Chapter 1

Taking advantage of an empty lab, the newly joined junior lab member, Chloe, sneaked pictures of our confidential research data and bragged about it online.

"Only twenty-three. No help from parents, just pure hustle. Made it into the top-tier lab."

Overnight, it blew up into a massive scandal.

I took the security footage to Chloe to figure out damage control, but my fiancé, Derek, pulled her behind his back:

"Chloe just joined the project. If this gets out, her career is finished. You have so many published papers under your belt—taking the blame won't hurt you. The department will protect you."

I flatly refused. "Leaking classified data is a serious crime. No one can protect anyone. We need to work on mitigating the fallout right now."

They exchanged a dark look, then forced me to drink poisoned water.

Suffocation and tearing agony swept through my body in an instant. I died in utter despair.

After my death, my spirit watched helplessly as they pinned everything on me and stole my life's research to skyrocket their own careers.

The moment my soul began to dissipate, I was pulled back.

I woke up on the exact day Chloe asked to stay behind alone in the lab.

The day I died was actually my birthday.

Derek hadn't answered a single one of my texts all morning. I kept hoping he would call and explain he had just been swamped.

I waited and waited. All I got in the end was a furious call from our advisor:

"Summer! Why is our team's classified data plastered all over the internet?!"

After hanging up, I quickly tracked down the trending video and checked the lab's security cameras. The footage made it undeniable: Chloe had done it.

I went to her with the tape, only to be murdered by the two of them.

I used to wonder what dying felt like.

Now I knew. It was bone-chilling cold and excruciatingly painful.

My soul lingered after death, tethered behind Derek.

Because I trusted my fiancé completely, I had never shielded my screen when typing my computer password around him.

He abused that trust to rob me blind.

I watched him pack up my raw data, draft papers, and every single project I had built on my own, sending them all to Chloe.

Together, they framed me for the leak, claiming I had committed suicide out of guilt.

Chloe then published my papers under her name, one by one, rising to instant academic stardom.

Overnight, the name "Summer" became an indelible stain on the department, while "Chloe" became the golden child everyone celebrated.

Standing on the podium at an awards gala, radiant with pride, Chloe accepted thunderous applause after finishing her speech.

Fury consumed my soul. I threw myself at her over and over, only to pass through her body harmlessly.

As my ghostly form grew weaker, shredded by raw resentment, the world spun.

And in the next breath, I was reborn.

"Summer, my script hasn't finished running yet. Can I stay in the lab a little longer by myself?"

Chloe's voice rang in my ears. She wore that same fragile, harmless expression.

The phantom agony of a torn soul still echoed through me, but my physical body was entirely intact. I looked around the room and realized I had truly returned.

Chloe stood before me, repeating the exact words from my past life.

Rage flared up in my chest. It took everything in me not to slap her on the spot.

In my previous life, I had been soft-hearted. I trusted her, let her stay behind, and gave her the opening to photograph our confidential data and post it online.

What I hadn't realized back then was that she and Derek were already sleeping together behind my back.

Memories flashed through my mind of how she had framed me after my death.

She had sat on a stool, crying her eyes out, claiming I had weaponized my authority as lab lead to bully her. Everyone showered her with sympathy, while Derek wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gently patting her back.

Accusing me of being a power-tripping bully.

What a joke. I had guided Chloe step-by-step through every protocol, yet she turned around and painted me as an abusive tyrant who exploited her.

And at the very end, when I went to her with the footage to help her fix the mess, she teamed up with Derek to kill me.

The last thing I saw before I died was Derek holding her, murmuring that everything would be okay.

Meanwhile, my lifeless body lay contorted on the cold floor.

Pure, unadulterated venom repaying kindness.

In this life, I would make them pay back every single debt, down to the last drop.