Chapter 2

The university student leadership conference was a big deal.

I was supposed to give a keynote speech, a huge honor.

I felt off all morning, tired, a dull ache in my stomach.

The locket Izzy gave me felt heavier than usual.

As I stood at the podium, a wave of dizziness hit me.

Then, a sharp pain, intense cramping.

I gripped the sides of the lectern.

I could feel warmth spreading, a horrifying wetness.

I looked down, saw blood.

Gasps rippled through the auditorium.

Someone screamed.

My vision tunneled.

The last thing I saw was Izzy' s face in the crowd, a flicker of something dark in her eyes before she arranged her features into a mask of shock and concern.

Then, blackness.

I woke up.

Not in a hospital, not in my bed.

I was standing at the podium again.

The same conference, the same faces staring at me.

The speech notes were in my hand.

My heart pounded.

It was happening again.

But this time, I knew.

I knew about the locket.

I knew Izzy was doing this to me.

The pain started, just like before, a sickening cramp deep inside.

The dizziness.

But this time, I wouldn' t collapse. I wouldn' t be humiliated.

I took a deep breath.

"Excuse me," I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

"I need medical attention. Could someone please call an ambulance?"

No panic, no public meltdown.

The room buzzed with confusion, but someone quickly made the call.

Izzy rushed towards the stage, her face a perfect picture of worry.

"Liv, oh my god, what' s wrong?"

She reached for me.

I sidestepped her.

"I' ll be fine, Izzy."

I kept my voice even.

This was my second chance, and I wasn' t going to waste it.