Transmigrated: I Became My Nemesis's Woman novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174: This is emotional cardio

The four bodyguards stood side by side at the edge of the lawn, their attention fixed on a single person.

Ivy.

She had been jogging around the estate for nearly an hour without stopping.

Benny watched her complete yet another lap before rubbing his forehead.

"Seriously... what is Madam up to now? How many laps is she planning to run? At this rate, she’s going to wear a path into the grass."

Percy folded his arms and let out a sigh.

"It’s even stranger because Butler Rupert said she skipped breakfast."

"Exactly!" Benny exclaimed. "The woman who raids the kitchen at midnight voluntarily skipped breakfast. That’s not normal. That’s terrifying."

Nico nodded solemnly.

"I’ve seen Madam finish an entire family-sized pizza by herself."

"And dessert afterward," Percy added.

Teddy looked genuinely worried.

"Maybe something happened. Madam isn’t the type to exercise this enthusiastically."

That much was true.

Everyone in the mansion knew Ivy could fight, but she rarely trained unless there was a reason. Watching her run lap after lap as though she were trying to outrun her own thoughts was unsettling.

Nico glanced toward the mansion.

"I just hope she doesn’t collapse. If Madam faints, Boss and Young Master Leo will have all of our heads."

Benny swallowed.

"Forget losing my job. Boss will stare at me with that expressionless face, and I’ll confess to crimes I didn’t even commit."

The others nodded in complete agreement.

Just then, another figure walked across the driveway.

"Morning, boys."

Sal adjusted the strap of his bag as he approached, clearly on his way out after Lola had called him into the office.

He slowed when he noticed all four bodyguards standing in a perfectly straight line, staring in the same direction.

"What are you all looking at?"

Instead of answering, Benny simply pointed.

Sal turned, and his gaze landed on Ivy, who had just switched from jogging to an energetic set of jumping jacks.

He blinked.

"Well... that’s new."

The bodyguards watched him expectantly.

"Since when did Madam become a fitness enthusiast?" Percy asked.

Sal observed Ivy for another few seconds before his expression softened.

Then he quietly exhaled.

"Something’s bothering her."

The four men exchanged confused glances.

"You can tell that just by looking?" Nico asked.

Sal nodded.

When Raven used to have too much on her mind, she’d push herself physically until her thoughts settled down. Running, sparring, climbing, anything exhausting. Ivy’s doing the same thing.

Benny looked impressed.

"So this is emotional cardio?"

Sal chuckled.

"If you want to call it that."

He started walking toward Ivy before glancing back over his shoulder.

"And don’t worry. She won’t faint."

The bodyguards stared after him.

A moment later, Benny whispered, "How did he know that’s exactly what we were worried about?"

Percy shrugged.

"Maybe it’s written all over your face."

"I have an expressive face."

"You have a billboard."

Ignoring the bickering behind him, Sal approached Ivy just as she finished another set of jumping jacks.

She was breathing hard, strands of hair clinging to her forehead with sweat.

"Girl," Sal called out with a grin, "you really need to stop scaring your security team."

He pointed toward the four bodyguards.

Caught watching, Benny, Percy, Nico, and Teddy instantly snapped their heads in different directions.

One examined the sky.

Another inspected a nearby hedge.

Teddy suddenly found his own shoes incredibly interesting.

Sal laughed.

"They’ve been standing there for almost an hour convinced you’re going to pass out."

Ivy followed his gaze, noticing the awkward group pretending not to look.

Despite herself, the corner of her mouth twitched upward.

She bent over slightly, resting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

After a few moments, she straightened.

"I won’t faint," she said calmly.

"I know."

Sal watched Ivy in silence, convinced there was something deeper behind her unusual behavior.

Just as he was about to ask, Ivy spoke.

"I found my family, Sal."

The words caught him completely off guard.

He blinked in surprise, searching her face to see if she was joking.

She wasn’t.

Ivy held his gaze for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Come with me."

A few minutes later, the two of them sat in the pavilion overlooking the garden.

The family photograph lay on the table between them.

Sal picked it up and studied it carefully before his eyes settled on the young girl standing beside the couple.

His expression changed.

"This girl..." he murmured. "She’s the same child in the photograph Hardy left for you."

Ivy nodded slowly.

"It’s me."

Sal looked up at her in disbelief.

Sal leaned back in his chair, his expression growing serious.

"Which means whoever staged the scene wanted everyone—including the police—to believe your family was gone."

"Exactly."

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Ivy broke the silence.

"Xander also discovered inconsistencies in the case years ago, but he never exposed them publicly. He believed the false records might have been created to mislead their enemies into thinking there were no survivors left to hunt."

Sal slowly nodded.

"It would be an effective way to protect anyone who escaped."

Ivy’s grip on the photograph tightened.

"And if I’m right..."

She paused, choosing her next words carefully.

"The people who murdered Xander’s parents are the same ones who killed my mother that night."

The realization hung heavily between them.

Sal looked at her, stunned.

"If that’s true, then your family’s tragedy and the Emerson case were never separate incidents."

"They were connected all along," Ivy replied.

A tense silence settled over the pavilion.

Finally, Sal exhaled and said, "Then this isn’t just about recovering your memories anymore."

Ivy met his gaze, determination replacing the uncertainty in her eyes.

"No," she said firmly. "It’s about uncovering the truth behind both families—and finding the people who destroyed them."

After talking for a while longer, Ivy and Sal parted ways. Sal headed off to take care of his own matters, leaving Ivy alone in the pavilion.

She remained seated, staring absentmindedly at the family photograph in her hands.

Her thoughts were still tangled, but at least they were no longer spiraling out of control. Speaking to Sal had helped her organize the pieces in her mind, even if the answers she sought were still out of reach.

Just as she was beginning to regain her composure, her phone vibrated.

The screen lit up with an incoming call.

Florine.

Ivy glanced at the name and let out a quiet sigh before rejecting the call without a second thought.

She already knew why Florine was trying to contact her. Whatever it was, she had no interest in hearing it.

A moment later, her phone buzzed again.

This time, it was a text message.

Leo is such an innocent child... but I suppose I’ll have to use him if I want to get to you.

The smile on Ivy’s face vanished instantly.

To anyone else, the message might have sounded vague or even harmless.

But Ivy knew Florine well enough to read between the lines.

It wasn’t a casual remark.

It was a threat.

Her eyes turned cold as she reread the message, every instinct in her body going on high alert.

"No matter what game you’re planning to play," she murmured under her breath, "dragging Leo into it is the biggest mistake you could make."

Without hesitation, she locked her phone and rose from the bench.

The confusion and grief that had consumed her moments earlier were replaced by something far more dangerous as she made her way out.