From Suffering To Power System

7. I know you

[ Task Completed ]

[ Accumulated EXP: 40 ]

[ Total EXP: 80 ]

[ Strength: 4% permanently increased ]

[ Endurance: 2% permanently increased ]

[ Reward: $10,000,000 ]

Owen woke up slowly to the system’s display. He wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious, but he was certain of one thing—ten million dollars was a lot of money.

“Damn… I’m rich,” he muttered.

There was no time to imagine everything he could do with it, not when he couldn’t recognize where he was.

The mattress beneath him was soft, and the air smelled fresh—nothing like the cheap hotel he had intended to book. His gaze swept across the room. It was elegant, with a cute chandelier hanging above. It looked like it belonged to a wealthy princess.

Whose room is this? he wondered.

Then his eyes landed on a framed photo on the wall, and realization struck.

He remembered the fight, the speed, the bullets and the way she had screamed. Now he was lying in her room, on her bed.

“The cashier?” Owen whispered, stunned. If she was this wealthy, why would she work at a shabby hotel? It didn’t make any sense.

Still processing everything, Owen heard voices outside the room. One belonged to the cashier. The other was a man, his tone sharp and angry.

Owen stepped off the bed quietly and leaned toward the door, eavesdropping.

“Dad, please,” she pleaded.

“No,” the man snapped. “That boy is trouble. You saw the news. You saw he’s wanted by the cops, and still is. How can you want him to sleep over in my house? No!”

“He saved my life,” she shot back.

“And so what? That doesn’t change the fact that he’s a criminal. He broke out of prison,” he continued. “I’m trying to secure a partnership with the Hudson Empire. That will change our lives forever. I can’t risk my reputation just to accommodate a criminal.”

“Dad, lower your voice,” she pleaded. “He could be awake. Look, I was the one who called the cops on him at the hotel. I wanted to turn him in. Then the robbers came, and he saved my life. Maybe the cops are wrong about him. You know how the law works in this city, it’s controlled by the rich and the corrupt.”

Inside the room, Owen gasped softly.

Now he understood why the system had called it a trap and why she had suddenly offered him a free room.

Her father grunted. “Enough. Just tonight. By tomorrow morning, he’s gone. Understood?”

“Thank you,” she replied quickly.

Owen rushed back to the bed. He had barely pulled the blanket over himself when the door opened and she stepped inside.

She looked at him and smiled. “You’re awake?”

“Yeah,” Owen nodded. “And I’m wondering how I got here. This is your house, I suppose?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “It is. You collapsed after the fight, so I hid you before the cops arrived. I couldn’t leave you at the hotel, so I brought you home. Thank you for saving my life.”

Owen ignored the last part and stood up immediately. “I should go.”

“What?” She stood as well. “It’s very late, and the cops are still looking for you. Don’t you think it’s dangerous out there?”

Owen took a step toward the door, then paused, his brows furrowing. “You wanted to turn me in. Why do you care all of a sudden?”

“You saved my life,” she replied quickly. She stepped closer and met his eyes. “I’m sorry. I thought you were a bad person, one of those guys who roam the streets. I was wrong.”

“No,” Owen shook his head. “If I hadn’t saved you, you would’ve turned me in. I don’t know why the system didn’t warn me, or why it let me save you.”

“System?”

“Forget it,” he said. “Thank you for bringing me here, but I have to leave. Your father never wanted me here anyway.”

Without another word, Owen walked out of the room. She followed him.

“Wait! I know you, Owen!”

He stopped and turned sharply. “We attend the same school. Different faculties,” she continued. “Now I understand why you’re out here. Why you keep getting into trouble with the police.”

“How?” Owen asked. “How long was I out?”

“About four hours. But that’s not important. Your video is all over the internet. People are supporting you. They think what happened to you was unfair. You were betrayed by someone you loved… and I know how that feels.”

“You don’t,” Owen snapped.

“I do!” she snapped back. “Brad was my first boyfriend. I thought what we had was real. Then he dumped me for another girl... on my birthday. He uses people. He’s rich, his family’s powerful, and no one can touch him.”

Owen smiled faintly. “Unless you’re richer and more powerful.”

He turned toward the door. “I have to go. Thank you… what’s your name?”

“Emily.”

“Thank you, Emily. We might meet again in college. I’m not done with Brad yet.”

Without looking back, Owen left the house.

He walked carefully, sticking to darker streets, watching for any taxi that might take him somewhere safe. Suddenly, a car pulled over. The window rolled down, and a man called out.

“Hey, Owen. What are you doing out here?”

Owen stiffened. He didn’t recognize the man, and he didn’t trust anyone anymore.

“Get in,” the man said casually, like they were old friends.

Before Owen could refuse, the system screen lit up.

[ Get in. ]

***************************

By the next morning, news about Owen and Brad’s clash had circulated all over town. Almost everyone had video of that night on their devices, and it was insane how much support Owen had received from the masses. Valentines faced so much hate from the media that she remained in the dormitory all day, ditching classes and even skipping breakfast.

In addition, no one, not even Valentine had heard from Brad. There was no news about his state. Was he dead or alive? No one knew. She tried calling him a couple of times, but it went straight to voicemail. It felt as though her world was crashing down, and she had Owen to blame for it.

While lying on her back, Valentine’s roommate barged into the room, horror written all over her face. Seeing this, Val sat up immediately.

“What is wrong?”

“Have you not seen?” she asked, unlocking her phone and handing it over to Valentine. “Brad is dead.”

Those words hit Val like a shockwave. It felt as though her heart stopped, then sank. Her body went numb as she read the statement released by the Lutherson family concerning the death of their son and heir.

“What?” Val gasped, but something was off. To her, everything was off.

Brad was known to always cause trouble, and this wasn’t the first time he had been brutally dealt with by a fellow student who couldn’t stand him. What Owen had done to him could not compare to what had been done to Brad in the past, so it had to be something else. However, Brad’s family made it clear that Owen was responsible for their son’s death, framing him as a murderer and demanding that he must be found.

They even pledged a large sum of one million dollars to anyone who turned him in to the cops.

“This is bullshit,” Valentine exclaimed, returning the phone to her roommate. “Brad cannot die from some little blows on the face. That’s nonsense.”

“So you think they are lying?”

Val shook her head. “I know they are lying. This is just because his social status has been damaged by the video that resurfaced online. His family wants to get rid of Owen at all costs, and so do I. I know this game.”

Her roommate looked her in the eye and said, “You might be wrong.”

“I am not.” With that, Valentine returned to her bed. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that there might be a possibility, but she refused to accept it.

Her phone dinged in that moment, and as soon as she picked it up, her eyes widened in disbelief. It was a text message from Brad, and it read:

“I am fine, Val, but I have to stay hidden for now until Owen is dealt with. Do not worry, he will be dead before you know it.”

After reading that, a sinister smile appeared on Valentine’s face. She was right all along, Brad was alive but she could not tell anyone. Now all she had to do was find Owen. She hadn’t thought of it until now, but she had better chances at finding Owen than most people. After all, she knew him better than they all did.

Even though he was hiding, Val believed that she knew just how to lure him out and hand him over to the cops to be executed. If she succeeded, not only would it change the public view of her, but it would also strengthen her connection with the Lutherson family.

“It is a win-win situation,” she thought to herself, holding back an evil laugh threatening to escape her lips.

“You know his family, don’t you?” asked her roommate. “At least he must have taken you to them at some point in your relationship. I think it’s best you pay them a visit rather than just conclude that it’s all a lie.”

Even before she finished speaking, Val broke down in tears. It was crazy how swiftly she could change her emotion—quite an actress.

“I… I don’t know. I am scared,” she said, voice cracking. “What if he is dead? I cannot do without him.” She acted as though she had been bottling in the tears all along, and even her roommate started to sympathize with her.