I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind-Chapter 108 - 106: The Unchangeable Ending

CLACK. Mia Grant dropped her chopsticks.

"What’s wrong?" Yates Donovan looked at her, confused. "Where are you going? Aren’t you going to eat?"

"The restroom."

"..."

The restroom door closed, blocking his gaze from following her.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Yates Donovan came to his senses and slowly put down his chopsticks.

’This reaction... something’s not right.’

’When Hayes Hughes was hurt by Silas Grant, Mia Grant didn’t have this strong of a reaction.’

’I don’t get it.’

’In his impression, Mia Grant’s feelings for Silas Grant... couldn’t really be called ’like’.’

’Or had he misjudged things?’

Mia Grant washed her face. As she cupped her hands to catch the water, her fingertips were still trembling.

She summoned the System.

[Host?]

Mia Grant stared at her reflection in the mirror, belatedly turning off the faucet. She got straight to the point. "In the original novel, the male lead who dies in the end—is it possible that it’s Silas Grant?"

The System didn’t understand. [Do you have any basis for this, Host?]

She shook her head. "Just... a gut feeling."

"I’m not sure either, but the lion I dreamed about was injured just like Silas Grant, and then it died."

[But Host, that was just a dream. You do not possess the ability to foresee the future.]

"Don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence?"

[It is a coincidence, but only a coincidence. There is currently no further evidence to support your speculation.]

[According to our data, Silas Grant is an extreme egoist and a supreme ambitionist. He would not commit suicide, nor would he give anyone an opportunity to harm him.]

[Among all the male leads, Silas Grant is the least likely one.]

Mia Grant also found it a bit absurd. She pinched the bridge of her nose, her tone calming. "How did Silas Grant get injured in Portia?"

It was Mr. Hughes again. The System briefly explained what had happened.

Coupled with its cold, monotonous voice, Mia Grant felt a chill run down her spine.

She couldn’t help but touch her own hands.

A bead of water still clung to her palm. As she lifted her hand, it slid off and burst on the countertop, instantly shattering into pieces.

Just like the beast’s corpse.

Falling from a great height, and in an instant, the entire stream was dyed red...

Mia Grant shook her head, trying to forget the bloody image from her dream for a moment.

The location of the wounds was startlingly similar—both were piercing injuries.

’If that beast really was Silas Grant...’

"If—and I’m just saying if."

Mia Grant removed her hands from the counter where she’d been leaning and slowly straightened up.

"If he really dies, will that affect me?"

[It will, Host.]

[The premature death of this male lead, or the death of any other male lead, will directly affect your mission progress.]

[When you first transmigrated into the book, your mission was to play out the original female supporting character’s plotline and facilitate the development of the main couple’s romantic arc. During that time, no key plot points could be altered.]

[But later... due to my error, your mission changed. It became to prevent the male leads from blackening, lower everyone’s blackening value, and stop the original novel’s world from collapsing.]

[During this period, any key plot point can be changed.]

[With one exception—losing a target.]

[Once a male lead dies, you will lose a target.]

Mia Grant was lost in thought.

After a moment, she asked, "No matter what happens between me and them, as long as I complete my mission, the book’s ending won’t change, right?"

"In other words, does the male lead who dies in the original ending *have* to die?"

[That is correct, Host.]

[Regardless of which direction the plot develops in the meantime, several key events in the ending are absolutely unchangeable.]

[This also means that the male lead in question cannot escape his fate of death.]

[No matter how it happens, he will definitely depart this world at that key plot point.]

’That key plot point...’

’Serena Grant’s twentieth birthday!’

’There’s less than a year and a half left.’

Mia Grant took a deep breath, trying to piece together all the information.

Her mission was broken down into three objectives.

First, lower the male leads’ blackening values to a controllable range. Keeping the values consistently below fifty would be considered a success.

Second, prevent any of the male leads from dying before the ending arrives.

Third, identify the male lead who is fated to die unexpectedly at the end.

As things stood, Felix Sinclair had suicidal tendencies. Kian Keller could barely be counted as well, since he had been decadent for a long time.

From the perspective of being murdered, Ian Sinclair, Hayes Hughes, and Yates Donovan were all possibilities.

That only left Silas Grant.

The System was right; Silas Grant was indeed the one who least fit the criteria.

He was the safest.

But Mia Grant had no intention of ruling him out.

She tried calling Silas Grant, but it didn’t go through.

She then tried Hayes Hughes, but there was no answer on his end either...

In her dream, the beast had escorted her to the exit.

She had asked it to come with her, but it shook its head and disappeared back into the depths of the forest.

She had no concept of time in the dream, but she felt she must have returned quickly with rescuers.

It had fallen shortly before she got back.

That’s why she was worried that Silas Grant might also, shortly after this injury...

The restroom door was shoved open violently. Startled, Yates Donovan squeezed his hand, and the piece of fish he had just meticulously deboned crumbled into a paste.

"Yates Donovan."

She called his name, her voice serious and firm.

Yates Donovan paused, tilting his head.

"Yeah?"

He blinked rapidly.

"I want to go to Portia."

Yates Donovan glanced at the time. "Now?"

"Yes, right now."

"It might not be safe for me to go alone, so I wanted to ask..."

’When asking for a favor, you naturally have to have the right attitude.’

Mia Grant considered her words carefully, and the plea was on the tip of her tongue, but Yates Donovan didn’t give her the chance to say it.

"Alright," he said from across the table, smiling as he set down his chopsticks.

Mia Grant’s eyelashes trembled.

She had prepared three different approaches—threats, bribes, and wheedling.

’And she didn’t have to use any of them?!’

While she was still dazed, Yates Donovan had already stood up and stretched. "I’ve been bored to death these past two days. Finally, something fun to liven things up."

After a long silence, she asked, "Aren’t you curious about what I’m going to do there?"

He shrugged, unconcerned.

"Then you’ll just go with me like that? Aren’t you afraid something will happen?"

He hadn’t asked a single thing.

Yates Donovan scoffed. "Listening to your tone, it sounds like you’re about to do something big."

"But since you want to go, I guess I have no choice but to risk my life and accompany you, you little brat."

"..."

He snapped his fingers. "Snap out of it."

"Get changed. We’re leaving."

A private jet landed at the Portia airport.

When someone looked over, Mia Grant immediately pulled the scarf around her neck higher to hide her face.

Outside the door to the special access channel, there was a dense crowd of people who all looked like bodyguards.

It was impossible to see who the person being surrounded in the middle was.

She tugged on Yates Donovan’s sleeve. "Look over there."

Yates Donovan followed her gaze, an eyebrow arching in surprise.

"Want to go over and say hi?"

"Is it someone you know? Or someone I know?"

Yates Donovan casually wrapped an arm around her and pointed. "Sweetheart, see that wheelchair the bodyguard is carrying? Doesn’t it look familiar?"