Chapter 2

"Okay, so the first step is getting the dog," Lily announced the next morning, as if she were planning a trip to the mall. "Sarah, you' re going to help me."

I was in the kitchen, making toast. I didn' t look up. "How do you plan on doing that? Ethan barely lets Max out of his sight."

"That' s where you come in," she said, snapping her fingers. "You' re good at that whole shy, innocent act. Go over there. Say you want to ask him about his college applications or something. While you' re distracting him, I' ll get Mom to lure Max away with a steak."

She made it sound so simple. So stupidly, horribly simple. In my past life, I would have argued, pleaded, and tried to talk sense into her. Now, I just chewed my toast slowly.

I needed to refuse, but in a way that wouldn' t make them suspicious.

I finally looked at her and put on my most pathetic, nervous expression. "Me? Lily, I can' t. I get all tongue-tied around Ethan. He' s... intimidating. I' ll mess it up. I' ll start stuttering and he' ll know something is wrong."

Lily' s face twisted in contempt. "Ugh, you' re useless. I swear. You can' t do one simple thing."

It was the exact reaction I' d hoped for.

"Don' t worry, sweetie," Brenda said, walking in and patting Lily' s shoulder. "We don' t need her. I' ll handle Ethan. I can be very charming when I want to be."

I watched them huddle together, whispering their revised, pathetic plan. I felt a strange sense of detachment, like watching a bad movie for the second time.

As they plotted, a memory from my past life surfaced, sharp and clear. It was from a news report I' d seen after the exam results, before Lily killed me. The report was a profile on Ethan Blackwood and his genius dog. It mentioned his childhood sweetheart, a girl named Chloe Davies, who had died of leukemia years ago. They had been inseparable. The report called their bond legendary.

Chloe Davies. The name echoed in my head.

The dog' s name was Max. But what if the soul inside wasn' t a random dog' s soul? What if it was Chloe? What if Ethan hadn' t lost her at all?

This wasn' t just about Lily' s insane ambition. This was something much deeper, much more planned. Ethan wasn' t just a grieving neighbor. He was a player in this game, maybe even the one controlling the board.

I was still lost in thought when Brenda and Lily returned later that afternoon. My jaw almost hit the floor.

They had Max with them.

The beautiful golden retriever was walking meekly between them, not on a leash. He followed them right into our cramped apartment without a single bark or pull.

"How?" I asked, genuinely shocked.

"Your mother is a genius, that' s how," Lily gloated, stroking Max' s head. The dog tolerated it, his brown eyes placid and watchful. "She told Ethan we were thinking of getting a dog just like Max and asked if we could borrow him for an hour to see if he was a good fit for our apartment. He just... said yes."

Brenda was beaming. "He' s not as smart as everyone thinks. A little flattery and he was putty in my hands."

No. That wasn' t it. Ethan Blackwood was many things, but stupid wasn' t one of them. He had handed over his precious dog, the vessel of his dead sweetheart' s soul, to these two scheming hyenas.

He was letting them. He wanted them to have the dog. This was part of his plan.

The moment the apartment door closed, their demeanor changed. Lily grabbed Max' s collar roughly. "Alright, you mutt. Into my room. Don' t even think about making a mess."

Max whined softly and dug his paws into the cheap linoleum floor.

"Hey, be gentle," I said, stepping forward.

Brenda shoved me back, hard. I stumbled against the wall. "Stay out of this, Sarah. This is Lily' s future. Don' t you dare screw it up."

She kicked Max' s side. "Get in there!"

The dog yelped, a sound of real pain, and scrambled into Lily' s room. My blood ran cold. This wasn' t just a dog. This was Chloe.

I tried to follow them, to make sure they didn' t hurt him-her-more. "You can' t just kick him. What if Ethan finds out?"

"He won' t," Lily said, slamming her door in my face.

Just then, there was a loud, authoritative knock on our front door. It wasn' t a friendly knock. It was the kind that demanded to be answered.

Brenda' s confident expression faltered. She looked at Lily' s closed door, then back at the front door. She opened it a crack.

Ethan Blackwood stood there. He wasn' t the friendly, slightly awkward neighbor I was used to seeing. He was flanked by two large men in dark suits. His face was like stone, his eyes cold and commanding. He looked powerful. He looked dangerous.

"I believe you have my dog," he said. His voice was low, but it filled our small hallway with an undeniable sense of menace.

Brenda immediately tried to play dumb. "Ethan, dear, what are you talking about? We were just..."

"Don' t insult my intelligence, Brenda," he cut her off. "My security team informed me the moment Max crossed your threshold. Give him back. Now."

Brenda' s fear was quickly replaced by greed. A sly look entered her eyes. She thought she had leverage.

"Well," she said, leaning against the doorframe. "He seems to really like it here. And Lily has grown so attached. It would take a lot to convince us to part with him. Perhaps a donation to Lily' s college fund would help?"

I had to suppress a laugh. She was trying to blackmail him. The man who had orchestrated this entire scenario.

Ethan didn' t even blink. He looked at Brenda with an expression of pure, unadulterated contempt. "You are in no position to make demands."

He pushed the door open, forcing Brenda to stumble backward. He and his men stepped inside, their presence making our tiny apartment feel even smaller and shabbier.

"Max!" Ethan called out.

Lily' s door flew open. She stood there, holding Max by the collar. The dog was whimpering.

"He doesn' t want to go," Lily said, a triumphant smirk on her face. "See? He wants to stay with me."

And to my absolute astonishment, she was right. Max, who should have bounded happily toward Ethan, cowered behind Lily. He whined and refused to move, his eyes fixed on Ethan with what looked like fear.

Ethan' s cold facade didn't crack, but I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. He looked at the dog, then at Lily, then at me.

Lily and Brenda were ecstatic. They thought they' d won. They thought the dog' s strange affection for Lily was a sign that their magical life-swap was destined to work.

But I saw it.

Just for a second, as Ethan' s men moved toward Lily, Ethan' s gaze met the dog' s. And he gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.

The dog understood.

It wasn't fear in the dog' s eyes. It was acting. It was a performance.

This was all part of the show. And I had a front-row seat. I suddenly understood that my entire family was nothing more than a pawn in Ethan Blackwood's elaborate game of revenge and reunion.