The boardroom was thick with tension. I sat beside my father, my fingers tightly gripping the silk scarf my mother had once worn, hidden beneath the table. Across from us, Marcus Lu slid a document across the polished wood with deliberate grace.
"Mr. Harrison, your 24 hours are up," he said smoothly, each word like a blade wrapped in silk. "I expect your signature today."
I saw my father's hand tremble. The so-called "guarantee agreement"—just like in my previous life—was a forged document designed to strangle the Harrison Group into submission.
"Before we sign," I said, pressing a button on my recorder, the sharp beep slicing through the silence, "could Mr. Lu kindly clarify Clause Seven?"
Marcus flinched. "Sophia, it's a standard legal clause—"
"So standard that you had to alter the date?" I slid my tablet across the table, revealing two side-by-side scans. "Left: the original from Director Zhang's safe. Right: the version you gave us. Notice anything?"
A rustle of movement followed. Several board members leaned in, sweat already beginning to bead on their brows. Marcus's face drained of color, then flushed deep blue. Suddenly, he grabbed a teacup and smashed it on the floor.
"You think this trick will stop me?" he snarled, ripping off his tie. The carefully polished veneer gave way to something far uglier. "The Harrisons owe the Lu Group $2.7 billion. Either sign, or go bankrupt!"
My father stood abruptly, only to sway. I rushed to steady him—just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. A coded vibration. Zhou Yuchen.
"Perfect timing." I unlocked the device and cast the Lu Group's live stock prices onto the screen. "Right when Mr. Lu lost his temper, your stock dropped 18%. Oh—make that 20%."
Marcus froze. On the screen, Lu Group's line plunged like a cliff dive.
"This is impossible. What did you do?!"
"I simply passed along some facts to a few journalist friends." I tapped open the headline now flooding every financial feed:"Lu Group Tied to Transnational Money Laundering; Child Laborers' Remains Found in Myanmar Mine."A photo of Marcus shaking hands with a shady mine owner sealed the image.
The doors burst open. Zhou Yuchen entered in a sharp black suit, flanked by two officers.
"Marcus Lu, the Financial Crimes Division would like a word."
"You dare?" Marcus recoiled, knocking over his chair. "Do you know who my father is?!"
"A murderer," came a voice from the doorway.
Lin Yurou stepped in, clad in an ivory pantsuit, holding a box of files.
"Here's everything on Lu Zhentian—evidence he orchestrated the murders of Chairman Zhou and Director Harrison. Including a copy of the original payoff check."
I stared at my former rival. She was gaunt, her collarbones sharp under her clothes, but her eyes burned clear with resolve.
"Why...?" Marcus gasped, like a man bitten by his own dog.
"Because I'm done being your puppet," she said, handing the files to police. "Fifteen years ago, Lu Zhentian murdered my entire family to gain full control of the mine."
As the officers took Marcus into custody, he let out a deranged laugh.
"You think this is over? My father already—"
A shrill alarm cut him off. Zhou Yuchen picked up his phone and turned pale.
"Hospital. Lu Zhentian's critical. He asked for Sophia."
When we arrived, Lu family members filled the corridor, casting daggers at us with their eyes—but they parted under Lin Yurou's cold glare.
In the VIP room, Lu Zhentian looked more machine than man. Tubes and wires clung to him like cobwebs. His clouded eyes flicked open as we entered.
"You… came," he rasped. "I knew… you would."
I didn't approach. "What do you want?"
"There… bottom drawer," he whispered, pointing with a hand like dried twigs.
Zhou Yuchen retrieved a worn leather-bound journal. My breath caught at the handwriting on the title page:"Research Report: Stone of Destiny — Su Lan"
"Your mother… and Mrs. Zhou…" Lu Zhentian wheezed. "They discovered… the stone could…"
"Store memories and skills," Zhou Yuchen murmured, flipping pages. Then he stopped. "Oh my God… They achieved consciousness transfer."
The old man began coughing violently. Nurses rushed in with sedatives. I turned to Zhou.
"What does that mean?"
He kept his voice low. "They found a way to embed knowledge—skills—into the stone. And transfer it… to another person's mind. Lu Zhentian wanted that power."
After the nurses left, Lu Zhentian calmed slightly. With shaking hands, he pulled a small cloth pouch from beneath his pillow.
"Take it… return it…"
Inside were sapphire cufflinks—the evidence that ruined our family in my past life. The inside shimmered with a lotus insignia, matching my mother's designs.
"Why?" I asked, voice cracking. "Why destroy our families?"
His eyes sharpened for a fleeting second. "Your grandfather… and the Zhou family… were born designers. But me?" He gave a twisted smile. "I was always just… a businessman."
The heart monitor flatlined.
As staff swarmed in, Lu Zhentian clutched my wrist with dying strength.
"Tell… Mingyuan… I…"
He never finished.
The hallway buzzed with chaos. Zhou Yuchen guided me into the elevator. Lin Yurou caught up just as the doors were closing.
"What did he give you?"
I opened my palm. The cufflinks glowed faintly.
"The Stone of Destiny…" she whispered. "He carried it all this time?"
Back at Zhou Yuchen's apartment, we laid the cufflinks beside the two previous fragments. As the gems neared one another, they pulled together and fused—forming a complete sapphire. A mist moved within it, pulsing softly.
"Shall we?" Zhou asked.
I nodded. We touched it together.
Scenes flooded in like a tidal wave:
—Our mothers celebrating in a lab, proving the stone could convey design expertise.—Lu Zhentian attempting to buy the research and being refused.—My mother crying as she handed me to my father, saying, "Protect her."—Zhou's mother, wounded, pressing the stone into a woman who looked like Chen Mo. "Take Xiaochen. Never return."
When the visions ended, Zhou Yuchen pulled me into a trembling embrace.
"That woman… was Chen Mo?"
"My mother's sister," he choked. "I never knew I had an aunt."
The next morning, we found the final piece in a hidden safe at the old Lu estate—a faded photo of a young Lu Zhentian standing at a mine, feet planted on the bodies of our grandfathers.
"Monster," Zhou Yuchen growled, punching the wall.
I opened Zhou's mother's diary. The last entry read:
"Lu knows. The stones must be separated. Sister Lan took one. I kept another. The third is with my sister, Chen Mo. If anything happens… when the three are reunited, the truth will be known."
"So Chen Mo was protecting you," I whispered. "Just like my mother said. They wanted us to meet."
Three months later, the "Rebirth" jewelry exhibition opened at the City Center Art Museum. At its heart stood a glass column, showcasing the Stone of Destiny, reimagined as "Nirvana"—a phoenix-shaped brooch, sapphire wings spread in flight.
My father and Zhou Yuchen's brother signed a strategic partnership. Lin Yurou, now an advocate for justice, shared her transformation from victim to survivor. And Chen Mo, our long-lost relative, stood quietly in the crowd, her smile soft and proud.
"Are you nervous?" Zhou Yuchen wrapped his arms around me, chin resting on my shoulder.
"A little," I admitted. "Not everyone turns evidence into art."
"This is the best revenge." He kissed my temple. "Turning pain into beauty."
That night, at the afterparty, Zhou Yuchen knelt on one knee.
Before a breathless crowd, he offered a ring: a blue diamond crafted from remnants of the Stone of Destiny, our names engraved inside.
"Marry me?"
Tears blurred my vision. All the pain of my former life, all the vengeance that brought me here… it all melted in his gaze.
"Yes."
The following spring, we married beneath wisteria blooms at the newly rebuilt Harrison headquarters. My mother placed her wedding headpiece on me. My father walked me down a carpet strewn with petals.
Under the lavender light, Zhou Yuchen waited—radiant in a white suit that glowed like something out of a dream.
"You may kiss the bride," said the pastor.
He leaned in and whispered, "This time, I won't let you fall alone."
I smiled and kissed him.
Behind me, my mother and Chen Mo smiled at each other. My father wiped away tears. Lin Yurou fluffed her bridesmaid dress. Even Xiaotao brought her new boyfriend to celebrate.
At the heart of the banquet hall, the Nirvana brooch glimmered in its case—no longer a relic of sorrow, but a symbol of love, legacy, and rebirth.
The Sophia who fell from the 28th floor was gone.
In her place stood a woman remade by courage—and love.
Revenge was over.
Happiness had just begun.