Reborn: I Escaped the Holiday Scam

A week before Christmas, I fired everyone.

Because in my last life, Jenny suddenly grabbed my hand, sobbing and pleading:

Audrey, please, take me home quickly! My mother ate the chocolate cake from your holiday gift box and now she's dying!

I panicked instantly. I rushed her home and gave her a hundred thousand dollars in emergency cash.

But when we arrived, her mother had already passed away.

The very next day, her husband was outside my company holding signs protesting: "Killer Company, Justice for My Mother!"

The video went viral, and I became a target of online bullying across the entire internet.

My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reed, were also implicated.

Netizens constantly threatened them, sending harassment texts and even death threats.

But her entire family remained relentless.

They claimed I was responsible for her mother's death and demanded two million dollars in compensation.

Eventually, I had a mental breakdown and jumped off a bridge, ending my life.

When I opened my eyes again, I threw out all the prepared cake gift boxes.

Back in my office, I said calmly:

"Today will be everyone's last day of work. Please go to accounting now to settle your final pay."

The moment I finished speaking, the previously quiet office instantly erupted.

"Ms. Reed, what do you mean? You're kidding, right?"

"Why?! Didn't we just meet our targets this month? You're just firing us?"

"Yeah, exactly! Christmas is right around the corner. If you fire us now, where are we supposed to find new jobs?"

Amidst the noisy protests,

Jenny clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes filled with confusion. She grabbed my arm. "Audrey, what is this about? Why are you firing us?"

Her expression was identical to my past life.

I stared at her face.

In my last life, I was completely fooled by this very look.

My heart had been in turmoil then.

I immediately drove her home, even stopping on the way to withdraw a hundred thousand dollars in cash to give her.

When we arrived downstairs at her house, the doctor who had rushed there shook his head.

Her mother was already gone.

The next day, she and her husband, Kevin, were blocking my company entrance, holding protest signs.

"Poisonous Cake Killer! Justice for My Mother-in-Law!"

A dozen relatives were behind him. Some were live-streaming on their phones, others were throwing paint on my company's door.

The video went viral on social media that very day.

In no time, it racked up over 500 million views.

All my personal information was leaked online.

Every single comment in the comments section cursed me.

My partners called that day, terminating our collaborations.

I didn't even get a chance to explain. My company's funding dried up, and I went bankrupt overnight.

Kevin even showed up at my house, causing trouble.

"You killed my mother-in-law, and my wife is now suffering from mental anguish."

"You need to compensate us two million dollars. Otherwise, your whole family won't have it easy."

My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reed, were verbally assaulted outside our apartment building, and our front door was plastered with printed threat notes.

It caused my parents to have heart attacks, and our family became pariahs.

Jenny lay in bed, crying and posting videos accusing me.

"Audrey, I trusted you so much. How could you kill my mother..."

Under the endless online bullying and real-life pressure, I had a mental breakdown and jumped off a bridge spanning the river.

Now, Jenny was still clutching my arm.

Exactly the same as my past life.

I pulled my arm free from her grasp.

"It's my company. I'll close it whenever I want. Do I need to explain myself to you?"

Jenny froze.

Her tears still clung to her eyelashes, and her expression instantly stiffened.

Brenda from the planning department quickly spoke up, agitated.

"Ms. Reed, how can you say that?! Jenny is usually the hardest worker!"

"Besides, you're firing all of us right before Christmas. What are we supposed to do, starve?"

I smiled.

"Didn't I say accounting would give you severance pay? Is that not enough?"

Brenda's mouth twitched, but she remained silent.

Jenny regained her composure and started crying even harder.

"Audrey, is there something I did wrong? I can change! Please don't fire me..."

I looked at her, my lips twitching.

"Like I said, the company is closing. Besides, you're not the only one being let go."

Seeing that I wasn't falling for her act, her face darkened, and she shouted:

"But we just won the Best New Business of the Year Award last month!"

This prompted others to agree.

"Yeah, Ms. Reed, this is really unfair. You don't want to pay bonuses, so you just fire everyone?"

"Exactly! I was counting on this month's paycheck for rent!"

"Audrey, please reconsider. Don't be so impulsive."

All eyes turned to me.

Jenny reacted even faster.

"Audrey, if you don't want to see me, I'll leave. I really won't force you..."

Her voice was soft and trembling:

"But everyone has families to support. How can you be so heartless?"

As she spoke, she seemed about to collapse.

Brenda quickly rushed over to steady her, then shot me a glare.

Mike also chimed in:

"Exactly. Running a company isn't playing house. You can't just close it down like that. Do you have to be so ruthless?"

Mr. Davies, the HR manager, slowly took a sip from his mug.

His voice was neither loud nor soft, but just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Some people look mighty when receiving awards, but when it's time to pay out, they suddenly want to disappear. 'Closing down'? Who would believe that?"

I didn't say anything.

I founded this company, and I considered our employee benefits to be among the best.

We never lacked in material perks or care.

Every holiday, including employee birthdays,

we unfailingly gave everyone a $200 gift card along with a carefully selected gift box.

I watched this group of people with cold eyes.

But in my past life,

Brenda was the first person to leak my address in the neighborhood forum.

She even told neighbors, "Our boss is vicious and cruel. You should stay away from her."

Later, when someone dug up my parents' information, Mr. Davies added, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. That whole family is rotten."

Now they stood here surrounding me.

As if I truly were some cold-blooded, ruthless evil boss.

There wasn't a ripple in my heart. I simply said flatly:

"I have nothing else to say. You can go."

Just then, Jenny's phone rang.

As soon as she answered, her face instantly turned pale.

"Mom! Mom, what's wrong?! Don't scare me!"

The people around her started to panic.

"What's going on?" someone asked.

I was momentarily dazed.

After the incident in my past life, I quickly learned everything about allergies.

I read dozens of books and watched hundreds of educational videos.

The videos explained that peanut allergy is an immediate allergic reaction, and severe cases can cause anaphylaxis and suffocation within minutes.

But they had insisted it was because the cake I sent was problematic, and I had felt incredibly guilty and heartbroken.

It wasn't until after I died and floated in the air that I saw Jenny and her husband Kevin counting money at home.

"You're so clever. Knowing your mother had a peanut allergy, you deliberately swapped out the original cake in the gift box for one with peanuts."

"Now look, the company's ruined, and we extorted two million dollars."

Jenny had said with a laugh.

"Well, she was the boss, and she was so easy to fool."

It turned out, from the very beginning, they had been waiting for me, a perfect mark, to fall into their trap.

Jenny's cries snapped me out of my memory.

Jenny grabbed Brenda's hand.

"My mother ate the company's gift box cake, and it had peanuts! My mother has a nut allergy, and now... now she's dying!"

"Audrey! What were you thinking?! I kindly took your discarded cake home for my mother to eat. Why did you poison her?"

At that, the office fell silent for a few seconds.

"Oh my god! The gift box Ms. Reed sent had a problem?!"

Mike quickly followed up.

"I knew something was up when Ms. Reed suddenly threw out all the gift boxes today! She was trying to destroy evidence!"

"This is outrageous! Even if she didn't give them to us, Jenny taking one home caused this. It's a complete disregard for human life!"

"I knew something was off when she suddenly wanted to fire us. She knew what she did and was trying to escape!"

I stood there, watching Jenny.

She kept repeating the same phrase:

"My mother collapsed after eating it. What do I do?"

Brenda hugged her, comforting her while glaring at me.

"Ms. Reed! You need to give us an explanation right now! If anything happens to Jenny's mother, you'll be a murderer!"

"Exactly! Give us an explanation!"

"Call 911! Call 911 right now!"

Mike pulled out his phone, making to dial 91

I frowned, taking a step closer to Jenny.

She slumped to the floor, looking up at me.

I looked at her, my voice flat.

"Jenny, are you saying your mother ate a peanut-containing cake from my gift box and is now unwell?"

Jenny's sobs abruptly stopped. She looked at me, confused.

Brenda and the others were still in the dark, and they started to protest again.

"Ms. Reed, what are you doing?! Are you threatening her?"

"Let's talk this out. Why are you getting so close?"

I straightened up, ignoring their shouts, and calmly looked at Jenny.

"Did you call 911? Your mother needs emergency medical attention right now, not for you to be crying here."

Jenny seemed reminded, fumbling for her phone in her pocket, but her hands were shaking so much she couldn't even unlock it.

Mike quickly snatched the phone and dialed 911.

Jenny was helped up by her colleagues, stumbling as she rushed home.

Before leaving, she shot me another look, pure venom, as if she wanted to tear me apart.

Less than two hours after she left, my phone started buzzing wildly.

I opened TikTok, and "Evil Boss Poisons Mother" was the top trending topic.

Clicking on the first live stream video, I saw Kevin standing downstairs from our company.

"Ruthless Company, Snake-Hearted Boss, Poisonous Cake Murder, Inexcusable!"

Jenny was wailing on the ground, surrounded by a dozen relatives.

The spectacle was even more dramatic than in my past life.

The number of live stream viewers still topped a hundred thousand.

"Damn! Another food safety issue! They have to investigate thoroughly!"

"I think I've seen this boss before. She's a pretty young woman. How could her heart be so cruel?"

"What's her company called? Where's the address? We have to go after her!"

In the live stream footage, Brenda and Mike were talking to the camera,

exaggerating everything that had just happened.

"Jenny usually works the hardest, and she's such a good person. I can't believe something like this happened to her."

"Our boss, Audrey Reed, she suddenly wanted to fire all of us today. I think she had a guilty conscience and was trying to escape!"

"Exactly! She bought cheap, uncertified cakes that killed someone, and she wants to run away without paying compensation!"

"Right! Jenny is usually so filial. She kindly brought company perks home, and now her own mother is gone. It's too tragic!"

A ripple of uproar spread through the crowd.

"She's fleeing from justice!"

"Drag her out! Make her go to jail!"

"She doesn't deserve to live!"

I watched the farce calmly from upstairs.

My phone rang. It was my mother, her voice tearful:

"Audrey, is what they're saying online true? Come home quickly. Don't stay out there. A lot of people are saying they're coming for you..."

"Don't worry, Mom. They won't have time to look for me soon."

I hung up and dialed another number.

"You can start."

Kevin, with a large group of people, stormed straight up the stairs.

The moment Kevin saw me, he lunged, but was intercepted by the police who had arrived just in time.

"Audrey Reed! You murderer! My mother's dead! She died after eating your cake! It had peanuts!"

Jenny was behind him, crying uncontrollably.

"You'll pay for my mother's life! Two million dollars! Not a penny less!"

I looked at them and suddenly smiled.

I took a USB drive from my bag and dangled it in front of everyone.

Then I looked at Jenny and asked, word by word: "You said the cake I sent had peanuts?"

Jenny insisted.

"That's right! It was you! You killed my mother!"

I nodded and continued.

"But the custom holiday dessert boxes I ordered came in vanilla, chocolate, and berry flavors. To prevent any accidents, I specifically instructed the manufacturer not to include any nut ingredients, and every batch had a quality inspection report."

"So tell me, how did your mother eat peanuts and suffer an allergic reaction?"

Jenny froze, but quickly she asserted again.

"My mother died after eating your gift box! Don't try to fob me off with some fake report!"

"A lousy report could be faked anywhere!"

"If you weren't guilty, why would you suddenly fire all your employees? I think you're trying to flee from justice!"

At that, everyone nodded in agreement.

The lead police officer also frowned.

I didn't care, looking up at Jenny and smiling.

"Jenny, you really won't admit it until faced with undeniable proof. Then take a look at this."