Chapter 2

Kate clutched her belly, cold sweat covering her forehead, her whole body swaying unsteadily.

She grabbed my arm:

"I'm about to give birth. Please drive me to the hospital. It hurts so much..."

That expression, that tone, those words—every single punctuation mark was exactly the same as in my past life.

I stared at her face as my mind exploded with a roar.

In my past life, I was deceived by this very act.

She had cried and begged me just like this, saying things like "can't get a cab," "no time," "you just bought a new car."

I had softened then.

I was so panicked I could barely grip the steering wheel, but I still gritted my teeth and rushed to the hospital in my newly purchased Tesla.

On the way, I ran two yellow lights and went over three speed bumps.

When we got to the hospital, she was wheeled into the delivery room.

Two hours later, the doctor came out with a very grave expression:

"Is the family here? The baby had the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. Stillborn."

My legs went weak right then.

Kate cried, "It's you. It's all because you drove too fast. You killed my baby."

I didn't know any better then and actually thought it was my fault for driving. I apologized to her helplessly.

Marcus didn't say anything at the time. He just looked at me with red eyes.

The next day, he hung a banner at the company entrance.

White background, black letters: "Heartless coworker's reckless driving caused improper fetal position and suffocation death!"

A dozen relatives stood behind him. Some held phones livestreaming, others cursed on the street.

The video shot to the top of the local trending topics that same day.

The topic "Tesla Driver Kills Baby" got over 200 million views in three days.

My name, my photo, my ID number, my home address—all of it was posted online.

Every single comment cursed me out.

"Someone like this is allowed to drive? Murderer!"

"Oh, so driving a Tesla makes you special? Pay compensation! Go to prison!"

"Why doesn't she just die?"

The company called me in for a meeting that same day. The HR manager said expressionlessly, "Alice, this incident has caused extremely negative impact on the company's image. The board has decided you're fired."

I was terminated without even a chance to defend myself.

Marcus even came to my house: "You killed my son. My wife is traumatized now, physically and mentally. You have to come take care of her, or you won't have peace."

Every day at six in the morning, I went to his house to cook for Kate, wipe her down, and wash her underwear.

Kate lay in bed, crying and cursing me: "Alice, give me back my son, give him back..."

I served at their house for a whole month.

When I got home, I learned my dad had been so upset he became paralyzed, and relatives and friends had cut ties with us.

I wanted to drive to the hospital, but I was killed by an out-of-control truck.

Now, Kate was still grabbing my arm.

That pitiful look on her face was exactly the same as in my past life.

I pulled my arm from her hand, prying off one finger at a time.

"If you're going into labor, call 911. Why are you asking me?"

Kate froze.

Tears still hung on her face, and her expression suddenly stiffened, like someone had pressed pause.

Madison beside us got anxious:

"Alice, how can you talk like that! She's about to give birth!"

"Exactly! You have a car at least. Waiting for 911 takes forever!"

Kate snapped out of it and cried even harder:

"Alice, wouldn't it be faster if you drove me? I really can't hold on..."

Tears dripped down, hitting the floor.

Her acting was as good as in my past life.

I looked at her, the corner of my mouth twitching.

"Car? I already sold it." The moment those words landed, the entire office went silent for a full two seconds.

Kate's crying caught in her throat. The expression on her face changed from pitiful to disbelieving.

"Your Tesla that you just bought! $100,000! You're telling me you sold it? Impossible!"