The System Gave Me One Job Then Regretted Choosing Me Chapter 09

The System Gave Me One Job Then Regretted Choosing Me Chapter 09

Grant left in a daze.

I heard that when he walked out of the hospital, he was so distracted that he ran straight into a garbage truck parked at the curb.

It suited him.

I could not summon a drop of sympathy.

Another week passed before I was discharged.

This time, my attorney came to pick me up instead of a Whitmore driver.

“Miss Reed, Adrian Whitmore would like to see you. He’s waiting in the coffee shop downstairs.”

My attorney held the car door open and waited for my answer.

I considered it.

“Let’s go. I should finish this properly.”

The coffee shop was nearly empty.

Adrian sat alone in a corner.

The tailored suits were gone. He wore an ordinary gray coat. In just two weeks, he had grown painfully thin, and streaks of white had appeared at his temples.

When he saw me, he rose awkwardly.

“Emma…”

He could not meet my eyes. His gaze fell to my left leg, which still dragged slightly when I walked. Pain darkened his face.

“Sit down,” I said.

I took the chair opposite him and ordered nothing.

With trembling hands, Adrian removed a document from his bag and pushed it across the table.

“This transfers thirty percent of Whitmore Holdings to you, along with every property I own.”

He swallowed, unable to keep the grief from his voice.

“Our mother suffered a breakdown. She’s in a private psychiatric facility now.”

“Vivian was arrested for fraud and financial crimes.”

“The family is finished.”

He raised his head. The eyes that had once held calculation and arrogance were now hollow with regret.

“Emma, this is everything I have left to give you. I’m not asking you to forgive me. Just take it and build a life for yourself. Please live.”

I looked at the papers on the table. They represented a fortune.

When I first entered the novel, a tenth of that concern might have kept the original Emma from surrendering to despair.

Now it was far too late.

“Mr. Whitmore.”

I pushed the documents back.

“Keep them.”

Adrian stared at me and rushed to explain.

“Emma, every asset is clean. None of it is tied to the investigation…”

“I don’t want it.”

I cut him off, my voice as calm as ever.

“I was willing to throw away my life. What makes you think I care about Whitmore money?”

I stood and looked down at him.

“Do you know what the best compensation would be?”

He gazed up at me blankly.

“Never seeing any of you again. Not in this life or any other.”

I turned and walked out of the coffee shop without looking back.

Behind me, Adrian collapsed over the table and cried like an abandoned child.

Autumn sunlight warmed my skin.

For the first time, it actually felt warm.

Once I was in my attorney’s car, the System finally spoke.

Its electronic voice held something close to awe.

[Emma, that was brutal.]

[You destroyed the antagonists and ruined the male lead without lifting a finger.]

[Is this what humans call a next-level takedown?]

I rested against the seat and watched the city stream past the window.

“Brutal?”

I closed my eyes.

“I only returned what they gave me.”

“I destroyed the things they valued most.”

Eleanor valued the image of a loving, perfect family, so I let the adopted daughter she had raised tear it apart.

Adrian valued authority and control, so I left him powerless, abandoned, and alone.

Grant valued his reputation and pride, so I ground both into the dirt.

As for Vivian, prison would teach her the difference between being fragile and being helpless.

[Where are we going now?] the System asked.

[Mission complete. You can stay in this world, or…]

“Anywhere is fine.”

I cut it off.

After dying and returning to destroy them, the wounded heart that had wanted nothing but death was finally quiet.

Depression would not disappear overnight.

But I no longer felt desperate to die.

“I hear the Florida Keys are nice this time of year.”

I saw my reflection in the window. The faintest smile touched my mouth.

“Book me a flight. I want some sun.”

The System answered with a series of cheerful chimes.

[You got it! First class, coming right up!]

[From now on, I’m your loyal sidekick. Point me at a target, and I’ll take care of the rest!]

I ignored its chatter.

The car merged onto the highway to JFK, leaving far behind the city where the Whitmore family’s lies had been buried.

Sunlight poured through the window and touched my wrist.

The original Emma’s scars were still impossible to miss.

Beside them, my pulse beat more strongly than ever.

“Miss Reed, we’re here,” my attorney said, opening the door.

Leaning on my crutch, I stood before the airport terminal and took a deep breath of air that finally felt free.

“Let’s go.”