide the body... as long as no one finds it, no one can do anything to us. As long as we can get through these last nine days, once the apocalypse hits, everyone will be struggling just to stay alive. No one will ever care about this case again. Jason, I know this is wrong, but... I really don’t want to see her cause trouble for you, and I especially don’t want everything you’ve worked so hard to build to be destroyed by her. Jason, in my heart, I’ve always thought of Sue as my best friend, but compared to her, I care about you more..."

Jason Sterling stared at the boats coming and going on the sea, his gaze fixed on the thick, swirling snow that blurred his vision. For a moment, he didn’t answer Tiana Lynch.

Tiana Lynch’s expression instantly turned sour.

’He’s already had a bastard with me, yet his heart still belongs to Sue Lawrence?’

She bit her lip hard, her nails digging viciously into her flesh. She couldn’t feel the pain, only the hatred.

’Why? Just because Sue Lawrence was born into a good family? But without the Lawrence Family, a runaway Sue is no match for me, is she?’

In their last moments in their previous life, no matter how she tried to persuade him, Jason Sterling refused to kill Sue Lawrence with his own hands. She’d had no choice but to manipulate Maeve Walsh instead.

’And now, they had been reincarnated together, tied to each other like grasshoppers on a string, inseparable. And yet, Jason Sterling still couldn’t bring himself to harm Sue Lawrence!’

’Why!’

She forced a smile and said deliberately, "If Sue really did kill Maeve Walsh, then she’s only the first. Jason, do you think you’ll be the last?"

The man’s expression grew even darker. As if having made a decision, he finally turned to look at her. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"This time, I’ll deal with Sue Lawrence myself."

An imperceptible, triumphant smile touched the corners of Tiana Lynch’s lips.

’Finally. I’ve finally waited for this moment!’

’Since Jason Sterling has decided to do it himself, it means there’s no longer any room for Sue Lawrence in his heart.’

’Hah. Perfect.’

Tiana Lynch leaned in tenderly, burying herself in Jason Sterling’s arms. Her voice was a deliberately softened sob. "Jason, I know how much you’re suffering. I’m in even more pain... But in the end, it was Sue who wronged you first. First, there was the child we couldn’t keep, and now Maeve... How could she be so heartless?"

As she spoke, two glistening tears rolled from the corners of her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and dampening the collar of Jason Sterling’s shirt.

But before this hypocritical act could reach its climax, the phone in Jason Sterling’s pocket began to ring sharply.

Jason Sterling frowned and pulled out his phone. The two words "Sue Lawrence" on the screen stung his eyes. He answered almost instantly, his voice still thick with lingering hostility, "Hello?"

On the other end of the line, Sue Lawrence’s angry voice came through instantly, filled with undisguised annoyance. "Jason Sterling, are you sick in the head?! We broke up a long time ago! Do you get some kind of kick out of calling me nonstop like a lingering ghost? Do me a favor and stop bothering me from now on, okay!"

"Where are you?" Jason Sterling gripped his phone tighter, his knuckles cracking from the pressure as he demanded in a low voice.

"None of your business where I am!" Sue Lawrence deliberately slammed on the gas. The roar of the car engine thundered through the receiver, making Jason Sterling’s eardrums ache. His expression changed abruptly. "You’re not at home? You’re out!"

"That’s right! I’m out shopping!" Sue Lawrence’s voice was laced with the impatience of being interrupted. "I had just pulled out of my driveway when you started calling me one time after another. Are you trying to get me into a car crash? Is that what you want? Jason Sterling, can you please stop haunting me!"

Before Jason Sterling could ask another question, the line was abruptly disconnected, leaving only a dial tone.

He immediately opened his chat with the private investigator. The GPS location on the screen was glaringly clear. The red dot, which had been stationary just over ten minutes ago, had now left the Lawrence Family estate and was moving along the main road toward the city center. It was currently stopped at a traffic light downtown. The investigator had also attached a photo showing the back of a white sedan—a car Sue Lawrence often drove. The license plate was clearly visible. The figure in the driver’s seat was wearing a hat, but the silhouette was vaguely recognizable as Sue’s. Everything looked perfectly normal.

"It wasn’t Sue Lawrence!" The words tumbled out of Jason Sterling’s mouth, and his tense shoulders instantly slumped. "She really was driving just now, that’s why she didn’t answer. Tiana, it wasn’t her. She doesn’t know anything. There’s no way she’s a Reincarnator!"

He let out a long sigh of relief, completely oblivious to the fact that the face of Tiana Lynch, the woman in his arms, was slowly darkening. The tenderness in her eyes was replaced by a thick, sinister gloom as she secretly clenched her fists, her nails nearly digging into her palms.

"Mm, maybe I was just overthinking it."

Tiana Lynch forced a faint smile, but she couldn’t hide the venom in her eyes.

She turned her head to the Sterling Group’s consultant, her tone urgent as she changed the subject. "Is it possible that someone swam to the boat from nearby and took Maeve?"

The consultant shook his head, his tone firm and full of unquestionable professionalism. "Ms. Linton, this area of the sea around the pier is prone to rip currents. They’re incredibly fast and hard to spot. Forget a normal person—even a professional diver would be swept away if they weren’t prepared. To swim over here in this weather, climb onto the boat without anyone noticing, and avoid being seen by over a hundred people... what kind of heaven-defying luck would that take?"

The consultant’s words directly refuted her theory. Tiana Lynch’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she had no choice but to give up, though she was unwilling.

How could she have known that so-called "heaven-defying luck" was just another day for Sue Lawrence?

She had already taken 99.7% of the Luck Value from Jason Sterling and the other three, and she had even drained the private investigator’s luck completely dry. The current Sue Lawrence had a Luck Value that was off the charts. Even a ten-degrees-below-zero sea and treacherous rip currents were things she could easily avoid.

For a moment, everyone fell silent, leaving only a stifling, oppressive atmosphere.

Jason Sterling’s phone rang again. This time, the ring was especially urgent, like a death summons. He glanced at the screen; it was his father, Wyatt Sterling.

His heart sank for some unknown reason, a bad feeling creeping over him that something terrible had happened. His fingers, numb and stiff from the cold, trembled as he pressed the answer key. "Dad, what’s wrong?"

Wyatt Sterling’s voice exploded from the receiver, laced with unprecedented panic and fear. "We’re in trouble! Something huge has happened!"