Chapter 5
Ever since Skr had been young, Vi had warned her that she shouldn’t put the skills Vi had taught
her to use before she got married.
That was the case for the knowledge Skr had learned from Vi’s books as well. Vi had also told
her not to disclose what she had learned to Janine. Otherwise, she would be in deep trouble.
Back in Skr’s previous life. Christopher’s mother, Amelia Campbell, had needed roughly one million dors to cover the expenses for her kidney transnt.
Unable to bear the sight of Christopher being distraught, Skr had secretly helped someone restore a
painting. She had gotten exactly one million dors in return.
A few days after that, she had gone shopping with Sadie. When she had seen a truck speeding toward
them, she had shoved Sadie aside without thinking twice.
That was how Skr had ended up being paralyzed from the waist down.
Fortunately, none of those events had yet to happen in Skr’s current life. She had not seen Vi again,
not even before she had died in her past life.
As Skr read the letter Vi had left for her, she couldn’t contain her emotions any longer. The sense of familiarity in Vi’s handwriting made the flood of tears give way.
Skr learned from the letter that Vi had made onest divination.
Vi had given thest of her fortune to Skr, having predicted that Skr would encounter a cmity
in her life so great that it would probably kill her.
She might not even live past three years
In the letter, Vi also said that if Skr were reading this letter, it meant that she had survived that cmity, akin to the rebirth of <b>a </b>phoenix. Now, Skr knew no limits but the skies.
Finally, Vi told her that they would eventually meet someday. Their reunion wasn’t supposed to be
forced.
When Skr was young, she had wanted to learn divinations from Vi. Vi had turned her down,
saying that it wasn’t a gift to be able to read divinations.
Though Skr wasn’t as skilled as Vi was, she could still sense whether certain antiques were auspicious or inauspicious. Later, she had focused more on Vi’s books instead.
“Oh, dear, Skyel Why are you crying? Is something wrong?” The sight of Skr crying made Gloria’s heart
ache.
For some reason, she felt awash in anguish whenever she saw Skr’s tears. Noting how aggrieved Skr seemed, she was suddenly reminded of something
<b>“</b>Grandma, I’m fine. I just miss <b>Grandma </b>Vi too much.” Skr’s tears subsided, and she smiled. She didn’t want Gloria to worry.
After a while, Gloria called Joe in secret while Skr was in the bathroom. “You brat, did you give Skye a hard time at the courthouse today?”
Joe was about to leave afterpleting his <b>work</b>. He was stunned by Gloria’s question. “What did she tell
you?”
I
Gloria snorted. “She didn’t say a thing. Have <b>you </b>forgotten how perceptive I am? I could tell she’s upset.”
“It wasn’t me.” Joe strode toward the elevator, pressing his temples. What was Skr trying to gain from
Gloria?
He
thought she would abide by the terms of their agreement when they had registered for their marriage
earlier. Now, it appeared that she was quite shrewd,
A cold glint shed across Joe’s eyes.
“It’s better not be you! Come over and pick her up tonight. Remember the task I gave you–I need a great-
grandchild as soon as possible,” Gloria ordered before hanging up.
Joe felt utterly helpless. Just as the elevator arrived, he noticed that Paul seemed disoriented. He had
been distracted ever since he had dropped Skr off at Pearlhall Residence.
“What’s wrong with you?” Joe asked.
Sullenly, Paul produced the emerald charm, which was still on his neck. He told Joe about everything Skr had <b>said </b>in front of the mansion. They were the only ones in the elevator.
Paul asked, “Did I offend Ms. Williams in any sort? That would exin why she spooked me out. Such
superstitiousness is absurd.”
It was just an emerald charm. How could Skr possibly tell if it was looted from a dead person?
Joe raised his eyebrows, <b>and </b>his expression hardened. He felt like Gloria had been tricked by Skr.
“Just ignore her,” he said coldly.
Paul nodded fervently. “Alright.”
He finally felt at ease after being in turmoil for an hour
he figured Skr must have intended to frighten him.
or two. Now that Joe had told him to ignore Skr,
As he marveled at how valuable the charm was, he thought it would serve as a great family heirloom. He nned to pass it down through the generations of his family.
The elevator descended to the first floor rapidly. Just as it reached the 30th floor, it suddenly shook. violently. The lights in the elevator flickered thrice before returning to normal.
They figured it was just a minor malfunction, but the elevator suddenly plummeted downward at an rming speed. Even Joe, who was usuallyposed, seemed slightly perturbed.
<b>Paul’s </b>eyes widened. “Holy crap!” Was he going to die here today?
The lights in the elevatorpletely died down.
“Mr. Martin!” Paul shrieked in terror.
Eerily, the elevator came to a sudden halt just as it was about to <b>crash </b>to the ground. The lights that had gone out earlier illuminated the entire elevator again, as if their earlier predicament had just been an
illusion.
Paul gulped. He btedly realized he was sitting in the corner in a sorry state, whereas Joe seemed unscathed. His gaze seemed more intense than usual.
After surviving the ordeal, he instinctively nced down at the emerald charm <b>resting </b>on his neck. Damn, this was creepy!
Pulling the charm off his neck, Paul scrutinized it. “Why do I feel like Ms. Williams wasn’t joking with me?”
Joe arched his brows. Not once had he ever indulged in <b>such </b>superstitious beliefs.
He nced up at the ceiling of the elevator and said, “Call the technicians over and have them thoroughly inspect and repair all the elevators in the building. The elevators must be usable tomorrow.”Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Alright!”
As Joe strode out of the elevator, Paul remarked nervously, “Mr. Martin, could you help me ask Ms. Williams whether she was joking or not? Can I still wear this thing?”
Paul would never have been this conflicted if it hadn’t been for the incident earlier.
ncing over at the exquisite emerald charm in Paul’s hands, Joe replied, “Wear it. It was just an ident earlier.” He implied that Paul shouldn’t give much heed to Skr’s advice.
Paul thought Joe made a lot of sense. “I’ll call the technicians now.”
He figured the entire technical support team would seemingly lose their bonuses. How could they trap Joe in the elevator and have him experience a terrifying ordeal?
It seemed like they would have to pull an all–nighter to inspect all the elevators now.
When Joe arrived at Pearlhall Residence, he noted how delighted Gloria looked.
She hadn’t <b>been </b>particrly warm to him for the past few years, but she was nowughing heartily with Skr as they watched a dating variety show on television.