Chapter 1

The wind whipped my hair across my face, cold and sharp like the betrayal that had pushed me here, to the edge of this high-rise balcony.

My brother, Ethan, stood before me, his face a mask of rage, twisted by Chloe' s lies.

"You did this, Sarah," he spat, his voice raw, "You drove Chloe to try and kill herself, you always hated her."

Chloe, my adopted sister, the master manipulator, had faked a suicide attempt after donating blood to our mother, Eleanor, leaving a note blaming us for using her like a "blood bag."

Our mother was in the hospital after a severe car accident, needing that O-negative blood Chloe conveniently shared.

I had pleaded with Ethan to bring Chloe, and now he believed I was the villain.

"Ethan, no," I begged, my voice lost in the wind, "She's lying, Mom needed her."

But he didn't hear me, or he didn't want to.

His eyes, once warm, were now glacial, reflecting the city lights far below.

"It's your birthday, Sarah," he said, a cruel twist to his lips, "Consider this my gift."

Then, his hands were on me, shoving hard.

The world tilted, a scream tore from my throat, and then I was falling, the city lights rushing up to meet me in a blaze of pain and terror.

My last thought was of my mother, alone, and the injustice of it all.

Then, blackness.

Until a sudden, violent jolt.

I gasped, air flooding my lungs, my eyes snapping open.

I was in a car, the smell of leather and my mother' s familiar perfume filling my senses.

Eleanor was in the driver's seat, her eyes wide with fear, her hands gripping the wheel.

"Sarah, hold on!" she screamed.

Headlights blazed towards us, a horn blared, and then the sickening crunch of metal on metal.

The world spun, glass shattered.

My mother threw her body over me, a shield against the impact.

Pain, sharp and blinding, shot through me, but a strange clarity cut through the fog.

This was the day. The day it all began again.

The accident.

I was alive. Reborn.

The car settled, groaning.

"Mom?" I choked out, my voice raspy.

Eleanor was slumped over, a dark stain blooming on her blouse.

"Sarah... you okay?" she whispered, her face pale.

"I'm okay, Mom, don't talk," I said, my mind racing, the memories of my previous life, of Ethan' s betrayal, of Chloe' s poison, burning fresh and raw.

No. Not again.

This time, I wouldn't be weak, I wouldn't be manipulated.

I fumbled for my phone, my hands shaking, but my resolve was iron.

911. I punched in the numbers.

"Accident, corner of Elm and Oak, serious injuries," I managed, my voice surprisingly steady.

I unbuckled myself, then Eleanor, carefully.

"Mom, I need to stop the bleeding," I said, pressing my hands to her side where the blood was worst.

She winced but nodded, her eyes trusting.

The knowledge of what was to come, of Ethan' s cruelty and Chloe' s vicious games, fueled me.

This time, I would protect my mother.

This time, I would get justice.

I wouldn't call Ethan, not yet. He' d be at Chloe' s lavish twenty-first birthday party, oblivious, or worse, already poisoned against me.

I had to save Mom first.

The wail of sirens grew closer, a beacon of hope in the encroaching darkness.

I held onto Mom, whispering, "It's going to be different this time, Mom, I promise."

She squeezed my hand, a flicker of understanding in her pained eyes, or perhaps it was just my desperate wish.

But I knew. This was my second chance, and I wouldn't waste it.