Chapter 1

"Five million dollars. Keep tabs on Mia, and tell me the second she breaks down."

Gideon pushed the check across the desk toward me, his eyes filled with calculation.

I picked up the check, verified the amount three times, and slipped it into my bag.

"Don't worry, Gideon. Last night Mia cried her eyes out in the bathroom over you. She even said she'd transfer that oceanfront villa under her name to you as a birthday gift."

Gideon smiled with satisfaction.

Walking out of the office, I pulled out my phone and hit save on the recording.

Mia would indeed stop breathing. But not until three years from now, when Gideon would have her committed to a psychiatric hospital and killed by electroshock therapy.

I looked at the balance in my account and dialed Mia's number.

"Hello, Mia? Your husband just paid me five million to be his spy. How should we split this money?"

Evelyn's POV

My name is Evelyn. I'm a scholarship student sponsored by the billionaire Lancaster family, and Mia's personal assistant.

To the outside world, I'm Mia's lapdog. I bite whoever she points at, with no dignity, driven purely by profit.

But they don't know that just moments ago, when Gideon threw that check at me, a set of memories that don't belong to me flooded into my mind.

In those memories, Mia would be stripped of her entire fortune by Gideon, a man with ulterior motives.

Gideon would team up with Lydia, Mia's father's illegitimate daughter from an affair.

Together, they would gradually drive Mia insane and have her committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Eventually, to claim the inheritance, they would stage a not particularly clever medical accident.

And I, as Mia's only loyal ally, would end up crushed to pulp by an out of control truck while trying to expose the truth.

Standing outside Gideon's company building, I stared at the five million dollar check in my hand.

It was the largest denomination of paper currency I'd ever seen in my life.

I used to think money was everything. Now I think staying alive is.

Gideon's disgusting face still lingered before my eyes. He didn't just want me to spy on Mia.

He also wanted me to slip something into Mia's food and drinks when he told me to.

Gideon called it a sedative, but I knew it was a hallucinogen. One that could destroy her mind.

I didn't refuse outright. I even haggled with Gideon and squeezed out an extra fifty thousand in hush money.

Because I knew that in these billionaire family power struggles, so-called loyalty without the weight of financial incentive wouldn't be believed by anyone.

If I hadn't taken the money, Gideon would have found someone else, or found a way to make me disappear.

I hailed a taxi and headed straight to Mia's luxury apartment in the city center.

When I opened the door, the room reeked of alcohol.

Mia wore a silk robe, slumped on the carpet, still clutching half a bottle of red wine, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

In this state, she really did look like a woman on the verge of a breakdown.

If I didn't know that Mia had just been on a hunger strike yesterday because Gideon hadn't replied to her messages, I might have actually thought she was mentally unstable.

"Evelyn, you're here."

Mia's voice was hoarse when she saw me. "Did Gideon reply? Is he still busy? Am I being too unreasonable?"

I didn't answer. I walked over and snatched the wine bottle from her hand, slamming it down on the coffee table with a bang.

"Gideon didn't reply. He's busy plotting how to get you committed to a psychiatric hospital and swallow your entire fortune."

Mia froze, then flew into a rage. "What are you talking about! Gideon isn't like that! He just has strong pride and doesn't like my family looking down on him!"

"Is that so?"

I pulled out my phone, opened the recording, and turned the volume to maximum.

Gideon's refined yet sinister voice echoed through the empty living room.

"Evelyn, I know you need money. Five million, as long as you obey. That crazy woman Mia has been very emotionally unstable lately. Keep an eye on her for me. Also, if Mia does anything extreme, make sure to record it and send it to me. This isn't just for me, it's for Mia's own good. After all, mental illness can hurt people if it's not treated early."