Lethal Villainess: Now I'm Their Doom

"Evelina, you've been given a second chance. Stay out of trouble and live your life properly from now on."

The prison gates slammed shut behind Evelina Brooks, cutting off the guard's stern warning.

Evelina stood outside the prison entrance, slowly tightening her grip on the worn backpack in her hand as a cold look settled in her eyes.

There was no way she would repeat the same mistake. This time, the people who had committed the real crime and pushed her out as the scapegoat would pay for what they'd done.

Not far away, three black Porsche Cayennes were lined up along the roadside.

When Evelina looked over, the rear door of the middle SUV slowly opened, though no one stepped out.

Evelina walked over without hesitation and stopped beside the open door, but she didn't get in right away.

Through the doorway, she finally saw the infamous head of the Payne Group for the first time. The man was rumored to be ruthless and impossible to predict.

Connor Payne wore gold-rimmed glasses that softened his appearance and gave him the look of a refined scholar. But that gentle impression couldn't hide the sharpness in his features. His tall frame filled the back seat easily, his broad shoulders and long legs giving off a quiet sense of pressure. Sunlight streamed through the open car door and reflected off the luxury watch on his wrist. The limited-edition piece was one of only three in the world, and the diamonds embedded in it glimmered with a cold light.

"You're Evelina Brooks?" Connor's deep voice carried an almost lazy calmness, though the faint mockery beneath it was impossible to miss. "I expected the woman who crashed the stock market overnight to look a little more impressive."

Evelina let out a faint scoff. Her face had become so thin and pale that it was nearly unrecognizable, making her eyes appear even larger.

She looked directly at him, her gaze flat and emotionless, still as dead water. She didn't waste time exchanging pleasantries.

"Fifty million dollars. A car. A house. A driver. Three days from now, I'll hand you a new plan."

Connor lightly tapped his fingers against his knee as he studied her eyes. Then the corners of his lips slowly curved upward into a smile filled with interest.

He actually liked the look in her eyes.

She reminded him of a lone wolf wandering the desert, fierce, dangerous, and ready to strike at any moment.

"The lead car is yours from now on. Jake Blake will drive for you. Cayson, transfer Villa No. 8 in Aurora Bay to Miss Brooks immediately. And arrange for a few people to take care of her daily needs."

As he spoke, Connor pulled out a black card and held it toward her.

His fingers were pale and slender, almost too refined, carrying the fragile beauty of someone who looked as though he might break with a touch.

But Evelina had once watched a video of him using those same elegant hands to crush a traitor's arm while wearing a mesmerizing smile the entire time.

"This card has a three-hundred-million-dollar credit limit."

Even though Evelina already knew Connor was outrageously generous when it suited him, she was still caught off guard by the scale of it.

The cheapest villa in Aurora Bay cost tens of millions.

Now he was also handing her a black card worth three hundred million without hesitation. Wasn't he worried she might simply take everything and disappear?

Cayson Scott, seated in the front passenger seat, was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.

Since when had Connor become this easygoing?

And for a woman who had just gotten out of prison, no less.

If any of the women who once chased after Connor had dared make demands-even the smallest one like holding the door for them, they probably would've disappeared before sunrise.

Evelina's eyes flickered slightly before she calmly accepted the black card.

Under the sunlight, her pale lips slowly curved into a cold, unsettling smile.

"Within one month, my new plan will earn you at least a billion dollars in profit. Your fifty million won't just pay off. It'll be the best investment you've ever made. After that, we can discuss a long-term partnership."

Her voice remained calm and steady, without arrogance or false modesty. Only a blazing excitement burned beneath it, sharp enough to sound almost dangerous.

Cayson was already beginning to suspect that Evelina didn't have any real ability at all and was simply trying to swindle them out of a fortune before disappearing.

Connor, however, only raised an interested eyebrow. Leaning back against the seat with effortless composure, he replied calmly, "Alright."

He didn't ask a single additional question.

It was as though Evelina had casually tossed out a live bomb, while to Connor, it was no more threatening than a small firecracker during the holidays.

That quiet "Alright" from him somehow felt even more unsettling to Cayson than Evelina's promise to earn him a billion dollars in just one month.

"Then I'll wait for your good news, Miss Brooks."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door slowly closed. The Cayenne made a smooth U-turn, sweeping past the hem of Evelina's faded denim skirt before driving away.

Evelina remained standing in place, the sharp edge of the black card pressing into her palm.

The back of her hand was covered in crossing scars that ruined the smooth skin that had once been delicate. The sight was shocking to look at.

At that moment, a man stepped out of the car that had remained behind and respectfully opened the rear door for her.

Evelina had just lifted her foot to get into the car when the sharp screech of brakes suddenly echoed from nearby. A Rolls-Royce sped in from another road and came to an abrupt stop behind her. The door swung open, and Sam Brooks, Evelina's brother, stepped out in a custom-tailored light gray suit.

"Eve, I've come to take you home."

Evelina tightened her grip, and the sharp edge of the black card dug painfully into her palm.

She slowly turned around. The wind swept her hair aside, exposing her pale face as her eyes met Sam's directly.

Sam froze for a moment. Her appearance had changed too much. So had the air around her. A trace of discomfort flashed through his eyes.

"Eve, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is learning from them. You've suffered enough these past four years, but Mom, Dad, and I have already forgiven you. You're still part of the Brooks family. That home will always have a place for you."

Evelina nearly laughed at the absurdity of it.

"You've forgiven me? Still part of the Brooks family? None of you visited me even once in those four years. So why pretend to be a caring family now?"

"Evelina!" Sam's expression darkened instantly. "Watch your tone when you speak to me. Is this how we taught you to behave? Where are your manners? What exactly happened to you?"

What happened to her?

Evelina's eyes slowly reddened, but she stubbornly forced the tears back.

A faint pink scar stretched across her otherwise pale neck. Under the sunlight, it looked rough and ugly.

She got that scar during her first year in prison. Someone had attacked her in the middle of the night with a sharpened toothbrush. If the wound had gone even a little deeper, she would've died then and there.

Back then, she hadn't understood why everyone hated her so much. She thought she deserved it for taking over sixteen years of Jolie Brooks' life and stealing the identity of the Brooks family's real daughter. The guilt had nearly crushed her.

She even believed she should pay for her biological mother's crime. According to the story everyone told her, the Brooks family's nanny had secretly switched the two babies at birth.

Then, when she was already being tortured to the point of breaking, Connor sent her the truth.

The evidence proved she had absolutely no blood relation to that nanny that she believed to be her biological mother. She had never been switched at birth. It was all a lie fabricated by Jolie to reclaim her place in the Brooks family.

And the most ridiculous part was that the Brooks family had known the truth from the very beginning.

Yet because of those lies, Evelina had been labeled the fake heiress and forced to endure endless hatred and humiliation from every direction.

The Brooks family forced Evelina to hand every one of her achievements over to Jolie. In the end, they even pushed her into prison to take the blame for Jolie's crimes. Inside that prison, she suffered through torment that nearly killed her.

The moment Evelina learned the truth, something inside her completely shattered.

She stopped enduring her inmates' abuse in silence. One by one, she retaliated against everyone who had hurt her with ruthless, merciless force. Only then did she finally realize where all the cruelty she endured in prison had really come from.

Jolie wanted her dead.

And the cruelest part was that Evelina had gone to prison for Jolie in the first place.

Sam frowned deeply at the coldness in her expression.

"When you get home, you should properly thank Jolie. You only got released early because she begged the Warren family on your behalf. And for the past four years, she's been taking care of Millie, after you put her in a coma. That's the only reason the Warren family finally let this matter go. You owe Jolie more than ever now."

Evelina let out a cold, furious laugh.

"Sam, you're unbelievably stupid. After four years, you still don't know who really hurt Millie? Jolie kept sending people after me in prison because she wanted me dead, so the truth stays buried. But forget that for now. Why don't you investigate what happened to every single one of those people afterward? And since you're seeing Jolie soon, tell her to wait for me. I'm going to settle everything."

After saying that, she walked straight toward the Porsche Cayenne Connor had left for her and got inside.

The driver respectfully closed the car door behind her. Before getting back into the driver's seat, he shot Sam a cold glance. The engine roared to life. With a sharp turn, the SUV sped away.

Dust from the tires swept into the air, partially blurring Sam's vision. He stood there watching the luxury Cayenne disappear into the distance, disbelief written all over his face.

Whose car was that?

And what exactly did Evelina mean by all those accusations?

Sam refused to believe a single word Evelina had said. Jolie was far too kindhearted. There was no way she would've sent people to hurt Evelina.

He drew in a slow breath.

"It's already been four years. I honestly thought prison would've changed her for the better. But she's still the same vicious person she used to be. Now she's even trying to frame Jolie. She's completely beyond saving."

Sam turned and walked back toward his car.

The sharp sound of his custom leather shoes echoed against the pavement as a cold fury settled over him.

"She already harmed Millie once. I won't let her hurt Jolie too. And if she still refuses to repent, I'll personally send her back to prison."

At Villa No. 8 in the exclusive Aurora Bay.

Only after Evelina stepped inside did she realize the villa sat in the most desirable spot in the entire district. It was also the most expensive property there, worth more than twenty million dollars.

She stood beneath the bright lights of the wide foyer, her gaze drifting across the luxurious interior. A cold smile touched her cracked lips.

She believed every bit of it belonged to her.

Back in prison, the moment she learned the truth, she'd completely fallen apart. The guards had thrown her into solitary confinement, the kind reserved for the most dangerous inmates, and kept her there for an entire month.

When she was finally released from solitary, one of Connor's men came to see her and offered her two options.

The first was to spend the rest of her life rotting away in prison like garbage.

The second was to become Connor's loyal dog. If she obeyed him, he'd give her everything she wanted, including the opportunity to take revenge.

She chose the second. But after gaining access to the resources Connor provided, she manipulated the market overnight and nearly destroyed the new stock his company had just released.

So when Connor's man visited her again, she already had bargaining power.

She told him plainly that she wouldn't be anyone's dog or puppet. If they were going to work together, then it would be as equals.

Her early release from prison came after she mastered everything Connor needed her to learn.

Besides, the plan she and Connor had built together was already about to begin, and they couldn't afford any delays.

So everything she owned now was simply part of their agreement.

The bathroom alone was ten times bigger than the cramped four-person prison cell she used to share. Evelina soaked herself in the hot bath and savored the warmth.

When she stepped out of the bathroom wearing a robe, she heard a man's voice from downstairs. It belonged to Jake, her driver and assistant.

"Miss Brooks, Mr. Payne sent some things over."

She walked to the railing on the second floor and looked down.

A line of bodyguards dressed in black stood inside the hall, each carrying pieces from the latest designer collections, including jewelry and luxury clothing. Nearby, rows of shoes had already been arranged neatly in place.

A trace of surprise flickered through her eyes.

She hadn't expected a man as reckless and unpredictable as Connor to be this attentive.

"Put everything in the dressing room."

She lifted a hand casually and accepted the gifts without hesitation.

Leaning against the second-floor railing, she watched the staff move busily around the villa for her sake. For the first time, the feeling truly settled in.

She had escaped that living hell and returned to a normal life. As for the people who had hurt her, deceived her, and betrayed her, none of them would get away with it.

Every member of the Brooks family would pay the price, one by one.

"Jake, I need you to investigate a few people for me."

...

Meanwhile, Sam returned to the Brooks family estate by himself.

Jolie had already prepared herself to put on a show, but the moment she noticed Evelina wasn't with him, her expression shifted slightly. She quickly forced out a few tears before walking toward him with a hurt expression.

"Sam, did Evelina refuse to come home with you? Is she still angry at me? Does she really think I stole her place? But this is my home too."

Seeing Jolie's gentle and fragile appearance only made Sam more certain that Evelina's earlier accusations had been cruel lies.

He pulled Jolie into his arms, feeling sorry for her, and spoke softly to comfort her. "Evelina's completely changed. She argued with me, then got into some stranger's car and drove off."

Their mother, Eliza Brooks, slammed her coffee cup onto the table in anger.

"She's a convicted criminal! The Brooks family is already showing her mercy by letting her come back, yet she still has the nerve to throw a fit?"

Jolie immediately looked anxious. "Do you know whose car it was? Where did she go? I need to find her and apologize. I have to convince her to come home."

Sam quickly stopped her and guided her back onto the sofa.

"Don't go looking for her. She won't last long outside by herself. Once she realizes that, she'll come back on her own."

Eliza interjected coldly, "Jolie, you don't owe Evelina anything. If anyone should suffer, it's her. She hasn't paid for what she's done yet, so don't pity her. I'll send people to bring her back myself. This is far from over, and she'll stay here and continue reflecting on her mistakes."

Realizing she wouldn't get any more useful information from them, Jolie quickly wiped away her tears. Then she pretended to sway weakly from dizziness. "Mom, Sam, I suddenly don't feel well. I think I should go upstairs and rest for a while."

The moment Eliza heard that, both anger and pity surged through her.

"This is all Evelina's fault! If it weren't for her, Jolie would've never suffered so much. She wouldn't have had such a difficult childhood, and her health wouldn't be this fragile. We've taken such good care of her, yet she still hasn't fully recovered. Just wait until I find Evelina. I'll make sure she learns her lesson!"

She then turned to Jolie and added softly, "Sweetheart, go upstairs and rest. I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some nourishing soup for you later."

Jolie nodded obediently. Then she deliberately wrapped her hand around Sam's arm. "Sam, don't be too hard on Evelina when she comes back. I know she can't accept me living here, but I'll still treat her well."

At that moment, she looked so delicate and innocent that anyone who saw her would've felt sorry for her.

Sam gently rubbed her hair and nodded.

The last bit of doubt he had about Jolie disappeared completely.

For a moment, Sam thought their mother might've gone too far with Evelina, but he never once believed Jolie would do the same.

The second Jolie stepped into her bedroom, the gentle and graceful expression on her face vanished completely.

She immediately pulled out her phone and called her assistant. "Find out whose car picked Evelina up from prison."

Her assistant responded right away, and then sent back an update not long after.

"It belongs to Connor Payne."

"Connor?" Jolie froze in shock, her eyes widening. "That's impossible."

Connor was Millie Warren's uncle, and Evelina was the person supposedly responsible for hurting her. There was no reason for him to personally send someone to pick Evelina up from prison.

More importantly, Connor was infamous throughout Rufmond's business world. Cold, ruthless, and untouchable. How could a man like him possibly know someone like Evelina?

"Are you certain it was Connor's car?"

"Yes. Connor purchased six identical Porsche Cayennes. The car that picked Evelina up today was one of them. The driver was also one of Connor's assistants, Jake."

The moment she heard that explanation, Jolie suddenly understood everything.

"I see now."

After ending the call, she let out a mocking laugh.

"Evelina, you're even more pathetic than I thought. So you seduced Connor's assistant and convinced him to use his boss' car to pick you up. What an idiot! You don't even realize how badly you've doomed yourself."

She turned toward the full-length mirror and admired her flawless figure wrapped in an expensive designer outfit. A smug smile slowly curved across her lips as she swayed her hips slightly.

"If Connor learns about this, he won't spare either Evelina or that assistant. That should be entertaining to watch."