The Rebirth of a Scorned Heiress

“What’s going on? Is everything okay at home?” Merissa asked, her hands trembling as she listened to her mother sobbing over the phone.

“The company is facing a huge crisis. Someone posted a review of one of our latest products, which caught the government’s attention. Now, our investors are pulling out to avoid losing money since our stock is crashing,” Mrs. Smith explained, her voice strained.

“What do you mean by crashing? How can the stock crash from a single review?” Merissa questioned, her anxiety increasing as she clenched her fists.

“It’s not just one review. Initially, it was only one, but that one served as a catalyst, and there were several others too. The reviews shifted between the products and the employee treatments. And in just three days, we’ve lost ten million. If this continues, the company will go bankrupt within a month,” Mrs Smith sniffled.

“Your dad hasn’t been home in days; he’s desperately trying to find a solution. But without investors, there’s only so much he can do,” she continued, her voice heavy with worry and grief.

“Can’t the PR team address the review or take it down to reassure customers? I’m sure our rival company is trying to force us out of the market, and that’s why they are pulling such an underhanded trick.” Merissa suggested, feeling angered and frustrated.

Her mood has been all over the place since their first presentation, making her feel on edge and suspicious of everything and everyone. Like the other teams, they had also been given the theme of the mediaeval era, and somehow a design fitting that theme was among the designs that were sent to her, but every time she tried to present the design to her teammates, she felt as though she was walking into a set trap.

However, time was counting down, and she could no longer hesitate. Learning from her past mistakes, she decided to give the design a little tweak before presenting it. Just as she was rounding up with it, her mother’s call came in with the bad news.

“The problem is that the review is accurate. The product contains harmful substances that could affect consumers in the long run. We thought we’d have time to fix the issues before anyone noticed, but it backfired,” Mrs Smith admitted.

“And the ones about the employees, the reviews were made by our former staff. I’m seriously suspecting someone is behind all this, but we have no way to prove it.” Merissa’s mind wandered as Lily’s image popped into her mind at the mention of someone being behind the whole thing.

‘No way, there is no way she would be able to pull this off.’ she thought to herself with a shake of her head. ‘I’m seriously thinking too much lately. She’s just the daughter of my family’s servant. There’s no way she can ever have the ability to do something like that.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and asked, “So, what’s Dad going to do? We can’t let the company go under just like that.”

“He is planning to hold a press conference to reassure the public, but we need financial backing. We’ve already lost so much in just a few days, and things could get worse if we don’t act fast to stop all these,” Mrs Smith replied.

“What’s the plan? Taking out loans from the bank?” Merissa inquired.

“Your father is seeking sponsorship from the famous Asian Chaebol family,” Mrs Smith sighed, her frustration evident. “You mean the Lim family?” Merissa asked, surprised.

“Yes, them. They agreed to meet, but you know how they operate; they’ll expect something in return for their help,” Mrs Smith explained, causing Merissa to frown, already hating the direction the conversation was flowing in.

The Lim family is one of the top business families in the country. Despite being foreigners, their influence in the business world cannot be slighted in the least. especially in the underworld business.

The family has been under the government’s watchful gaze for a long time, having been suspected of illegal dealings, but since there was no tangible evidence to convict them, they could only remain suspects.

“What do they want?” Merissa asked, clenching her fists tighter as a heavy silence stretched out between them. “It’s me, isn’t it?”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“It’s not what you think! They’re not proposing marriage or anything like that. They just want you to go on a week of vacation with their youngest son after your competition,” Mrs Smith hastily clarified.

“You mean Lim Dea? The one involved in that drug scandal not too long ago?” Merissa questioned, her disbelief palpable.

“But the police cleared him of any involvement with drugs, and the case was closed,” her mother countered.

“Mom, you and I both know that was just a cover-up! And what about his famous womanising scandal? No woman ever involved with him goes without a tarnished reputation.” Merissa argued, her voice filled with disdain.

“And you want me to go a week with that kind of person? For a week? Honestly, I think I’d prefer a marriage proposal over this.”

“That’s the only option we are left with. I wouldn’t want you to do this, but it’s all we’ve got. Your father is desperate, and this is the only way you can help him,” Mrs Smith persuaded, making Merrisa sign dejectedly.

“Fine, I’ll think about it. For now, I need to focus on the competition.”

***

Lily grinned happily as he received the alert of ten million. “This is the best feeling in the world. Killing two birds with one stone is surely the best strategy,” she chuckled while digging into her cup of instant ramen.

{You are not one to take a loss, are you?} The system signed {Making money while setting up the Smith family}

“Don’t you know? Having others do your dirty work is the best. I have no major business with the company, so I sold the information to someone who does. For someone like me, this money is a jackpot,” Lily replied.

{You are making it sound as if it’s the first time you are making this little amount of money. You weren’t even this excited back then}

“Hmph! What do you know? I had to work my ass off to get that money back then, but this time I didn’t even do much, and I got this.” Lily replied

“Besides, what excites me more is watching Merissa’s face as her world falls apart and she becomes the peasant she looks down on the most,” she added with a smug smile.

{Isn’t it too early to celebrate? They are seeking help from the rich Korean family already}

“Just sit back and watch. Since I decided to do this, I’ve already made enough preparations and countermeasures. I might end up killing three birds with one stone,” she declared.

{This one is to help Mark, isn’t it?}

“You are so smart. But that much is expected from an advanced technology such as yourself.”

“I promise to help him secure his position. Not much of a help since I’m getting profit from it, but whatever. His biggest rival now is Frederick, and he has a connection to the Lim family. So sooner or later, I’ll have to say hi to them,” she grinned and threw the ramen cup away.

“What do you think?”

{Just don’t get yourself killed. You only have one chance at regression}, the system warned with a huff.

“I won’t die anytime soon. I’m very sturdy, you see.”

“Lily Turner, right?” Her words were interrupted by a thick French accent. Looking up, she noticed a man dressed in a black designer tuxedo with an intimidating aura that matched his cold, dark eyes.

Lily stepped back with a frown as she reached for her phone, her hands hovering on the first number that popped up, ready to press in case of a sudden attack.

“Who are you?”