Chapter 1

In my past life, I spent three agonizing months mentoring Mia Vance. I pulled all-nighters polishing her project proposals and carried her performance metrics on my own back.

On the day of her full-time performance evaluation, she blindsided me. Backed by two other interns, she handed a joint complaint to HR in front of the entire company.

Their accusation? "Workplace abuse and intellectual property theft."

I froze. To make it easier for her to learn, I had always edited the files directly on her laptop without keeping local drafts on mine.

Now, my generosity became undeniable proof of my "theft."

Right there, Mia shared her screen: the edit logs, timestamps, and version histories all bore her username.

The other two interns chimed in without missing a beat:

"We saw it with our own eyes! Chloe barely changed a few words of Mia's deck before submitting it as her own. She even forced us to stay until dawn without logging our overtime!"

I was completely defenseless. I couldn't comprehend how the rookie I had nurtured with my own blood and sweat could bite me this viciously.

HR called me in and strongly advised me to hand in my resignation. Even the senior executive who had promoted me to manager was dragged down with me.

The moment I packed my things, Mia took over my desk.

Word spread fast. My professional reputation in the industry was utterly destroyed.

Crushed beneath relentless mortgage and car payments, I couldn't breathe.

Two weeks later, on a pitch-black night, I drove onto the highway, jerked the steering wheel, and ended it all.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to three months ago, right before Mia joined the firm.

She stood before my desk, her eyes wide with manufactured innocence:

"Manager Bennett, I'm stuck on this project... Could you please teach me?"

I flipped through my documents without even looking up.

"You're in the wrong place. You're not on my team."

Mia’s eyes welled with tears in an instant.

She bit her bottom lip, her voice trembling on the edge of a sob.

"Manager Bennett, did I do something wrong?"

"I'm brand new here and know nothing. Please don't kick me out, okay?"

Her voice was deliberately loud, instantly pulling every pair of eyes in the open office right toward us.

Logan Brooks and Harper Cole, the other two interns, rushed over immediately.

These were the exact two people who had co-signed that malicious complaint with Mia in my past life, pinning baseless crimes onto my head.

Logan stepped directly in front of Mia like a valiant knight, his face burning with righteous fury.

"Manager Bennett, Mia just wants to learn from you! Why are you being so hostile?"

"We all started as rookies. Who gave you the right to throw your seniority around?"

Harper rolled her eyes and chimed in with venomous sarcasm.

"Seriously. Guiding new hires is a senior employee's basic duty."

"If you can’t even handle that, I honestly wonder how you ever made manager."

Murmurs broke out among the surrounding colleagues.

The glances directed at me grew heavy with judgment.

In my past life, I dreaded office gossip. To maintain team harmony, I swallowed every grievance with a smile.

And what did it get me?

These three ungrateful leeches drained every drop of my blood, then pushed me straight off a cliff.

I sneered and slammed my folder onto the desk.

BAM.

The entire floor dropped dead silent.

"Duty? The company pays me six figures to drive revenue, not to run an adult daycare."

"If you need someone to pamper and spoon-feed you, go home to your mommy!"

Logan’s face flushed crimson. He pointed an accusatory finger at me and yelled:

"This is toxic workplace bullying! I'm reporting you to HR right now!"

I picked up the desk phone, hit the speaker button, and dialed the Director of Human Resources directly.

The line clicked open.

I cut straight to the chase, my tone sharp as a razor.

"Sarah, did someone mess up the intern assignments?"

"Mia Vance, Logan Brooks, and Harper Cole. I refuse to take any of them."

Sarah Mitchell, our HR Director, was taken aback.

"Chloe? You're our top performer. What's the big deal about taking on a few rookies?"

"Come on, give the kids a chance."

I glared at the three interns, whose faces were already laced with smug triumph, and spoke icy words into the receiver:

"I manage producers, not toddlers who need royal treatment."

"Isn't Deputy Manager Evans always complaining about being short-staffed? Transfer all three of them to Richard."

Richard Evans was the most notorious parasite in our department.

First in line to claim credit, first out the door when blame hit the fan.

In my past life, these three enjoyed VIP white-glove treatment under my wing.

In this life, let's see how they survive Richard's brutal "guidance."

Sarah paused on the line for a couple of seconds.

"Alright. If you insist, I'll reassign them to Richard."

I hung up, pointed across the hallway, and smiled coldly.

"Did you catch that? Your manager is now Richard Evans."

"Now, grab your junk and get out of my sight. Right now."

Mia bit her lip so hard it nearly bled, glaring at me with raw malice hidden behind her teary mask.

"Manager Bennett, you're going to regret this!"

I stared right through her.

"I don't regret it. I'm just disgusted."