The new intern suggested a team-building event at my family's cherry orchard. Ignoring my pleas, they set up barbecues, chopped down trees, and stripped the branches bare. The damage was catastrophic. Even the Queen Cherry, our most prized tree, was scorched and left for dead. Faced with massive breach-of-contract fines and their livelihood destroyed, my parents saw no way out. They drank pesticide and died in the orchard they had loved. My eyes burning with grief, I went to confront the intern, Jessica, to demand an answer. But she just played the victim, collapsing into the arms of the mayor's son, Patrick. "Molly, we paid you for the venue," she sobbed. "You can't try to extort more money from me now." Patrick rallied the other townspeople to his side. "This is your family's mismanagement, Molly. It has nothing to do with Jessica. You can't take advantage of her good nature like this." Outnumbered and alone, I backed away, step by agonizing step, until I stumbled and fell into the nearby pond. I drowned with their accusations ringing in my ears. When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back on the day the intern invited everyone to my family’s orchard. 1 "Hey, doesn't Molly's family own a cherry orchard?" The voice of the new intern, Jessica, sliced through the office chatter. I glanced at my phone, my heart seizing when I saw the date. I was back. I had been reborn. "I even got the boss to approve a huge budget for it!" she continued, her voice bright and bubbly. "There's going to be food, drinks, games, and even cash prizes!" Jessica had a talent for whipping up enthusiasm. She turned to me, her smile wide and innocent. "And don't worry, Molly. The company will pay you a generous venue fee. Your family won't lose out." A colleague nudged me, whispering, "Wow, Molly, easy money. You'd better treat Jessica to a nice dinner for setting this up." It was happening all over again, a perfect, nightmarish replay. My breath caught in my throat. In my last life, heavy rains had led to a bumper crop for everyone in the region, driving prices down. The idea of having the team from work consume some of the surplus while bringing in extra income had seemed like a godsend. I had agreed without a second thought. But the moment they arrived, they set up barbecue pits without asking. Under Jessica's direction, they turned it into a competition: who could chop down the most branches for firewood, who could pick the most cherries. I had tried to stop them, but Jessica just blinked her wide, innocent eyes at me. "Molly, you have more cherries than you know what to do with. Don't be so stingy." My other colleagues had chimed in, grumbling that I was being a killjoy. "We paid to be here. What we do with the cherries is our business." They ignored my protests, their destruction growing more reckless by the hour. By the end of the day, they left the orchard a complete wreck, bragging about their "achievements." But their carelessness had a deadlier consequence. An ember from a barbecue pit, left smoldering, caught the dry grass. The fire spread with terrifying speed. By the time we got it under control, our most valuable asset, the ancient Queen Cherry tree, was nothing but a charred husk. Without the Queen's unique harvest to fulfill our most important contract, we were facing financial ruin. And with the tree gone, any hope of rebuilding was extinguished. My parents, staring at the devastation, had simply given up. They shared a bottle of pesticide and left me alone in the wreckage of our lives. The memory of their bodies, of the acrid taste of pond water filling my lungs, solidified into a cold, hard resolve. I gritted my teeth and looked Jessica dead in the eye. "My family doesn't welcome outsiders," I said, my voice cutting through the office buzz. "And we don't need your money." A wave of groans and complaints rippled through the room. "It's just a few stupid cherries. What's the big deal?" "Honestly, if Jessica hadn't suggested it, I wouldn't be caught dead in that backwater town." "She's offering you money and you're turning it down? What a waste of Jessica's kindness." Jessica, ever the performer, pressed on. "Molly, if the budget is the issue, I can talk to the boss and see if we can get more." I shot her a withering look. "My family's orchard is worth over a million dollars. Is that in your budget?" Her eyes instantly filled with tears. "Molly, if I did something to offend you, you can just tell me. This was a project the boss approved. If I have to change it last minute, it could affect my performance review... my chance to become a permanent employee." Her display of vulnerability immediately rallied the others to her defense. "Are you trying to sabotage her, Molly? Are you jealous that the new girl is getting noticed?" "My god, are you that greedy? A million dollars? Get real." I let out a short, cold laugh, standing my ground. "The price is two million. Upfront. Otherwise, stay the hell away from my home." 2 I couldn't get home fast enough. The sight of my parents, still vibrant and alive, working among the trees, sent a wave of relief so powerful it brought tears to my eyes. I made a silent vow: this time, I would not let the tragedy happen. Just then, my phone rang. A private number. It was a telemarketer. "Hello, are you interested in learning more about property damage insurance?" My finger hovered over the hang-up button, then froze. "Tell me more," I said, my voice urgent. "Does it cover any and all property damage? What if... what if an orchard is intentionally vandalized?" "As long as the beneficiary isn't committing fraud, we cover all forms of property loss," the agent replied. Adrenaline surged through me. "Sign me up," I said, my voice trembling with excitement. "Give me the highest possible coverage you offer." After securing a multi-million dollar policy on the orchard, a weight I didn't know I was carrying lifted from my shoulders. No matter what Jessica and her cronies pulled, my family wouldn't be ruined. When I hung up, my parents greeted me with a proud smile. "The Queen Cherry is having her best year yet," my father said. "If she wins at the state fair, we can double our prices for the whole harvest." A sharp pain lanced through my chest, remembering the magnificent tree reduced to ash. I wouldn't let that happen. Not again. On a hunch, I made another call, this time to a renowned horticulturalist, a leading expert on rare fruit varietals, asking if he would be willing to come out for an official appraisal of the Queen Cherry. To my surprise and relief, he revered the Queen Cherry by reputation alone and happily agreed. Now, all the pieces were in place. Let them come. This time, I was ready. Just as I predicted, despite my firm refusal at the office, a convoy of cars pulled up to our orchard early Saturday morning. Jessica led the charge, a whole company of my colleagues in tow. She put on her sweetest smile for my parents. "We've heard so much about your amazing cherries! We were just so excited to come and see for ourselves." My parents, flattered by the praise, welcomed them with open arms, telling everyone to eat as much as they liked. Hearing this, my colleagues started snickering behind my back. "Two million dollars? I wouldn't pay two hundred bucks for this dump." I trembled with a rage so deep it was almost paralyzing. They were taking my parents' simple, heartfelt generosity and twisting it into something pathetic, something to be mocked. They would gorge themselves on our hospitality, destroy our livelihood, and leave without a backward glance, pockets full of company prize money. And it was all Jessica's fault. Just you wait, I thought, a cold fury settling in my heart. Just wait until the expert gets here and tells you exactly what that tree you're about to destroy is worth. My parents soon left for a growers' training seminar in the city. I stayed behind and quietly set up a tripod and camera in a discreet corner of the orchard. Jessica noticed me fiddling with the equipment and sauntered over, dripping with condescension. "The boss put me in charge of the main event, so I guess that leaves you on grunt work, huh, Molly?" A few others laughed. "You're just so capable, Jessica. The boss was smart to put you in charge." "Yeah, not like some people who are just greedy and try to pass off garbage as treasure. Can you imagine her in charge? She'd probably pocket all the prize money." "Make sure you take the lens cap off, Molly. Wouldn't want you to screw up the one easy job you have." I gritted my teeth. "Don't worry," I said, my voice dangerously low. "I'm going to capture every single thing you do today." 3 Under Jessica's direction, they started the barbecue pits. Then came the "games"—chopping down branches for firewood and stripping trees of their fruit in a race to see who could gather the most. Last time, I had held onto a sliver of hope that they would see reason, so I hadn't physically stopped them. A fatal mistake. They had left without properly extinguishing the coals, and the resulting fire had consumed everything. No one had offered sympathy. We were officially reprimanded for failing to protect our property and endangering the neighboring orchards. When I confronted Jessica, she denied everything, accusing me of starting the fire myself to frame them for insurance money. Patrick, her partner in crime, had turned the whole town against us. Remembering that, I watched them now, my face a cold mask. I raised my phone and started recording. I walked over to the colleagues manning the barbecue. "It's really dry," I said. "Starting a fire here is incredibly dangerous." One of them shoved a hot coal in my direction with a pair of tongs, forcing me to jump back. "Get lost, you buzzkill! Don't you have something better to do?" The hot metal grazed my hand, raising an instant blister. Biting back the pain, I went to the group competing to chop down branches. "You don't need that much firewood," I pleaded. "Please, stop." I turned to the ones pulling down cherries by the handful. "If you're not going to eat them, don't pick them. You're just wasting them." They were high on the thrill of competition. Annoyed by my interruption, one of them chucked a handful of cherries at me. "These things are worthless anyway. Who cares?" Even with the insurance policy, watching them destroy what my parents had spent their lives building was agony. I found Jessica. "There are a million other team-building activities. Why did you choose ones that specifically involve destroying my family's property?" She raised her voice so everyone could hear, but her tone was that of a wounded bird. "Oh, Molly, I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to steal your thunder." "It's just that everyone is so tired of the same old boring corporate events. I wanted to do something new and fun for everyone." "If I've upset you, I can tell everyone to leave right now." That was the cue for her defenders to rush over. "What is your problem, Molly? Everyone's having a great time except for you." "Don't say that, she'll get upset," Jessica said, then turned to me, her eyes pleading. "Molly, I just want to do a good job so I can pass my probation. I really didn't mean to make you angry." Her supporters demanded I apologize to her. I couldn't stand their hypocrisy. I just snorted in disgust. That set one of the more hot-headed guys off. He slapped the phone out of my hand and shoved me to the ground. "Apologize to Jessica. Now." I spat at his feet. His response was a brutal kick to my side. I curled up, dirt and grit scratching my eyes, forcing hot tears to stream down my face. Jessica knelt beside me, feigning concern for the audience. "The competition isn't over yet, guys. Let's get back to it." When the others had dispersed, she leaned in close, her voice a venomous whisper in my ear. "It's useless, Molly. Stop fighting." "You can't escape your fate."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "394302", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel