Chapter 268

Joshua barely had time to react before Cain snatched his talisman and bolted. He immediately chased after him, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't catch him. Frustrated and out of breath, he had no choice but to call Leon and ask what to do.

Leon, being the kind of person who believed suffering should be shared, just laughed. “First, see if you’re actually out of luck. If you are,”

Phoebe…

Joshua didn’t think much of it at the time. He had a busy schedule overseas, filming variety shows, and honestly, things with Phoebe were already a mess. He wasn’t about to make them worse by reaching out himself. So, he waited.

And then, the universe decided to have some fun with him.

It started when he went out for groceries and got hit by an electric scooter, injuring his foot. That earned him a two-day stay in the hospital. After that, it was like misfortune refused to leave him alone. When he was on a drip, he barely moved his hand, yet somehow, the needle still slipped out of his vein. By the time he noticed, his hand had welled up like a sausage. Then, when he finally got out to eat, he slipped on an oil stain in the restaurant, making his already injured foot even worse.

That was it. He wasn’t taking any more risks. He had his friend bring him food instead. But just as he was finally enjoying a peaceful meal, he spotted something in his bowl: a cockroach. This restaurant was spotless; he had eaten there so many times without a problem. And yet, today of all days, a cockroach had to show up.

At this point, he wasn’t even mad. He knew exactly what was going on. He was absorbing Cain’s bad luck.

When he was finally discharged, he thought he could put it all behind him. He was wrong. The elevator malfunctioned the moment he got in, suddenly starting to drop, sending his stomach lurching. Although it didn’t crash all the way down, it still scared the hell out of him. He was stuck inside for over an hour before the rescue team finally got him out.

By the time he dragged himself home, he just wanted to change his shorts and pass out on the couch. But, of course, the universe had other plans. As soon as he bent down, a sharp pain shot through his lower back; he had twisted his waist. Groaning, he lumbered over to the sofa and collapsed, only to shoot right back up, cursing in pain. There was something sharp under him. Heart pounding, he turned and saw a fruit knife lying exactly where he had just sat.

For a long second, he just stared at it. Then, it clicked. Cain. That idiot must have peeled fruit while gaming and then just tossed the knife on the couch without a second thought. Joshua clenched his jaw. If Cain were standing in front of him right now, he would’ve strangled him.

Realizing he couldn’t take another minute, he gave up on stepping outside ever again. Instead, he called the Jenkins family doctor to come over and patch him up, then immediately made a video call to Leon. The second the call connected, Joshua practically shouted, “Leon, I can’t do this anymore! I’m at my breaking point!”

Leon looked at him—pale face, dark circles, hair a mess—and raised an eyebrow. Yeah, Joshua definitely hadn’t been sleeping well.

Leon smirked. “So, bad back, huh? But you too!”

Well, at least his brother was in this with him; that was a bit of a relief. Joshua let out a deep sigh, dragging a hand down his face. “Not just bad luck. The absolute worst luck of my life.” He launched into a dramatic retelling of the past two days. By the time he finished, Leon just shook his head. “Told you. Shouldn’t have let Cain steal your talisman.”

Joshua scowled. “How was I supposed to know he’d be such a little devil?”

At this point, he was done. If Cain ever showed up asking for a place to crash again, he wasn’t even getting through the door. “Leon, I’m begging you,” Joshua pleaded. “Talk to Phoebe. See if she can make me another talisman. I swear, I can’t take another day of this.”

12:15 AM in

Chapter 268–– Experiencing all this firsthand made him a true believer in luck. He shuddered at the thought of what would’ve happened if he’d actually given Sienna any of his good luck. He might not have even made it out alive. This time, Leon didn’t even tease him. He just nodded and ended the call to contact Phoebe.

Meanwhile, Phoebe had already seen this coming. She knew Leon too well; of course, he’d let both Joshua and Jamar suffer through their bad luck just for the lulz. And honestly, she didn’t feel bad for them one bit. Let them experience what it’s like to lose the luck they took for granted. Only then would they finally understand just how terrible Sienna really was.

So, when Leon made the request, she didn’t refuse to sell Joshua the protective emerald. When Joshua heard that, he almost cried from relief. Finally. He was about to escape this nightmare. 7 million dollars was a lot, but right now, he didn’t care. Whatever it took, he would pay.

So, he followed Leon to Phoebe’s place and immediately bought the emerald. The second he got it, he slipped the chain over his neck, gripping the pendant like it was the most precious thing in the world.

Then, hesitating for a second, he glanced at Phoebe. His voice was a little quieter this time. “I owe you an apology,” he admitted. “I misunderstood you overseas. I was wrong.” Thinking back on everything that happened, he felt like a complete idiot. Sienna had played him, and he had gone after Phoebe like a fool. Now, Karma had come back tenfold.

Phoebe didn’t even blink. “I don’t need your apology.” She waved a hand dismissively. “You got what you came for. You can go now.” Joshua was clearly trying to smooth things over, but Phoebe didn’t need him to. She wasn’t interested, and she made that clear. Seeing her cold attitude, Joshua felt suffocated. He hesitated for a second, then swallowed back whatever he was about to say.

As soon as they stepped outside, Leon stretched lazily and said, “Jamar is probably Cain’s next target.”

Joshua snorted. “Oh, for sure. Cain is getting bolder by the day. No way Jamar makes it out of this unscathed.” Neither of them even thought about warning Jamar. If they had to suffer through this, then so did he. That was just how it worked.

A few days later, Cain realized the stolen talisman had crumbled into dust again, and just like that, his streak of good luck ran dry. He didn’t even hesitate before shifting his attention to his next target, Jamar. That day, Cain invited Jamar out for a meal, saying he wanted to talk about the upcoming variety show they were both set to appear on. Since Leon and Joshua hadn’t said a word, Jamar had no clue about what happened to Joshua. He figured Cain just wanted to discuss the show in advance, and that sounded reasonable enough.

So, it begins.

Everything was normal at first, but halfway through the meal, Cain struck again. He accidentally knocked over a glass of juice, spilling it all over Jamar’s shirt. Right on cue, he pulled out a fresh shirt he just so happened to have with him. “Here, I bought this earlier. Go change real quick.”

Jamar didn’t think much of it. This shirt was soaked, and Cain had a spare. Nothing suspicious about that, right? Wrong. The moment he took off his dirty shirt and reached for the clean one, Cain lunged forward, grabbed the talisman right off his neck, and took off running. Jamar barely had time to react before Cain was already halfway out the door, shouting over his shoulder, “Jamar, let me borrow your shaman for a few days!”

For a solid two seconds, Jamar just stood there, completely dumbfounded. Then it hit him. “Son of a—!” Throwing on his shirt, he bolted out the door to chase Cain down, but the guy was nowhere in sight.

Completely pissed, Jamar stormed back home and immediately dropped a message in the group chat with Leon and Joshua. They were having the time of their lives watching it all unfold, but on the surface, they played it cool, offering Jamar some fake sympathy and telling him to just wait and see.

Chapter 268

And sure enough, within a few days, Jamar’s bad luck rolled in full force. He might not have ended up in the hospital like Joshua, but his week was an absolute disaster. Every time Jamar stepped out, it was like the universe had it out for him. One minute, he was walking down the street, and the next some random guy splashed paint all over him. Driving wasn’t any better. He slipped getting into his car, smacked his ribs against the railing, and nearly saw stars. Even staying home didn’t save him. He choked on food, water—hell, even on air while gaming. And to top it all off, the endorsement deal he had been banking on was gone.

Just like that. It was like someone had flipped a switch, turning his life into a never-ending streak of disasters. After a few days of this nonsense, Jamar finally snapped. He called Leon, desperate for help. Leon, barely holding back a laugh, took him straight to Phoebe. Just like Joshua, Jamar ended up spending 7 million dollars on a protective emerald.

Sure enough, a few days later, Cain’s luck went straight down the drain again. The problem was, all three of his brothers had already fallen for the trick and paid their way out of it. There was no one left for Cain to scam, and nothing he could do but suffer through it. He tried to tough it out. But then he got into a car accident, and that was the final straw.

That was when Sienna stepped in. She came looking for him, saying she had bought a horoscope artifact that could protect him from all this misfortune. Of course, she wasn’t just being nice. She was more worried about Cain getting too banged up to perform on their variety show. Originally, she had planned to give him a bracelet for protection. But then the so-called horoscope guru caught wind of Cain’s situation and decided to get involved. He personally had someone send over a pendant, claiming it worked even better than the bracelet.

In the end, Sienna kept the pendant for herself and gave the bracelet to Cain. She made a whole show of it too, saying she was giving him all her best protective treasures. Cain had been pissed about his streak of bad luck, cursing everything and everyone. But now, with Sienna fussing over him, giving him charms, and acting all sweet, his anger faded. If anything, he actually felt a little touched.