Chapter 1

Caleb's POV

Mason Lund, who was standing beside Sierra Shepherd, rolled his eyes after hearing my demand. He looked at me condescendingly and scoffed. "What did I tell you, Sierra? These kinds of lowlifes are all the same. He's been after the money from the very beginning!"

Mason put an arm around Sierra's shoulders, flashing me a mocking look. "You should learn when to quit while you're ahead, Mr. Zimmer. You see, 1.5 million dollars is enough money for trash like you to live off for lifetimes."

I looked up at Sierra. She was staring at me with a furrowed brow, looking like she couldn't believe what she just heard. "You really just want the money? You're not coming back with me?"

I calmly repeated my terms. "That's right. I'll leave as soon as you give me the 4.5 million dollars."

"How are you going to survive without me?" Sierra asked coldly, sounding completely sure of herself.

I smiled faintly and shook my head slightly, knowing that nobody was irreplaceable. I had learned that lesson from Sierra in my past life. I wasn't going to make the same mistake again in this life.

I chuckled softly before saying, "You don't have to give it to me if you don't want to. I'll just stand outside your company tomorrow with a sign stating that you enjoyed my services for a year and refused to pay up."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"You can try me," I stated flatly as I looked her directly in the eye, completely unyielding.

Sierra's expression instantly hardened. She glared at me, her chest heaving as she tried to figure out if I was being serious. She let out a derisive sneer a moment later and took out her checkbook from her handbag. She then wrote the amount, tore off the check, and threw it at me. "Take your money and get lost!"

She then hooked her arm around Mason's and said, "Let's go, Mason."

I ignored her outburst, bent down to grab the check, then turned and left.

I sat in the cab and watched the scenery rush past outside, my chest still aching terribly.

In my past life, I rescued Sierra after her half-sister set her up and left her with amnesia. I worked three jobs a day to cover her medical bills, barely willing to spend eight dollars on a meal. Sierra didn't remember who she was back then, but she still always looked out for me.

She gave me her food and held me close in that leaky basement unit we lived in. She used to blush and say, "I'll buy you a big house with floor-to-ceiling windows once I have money, and we'll be family forever."

She ultimately went back on her word, though.

I finally arrived outside the projects half an hour later. I pushed my thoughts aside and headed downstairs, following the route I remembered.

Thea Clark, the woman who would one day build an AI technology empire, was preparing to take her own life through carbon monoxide poisoning in her basement unit after failing to secure investments for her project.

I suddenly caught a strong whiff of pungent smoke. I didn't hesitate for a second before kicking the door open. I noticed that Thea was slumped messily on the ground, coughing uncontrollably, amidst the thick smoke.

I strode over and slammed the check down right in front of her. "You can't just throw your life away! Go ahead and take this money! Don't you want to prove everyone who looked down on you dead wrong?"