Chapter 482: I Woke Up and the Sky Had Fallen

Summer Vance smiled faintly. Her face was haggard and weary, but her eyes were bright and gentle.

“You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you gave the other me that brocade bag, right?”

As it turned out, after Arabella Donovan met Summer Vance that day and gave her a Soul Nourishing Talisman, Summer discovered the talisman was indeed very useful.

When she wore it, discomforts like dizziness, nausea, and queasiness disappeared, and she felt much more energetic overall.

Because of this, from that day on, Summer Vance never took off the Soul Nourishing Talisman.

Over time, the remnant soul from her past life, which lay dormant in this shell of a body, began to seamlessly merge with it.

“When I awoke in this body, it was shortly after Julian Spencer had sent me to an apartment in the suburbs. His attitude toward me was very strange. His actions were considerate and accommodating, but his eyes always betrayed a calculating and guarded look.”

After all, the Summer Vance from her past life—or rather, from the original novel—had lived several decades longer than her university-student self. She had even become a leading figure in her industry, so her capabilities and judgment were naturally exceptional.

After spending just a short while with him, she was certain that Julian Spencer had also been reborn and was trying to use her to advance his own agenda.

“Damn it, I couldn’t control this body at all back then. I could only watch as ‘I’ was moved by that bastard’s sweet talk. It was so disgusting I wanted to gouge my eyes out.”

Arabella Donovan: “…”

Aurora Donovan and the others: “…”

‘You can tell she was genuinely furious. It makes sense, though. They’re mortal enemies, but she’s forced to act like his lover. She wants to kill him, but has to watch her own body be all sweet and romantic with him. How could she not completely lose it? So, the one who fought Julian Spencer the other night really was you!’

Perhaps realizing she had let her emotions show and might have unsettled Arabella Donovan, Summer Vance cleared her throat and returned to the topic at hand.

“I thought I was going to be stuck like that for the rest of my life. Several times, I even considered mustering all my strength to seize control of the body just once, just to end it all…”

But ultimately, she couldn’t go through with it. It wasn’t because she was afraid to die, but because she still had her grandmother to take care of.

Having lived an entire extra lifetime, she knew Julian Spencer’s true nature better than anyone. If she died, her grandmother would be thrown out onto the streets to fend for herself the very next moment.

“Then you showed up. That brocade bag of yours was incredibly effective. With it, I could feel my soul growing stronger, bit by bit. I was gradually regaining control of this body, becoming myself again.”

“If that’s the case, why…”

“I’m not sure either.” Summer Vance shook her head. “About half a month ago, I started at the Brynn Research Institute…”

As Summer Vance spoke, her gaze traveled past the others and landed on Aurora Donovan.

Her eyes held a mix of nostalgia and sorrow, along with a hint of disappointment at no longer being able to work with her, and even being misunderstood.

But she quickly composed herself and continued. “I had been gradually regaining control of this body and had even figured out a plan to leave Julian Spencer, taking my grandmother with me to escape his grasp completely. But from that day forward, I started hearing a strange voice in my head.”

Hearing this, Arabella Donovan’s expression darkened. Aurora Donovan and the others pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a single one of Summer Vance’s crucial words.

A few of the bodyguards responsible for intelligence gathering even instinctively pulled out devices to record her words.

“The voice forced me to get close to Julian Spencer, forced me to get on good terms with everyone at the institute, and even forced me to agree to all of Julian Spencer’s unreasonable demands. Including… including helping him steal Dr. Donovan’s latest research.”

Faced with these garbage demands that went against her own will, Summer Vance naturally refused to compromise. But slowly, she discovered that the body she had fought so hard to reclaim was once again slipping from her control.

“After I regained control of my body, I did my best to avoid Julian Spencer. I was afraid he’d notice something was wrong and hurt my grandmother. But three days ago, I fell asleep in the lab while working late. When I woke up, I found that I had asked him out to meet me, and even…” She trailed off, thinking of the intimate gestures—holding hands, kissing, hugging.

To Summer Vance, it was like a horror story. She had literally woken up to find her world collapsing around her.

“That’s when I realized I couldn’t let things continue. This body is mine, but it feels like it’s not just mine. No matter how much I fight back mentally, there’s always some strange force influencing my actions. I can’t just sit back and wait for disaster. By the time I do something irreversible, it’ll be too late!”

“So, while you still had control of your body, you gave Julian Spencer a beating.”

At the mention of this, a small smile touched Summer Vance’s lips, bringing a bit of life to her pale face.

“That’s right. That damned thing wanted me to fawn over that bastard, to ask about his day and beg for his affection. As if he’s worthy. I exploited a bug in its control to ask him out. I put up with the revulsion and got him to drink several bottles of red wine, then beat the hell out of him while he was drunk and weak.”

If that damned thing hadn’t rushed out at the critical moment to seize control of her body and stop her from pulling a knife on Julian Spencer, Summer Vance would have taken him down with her right then and there.

From these fragments of Summer Vance’s story, Arabella Donovan was able to piece together the reason she was here.

“You deliberately exploited the ‘bug’ to cause a huge scene and get caught, and you deliberately orchestrated all of this to get me to find you here?”

Summer Vance admitted it without hesitation. “That’s right, it was intentional. Based on past experience, I’m like a machine now. ‘Steal Dr. Donovan’s research’ is a fixed command that’s been programmed into me. It will control my body to steal those things whether I want to or not. Since that’s the case, why not use it to my advantage and blow the whole thing wide open? Get the authorities to notice something is wrong with me, arrest me, lock me up so I can’t do any more evil. And most importantly…”

A faint, sardonic smile with a deeper meaning touched Summer Vance’s lips, but her words sent a chill down one’s spine.

“Let’s not even talk about what came before. The command for me to steal Dr. Donovan’s research came directly from Julian Spencer’s mouth. I’ve already handed over the evidence. He was caught red-handed, with both a witness and material proof. You can’t let him be the one that gets away, can you?”

Arabella Donovan: “…”

‘As expected of the novel’s main heroine. Gentle on the outside, steely on the inside. She went through so much, yet can still laugh it off, using her own strength to move past her history and stride confidently toward a bright future. Even if she’s ready to die, she’s determined to drag her enemy down with her. The main principle here is: my own happiness doesn’t matter, as long as my enemy isn’t living carefree. Badass!’

Aurora Donovan and the others: “…”

‘What is this, a real-life innocent-looking college student turned black widow? Julian Spencer really hit the jackpot messing with a woman like her.’