At Jill Kensington’s words, Hazel Sinclair threw her arms around her in a tight hug. "Thank you."
She was thanking her for being willing to help while she was being cyberbullied so viciously.
Jill Kensington’s whole body went rigid at the sudden embrace.
Her voice took on an impatient edge. "What’s there to thank me for? What that person is doing is just infuriating. That’s the only reason I decided to help."
"Hazel, when did you get so sappy?" Jill Kensington pushed her away, a look of mock disgust on her face.
"All this hugging and thanking..."
Hazel just watched her, unable to stop smiling.
After dropping Hazel off at her apartment complex, Jill waited until she was safely inside before driving away.
While waiting at a red light, she racked her brain, trying to remember what she knew from her past life.
’When Leon Sterling made his comeback, what exactly did he do?’
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the light turn green. After waiting two seconds, the driver behind her honked.
Jill snapped back to reality and quickly drove straight ahead.
The car from behind her suddenly accelerated and pulled up alongside Jill’s. The driver rolled down the window and yelled, "Dumbass!"
Too bad Jill was concentrating on the road and didn’t notice a thing.
When the man saw she was unfazed and still focused on driving, he got even angrier and shouted again, "Are you deaf?!"
Jill remained impassive and kept driving. For a provocateur, nothing is more infuriating than being ignored.
Finally, the man’s temper boiled over. He slammed on the gas, yanked the wheel, and swerved directly in front of Jill.
Seeing the car suddenly swerve in front of her, Jill assumed he was trying to brake-check her. Instead of braking, she rammed straight into him, executing a perfect PIT maneuver. His car immediately flipped onto its side and crashed into the grass median.
After the crash, Jill calmly took out her phone and dialed 911. She explained what happened, then saved the dashcam footage of the incident. Just in case, she also used her phone to record a video of the footage playing back.
The traffic police arrived quickly. The man crawled out of his car and immediately started screaming at Jill, "You fucking idiot! Do all you women drive like this?!"
If a police officer hadn’t held him back, the man’s fist would have connected with Jill’s face.
Jill just stood there, silent, watching him with cold disdain in her eyes.
Ultimately, they were both taken to the police station—the very same one she had visited with Hazel Sinclair earlier.
She sat and waited in the reception area while a traffic officer questioned the man.
Just then, one of the officers behind the reception desk said, "You know that woman who came in earlier to report being harassed and doxxed online? You’ll never guess who called me halfway through the investigation."
The officer next to him asked, "Who?"
"A higher-up. Called me personally and said to drop the case."
"What?" The other officer was stunned. "Who did that girl piss off to get a call from the higher-ups personally?"
"Beats me." The first officer shrugged.
Hearing this, Jill finally understood.
’Looks like Hazel really did piss off someone powerful in the government.’
She pulled out her phone and sent Hazel a message.
[Jill Kensington: Pack your bags and get ready to run for it. You’ve really pissed off someone you can’t touch.]
[Jill Kensington: You’re about to get a call. They’ll say your case doesn’t meet the criteria for a formal investigation, so they can’t do anything.]
Hazel Sinclair was lying on the sofa, feeling completely emo.
She wracked her brain but came up with nothing. In her frustration, Hazel couldn’t help but curse the System internally. The System had let her read the novel, but the book was infuriatingly vague about who the original owner of this body had offended and who had ultimately killed her, using only the most nebulous terms.
’She was just the wife of a wealthy businessman. How did she get mixed up with someone that powerful?’
Her new phone, lying beside her, vibrated. She picked it up and saw it was a message from Jill.
She stared at the message, stunned. ’So it’s really happening.’
Not long after she finished reading the message, her old phone rang.
She picked it up and answered. The person on the other end identified himself before saying, "Ms. Sinclair, your situation doesn’t meet the threshold for a formal investigation."
Hearing those words, Hazel finally understood. ’I really did piss someone off.’
"Why not? Her harassment is disrupting my entire life. Can’t you investigate?"
"I’m sorry, we cannot."
"There’s nothing more we can do. If you can’t handle it, get a new phone and a new number." With that, the officer hung up.
Hazel sat frozen on the sofa, completely stunned.
’Fuck, I’m scared!’
’No wonder the System kept telling me to run. When you’re up against something like this, if you don’t run, are you just supposed to wait around to be mysteriously killed?’
"Damn it!" Hazel cursed.
She quickly checked her bank account balance. Seeing the long string of numbers, she breathed a sigh of relief. Nearly four million.
And there was more in her WeChat wallet. It was enough to get away.
’Oh, right. I still have that pink diamond Evelyn Kendrick gave me. I can sell that later for another windfall.’
[Jill Kensington: Figure out a way to disappear. Get out of Veridia. Don’t end up dead in some dark alley.]
[Jill Kensington: You’re in the prime of your life. Don’t go getting yourself killed.]
Reading Jill’s messages, Hazel took a deep breath to steady herself and replied.
[Hazel Sinclair: I know. I’m looking at flights now.]
[Jill Kensington: Forget flights! Just pack a bag and run for it tonight!]
[Hazel Sinclair: I have to at least figure out which city to go to! Besides, if I just leave like this, Leon and the others will be worried sick.]
Seeing her message, Jill thought for a moment. It reminded her of a popular novel she had read recently, which had a plot where the heroine fakes her own death and runs away, leaving the hero to wallow in regret.
’Hazel could use that same trick! And as long as the mastermind thinks she’s dead, they won’t go after the people in her life.’
[Jill Kensington: I suggest you fake your own death. Then head south and find some backwater town to lie low in.]
[Jill Kensington: But I wouldn’t recommend running off while secretly pregnant.]
Hazel, who was in the middle of looking at flights, read the two messages and was left speechless. ’The first thing Jill should do,’ she thought, ’is delete that novel app of hers.’
Leon Sterling came home carrying groceries and saw Hazel sitting on the sofa, her brow furrowed and a tense expression on her face.
Her gaze was glued to the phone in her hand, while her other hand was clenched into a tight fist.
She looked as if she were facing a problem she had no way of solving.
"I’m home," Leon Sterling called out.
His voice made the high-strung Hazel jump. She looked up at him and glared. "You scared me! Did you have to be so quiet? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"You’re home, fine, just go about your business. You don’t have to scare me like that." Seeing him was the last straw, and Hazel couldn’t stop herself from venting her pent-up emotions.
Leon was a bit confused by her outburst. ’I wasn’t exactly quiet opening and closing the door,’ he thought. ’Did she really not hear me?’
"Did something happen?" Leon walked over and sat down beside her, asking with concern.
’Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so on edge.’