The sleek smartphone on the marble kitchen counter buzzed for the fiftieth time. The screen lit up with Ryan's face, showing a handsome, smiling portrait that used to make Elena's heart skip a beat.
Now, looking at that same face only made her stomach churn with deep disgust.
She did not pick up. She did not even press the volume button to silence the ringing. She just sat perfectly still, watching the screen glow, die down into darkness, and immediately light up again with another incoming call.
Fifty times. He had been trying to reach her for the last three hours, his panic clearly growing with every single unanswered ring.
A small text notification popped up right after the latest call timed out. This one was not from Ryan. It was from Sophia.
"Elena, sweetie, where are you? Ryan is completely losing his mind. He called me crying because you left the apartment without saying anything. Please text him back, we're both so worried about you!"
Elena stared at the glowing words, a cold, mocking smile playing on her lips.
"Worried about me?" she thought. "No. You are worried about the bank account. You are worried because your free ride is about to crash."
In her past life, Elena would have felt incredibly guilty reading a text like that. She would have apologized instantly, running back to make sure Ryan was okay, deeply touched that Sophia cared so much about their well-being.
But Elena knew everything now. She knew that behind those sweet, sisterly words, Sophia was probably sitting in a high-end cafe, waiting for Ryan to bring her a brand-new designer bag bought with Elena's money.
Every nice text Sophia had ever sent was just a weapon to keep Elena blind, compliant, and working like a dog to fund their secret romance.
Elena swiped the notification away carelessly. She had absolutely no intention of confronting them. Not yet.
Confrontation was for the weak who wanted closure or explanations. Elena did not need closure; she wanted survival, and she wanted retribution.
Arguments were a total waste of breath. True betrayal deserved a silent, crushing blow.
She pulled her laptop closer and opened her online banking portal. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
First, she logged into the primary checking account. It was a joint account, but legally, every single dollar inside belonged to her.
It was the remainder of her parents' inheritance and her own hard-earned salary from her corporate job. Ryan had never contributed a single penny to it.
With a few quick clicks, she transferred the entire balance, hundreds of thousands of dollars into a brand-new, private account that required facial recognition to access.
The screen refreshed, and the joint account balance plummeted instantly.
[Current Balance: $0.00]
Elena smiled, the reflection of the screen glowing in her dark eyes.
Next, she opened her credit card management app. She held three premium credit cards, all under her name, with authorized user cards given to Ryan for his "emergencies."
She selected his cards one by one and clicked the big red button on the screen: Cancel Authorized User.
"Let's see how you pay for your expensive lunches and luxury gifts now, Ryan," she thought.
She did not stop there. Over the next hour, she methodically changed the passwords to her personal email, her social media accounts, her streaming services, and every single utility account tied to the apartment.
She systematically erased Ryan's existence from her digital world, locking him out of the luxury lifestyle he took for granted.
An hour later, the heavy thud of the doorbell rang through the quiet apartment.
It was not Ryan, he rarely came back before evening. It was a professional locksmith she had hired through an emergency app, paying triple the standard rate to ensure they arrived immediately.
The locksmith worked quickly, unscrewing the old digital deadbolt and replacing it with a heavy, military-grade smart lock system.
"All set, ma'am," the worker said, wiping sweat from his brow as he handed her a pair of encrypted backup keycards.
"This is the best model on the market. It uses a rolling encryption code, biometric scanning, and a built-in alarm. No one is getting through this door without your direct permission."
"Thank you," Elena said, handing him a generous cash tip.
Once the door closed and locked automatically with a heavy, satisfying click, Elena opened the lock's companion app on her smartphone.
She went into the user settings and completely deleted Ryan's fingerprint profile, then revoked his digital keycard access.
He was officially a stranger to this building. To complete her setup, she adjusted the angle of the hidden, high-definition security camera disguised as a smoke detector right outside her front door.
The live feed streamed directly to her phone in crystal-clear quality.
As the sun began to set, painting the city skyline in deep shades of orange and purple, Elena sat comfortably on her plush sofa.
She held a mug of warm tea, her eyes fixed on her phone screen. On the live camera feed, a familiar figure finally stepped out of the elevator at the end of the long hallway.
It was Ryan. He looked completely exhausted, his dark hair messy, and his brow furrowed in deep frustration.
He was holding a plastic grocery bag, probably expecting her to be waiting inside to cook dinner for him.
He strode confidently up to her apartment door and reached out, pressing his thumb against the glossy biometric scanner.
Beep. Beep. Access Denied.
Ryan blinked, looking confused. He wiped his thumb on his jeans, blew on it, and pressed it against the glass again, pressing much harder this time.
Beep. Beep. Access Denied.
"What the hell?" Ryan muttered. His voice was muffled, but it came through her phone speakers perfectly clear due to the high-quality microphone on the camera.
He pulled out his phone, trying to open the apartment's digital keycard app.
The moment the app loaded, a bright red error message flashed across his screen:
Access Privileges Revoked by Primary Account Owner.
Ryan's face turned bright red. The confusion on his features instantly morphed into an ugly, explosive rage.
He raised his fist and began slamming it violently against the heavy wooden door.
"Elena! Open the damn door!" he screamed, his voice echoing loudly down the quiet, carpeted hallway.
"What is wrong with you? Why did you change the lock? Open up right now!"
Elena watched the screen, taking a slow, calm sip of her warm tea. Her heart did not race.
She did not feel a single shred of fear, guilt, or regret.
Watching him completely lose his mind brought an incredibly cold sense of satisfaction to her chest.
"Elena! I know you're in there!" Ryan roared, kicking the bottom of the door with his heavy boot.
The sudden impact caused the plastic grocery bag to slip from his fingers. A carton of milk burst open on the floor, splashing white liquid and raw vegetables all over the clean hallway carpet.
"Stop playing these stupid games! You think this is funny? You're completely crazy!"
The noise was absolutely deafening in the upscale, quiet residential building.
Within minutes, the heavy wooden doors of the neighboring apartments began to click open one by one.
An elderly woman from next door poked her head out, her face twisted in pure annoyance.
"Young man, what is the meaning of this awful racket? Stop screaming and throwing tantrums, or I am calling building security and the police!"
A tall businessman from across the hall stepped out, crossing his arms and glaring directly at Ryan.
"Hey, buddy, keep it down. Some of us are trying to work. If your girlfriend locked you out, you clearly did something to deserve it. Clean up your mess and get lost."
Ryan looked around wildly, suddenly realizing he was completely surrounded by angry neighbors.
His chest heaved as he panted heavily, his face burning with absolute embarrassment. He was a man who cared deeply about his public image, always wanting to look perfect, gentle, and elite.
Now, he looked like a pathetic, unhinged maniac throwing a temper tantrum over spilled milk in a public hallway.
"This... this is just a misunderstanding," Ryan stammered, trying desperately to lower his voice, but his hands were shaking violently with rage. He glared at the apartment door one last time, whispering harshly, "You'll regret this, Elena."
He turned on his heel and practically sprinted back toward the elevator, trying to hide his bright red face from the judging glares of the neighbors.
Elena looked down at her phone screen as the elevator doors slid shut behind him. The hallway was peaceful once again.
Suddenly, a loud, clear chime echoed directly inside her mind.
The transparent blue system screen materialized in the air, glowing softly in the dim light of her living room.
[Mission One Complete: First chain successfully broken. Target removed from personal territory.]
[Reward Distributed: 20 Survival Points.]
[Current Balance: 20 Survival Points. Shop function unlocking soon...]
Elena leaned back against the soft cushions of her sofa, her cold eyes staring at the floating system text.
