Chapter 2Frozen Justice for My Abuser

This stubborn old vulture.

I was standing here supposedly coughing up a lung, and he still wanted me to be his human snowplow.

In my past life, I had always wondered how long it took him to select me as his perfect victim. Now, the pieces clicked together.

My bonus.

Just before we had walked out of the building earlier, I had taken a call from my manager confirming my year-end bonus. Arthur had been lurking in the lobby. He heard the whole thing. He hadn't just accidentally slipped; he had targeted me because he knew I was holding a fresh, fat check. No wonder he was so desperate to get me out there.

Seeing that I wasn't moving, Arthur’s faux-polite mask slipped. He let out an exaggerated huff and dramatically lowered himself to sit right on the freezing tile floor of the hallway.

"Fine! If you won't help me, I can't leave. So I'll just sit right here!"

I narrowed my eyes, studying his pathetic, petulant display for a long moment. Then, the corners of my mouth curled into a bright, terrifying smile.

"No problem, Arthur. I'll lead the way. Just stay close!"

I stepped back inside, pulled on my heaviest down parka and a pair of thick, treaded snow boots.

Arthur scrambled to his feet, shadowing me closely as we headed out.

In my previous life, I had walked slowly, out of an abundance of caution, and he had matched my agonizing pace. The apartment's security camera had captured the whole thing. Later, he strong-armed the property manager into giving him the footage, using it to blackmail me at my office. The angle of the camera had been terrible—it looked exactly like I had kicked a patch of ice backward, causing him to fall.

I wasn't about to let history repeat itself.

The moment the heavy glass door clicked shut behind us, and I saw the red light of the security camera in my peripheral vision, I threw my arms up in the air and screamed.

"God, I love the snow! Hahahaha!"

I glanced over my shoulder. "Keep up, Arthur!"

And then, I bolted.

I sprinted down the sidewalk like an Olympic sprinter, kicking up a massive wake of white powder.

Arthur froze, completely blindsided. By the time his brain processed what was happening, I had already rounded the corner of the building and vanished from sight.

"You little bastard, what are you running for?!" I heard him screech from a distance.

"Whoa—I'm slipping! Get back here! If I fall, you have to pay—!"

A dull thud echoed through the frigid air. He had gone down.

I stood hidden behind the brick wall of the next building. One minute passed. Two minutes. Three.

No one came to help him.

Eventually, the biting cold became too much for him. I peeked around the corner just in time to see him scramble to his feet, dusting snow off his coat. He glared up at the security camera, spitting into the snow.

"Dammit! Didn't catch a thing," he muttered viciously.

I turned and jogged away from the complex, my breath pluming in the freezing air.

The camera definitely wouldn't have us in the same frame this time.

But would Old Man Pendleton let it go that easily?

I highly doubted it.

In my past life, even after I had drained my bank accounts to pay his extortion demands, he hadn't stopped. He had demanded I sign over the deed to my condo so his deadbeat son could use it as a marital home for his second wedding. The man's greed was a bottomless abyss.

If he thought he could use his old playbook to control me in this life, he was out of his mind.

My first stop wasn't the office. It was a coffee shop. I pulled out my phone, scrolled through Zillow, and found a fully furnished, short-term luxury apartment just a few miles away. I wired the deposit immediately and got the digital door code.

This was step one of my revenge.

If he couldn't find me at home, he would inevitably show up at my office to cause a scene. I needed to be ready for him.

After securing the apartment, I circled back to my old place to grab my laptop and a few essentials.

The moment I stepped through the front gates of the complex, I noticed the security guard at the booth looking at me with wide, panicked eyes. He was violently mouthing the words, Run.

Before my brain could register the warning, a shadow lunged from behind the brick pillar. A heavy weight slammed into my side, tackling me straight into a snowbank.