Adeline Harvey POV:
My lungs were on fire.
The endless black vortex shattered, replaced by an agonizing burning in my chest. I gasped, but instead of air, icy water flooded my mouth and nose.
My eyes flew open.
I wasn't in the void. I was underwater, looking up at the shimmering, distorted light of the sun. I recognized the murky green depths, the tangled weeds brushing against my legs.
This was the lake on the Wiley estate.
A memory, sharp and brutal, sliced through my confusion. I was ten years younger. Kandace had dared me to a swimming race to the small island in the middle of the lake. Halfway there, she'd feigned a cramp, and when I'd turned back to help her, she'd shoved my head underwater, holding me down with surprising strength.
I had been reborn. Not into a new life, but back into the old one. Back to another beginning of my end.
Primal survival instinct kicked in. I thrashed, my limbs heavy and clumsy, fighting my way toward the surface. My head broke through the water, and I took a huge, shuddering breath, coughing and sputtering.
"Adeline!" A furious roar came from the shore. "How dare you push Kandace into the water!"
I turned, treading water. My brother, Junior, stood at the lake's edge. Kandace was wrapped in his arms, soaking wet and shivering dramatically. Her face was buried in his chest, but I could see the smug satisfaction in her eyes.
This was it. This was the day they first branded me as "vicious." The day my family's trust in me began to die.
In my first life, I had panicked. I had screamed my innocence, my words dissolving into hysterical sobs that only made me look guiltier.
This time, a chilling calm settled over me.
I didn't waste my breath on useless denials. Instead, I let the water support me and took a moment to examine myself. My body felt weak, but it was whole. Unbroken.
Junior's face was contorted with rage at my silence. He saw it as defiance. "Get her out of there!" he barked at a nearby guard.
Rough hands hauled me from the water. I stumbled onto the grassy bank, dripping and shivering, a pathetic sight.
Kandace immediately detached herself from Junior and rushed toward me, her face a perfect mask of concern. "Oh, sister, are you alright? I know you didn't mean to..."
I met her gaze, and my eyes were as cold as the lake water. I said nothing. The look on my face made her falter, her practiced words dying on her lips.
Junior stepped between us, a protective shield for his precious, perfect sister. "What do you have to say for yourself?" he demanded.
I coughed, spitting out a mouthful of lake water. My voice was hoarse, but steady. "Kandace," I said, my voice cutting through her fake whimpers. "Why don't you tell our brother exactly why we were in the water?"
She froze. The script was simple: she was supposed to say I pushed her.
"I... I just wanted to give you this necklace," she stammered, her lower lip trembling. She opened her palm to reveal a cheap, gaudy glass pendant. "But you said I was being fake... and then you... you pushed me."
Junior's scowl deepened. He glared at me, his disgust palpable.
A humorless smile touched my lips. I held up my right hand. A thin, red line was carved into my wrist, angry and raw against my pale skin.
"If I pushed her," I asked Junior, my voice level, "then why are there scratches from her fingernails on my wrist?"
I turned my cold gaze back to Kandace. "This necklace. Are you sure you were trying to give it to me on the shore? Or did it happen to break off in the water when I grabbed for it, trying to stop you from holding my head down?"
I slowly uncurled my own fingers. Lying in my palm was the other half of the broken clasp, and nestled beside it, two tiny, shimmering flecks of gold.
Kandace instinctively hid her hands behind her back. But it was too late. We had all seen the chipped gold polish on her nails that morning.
Junior's expression faltered. He wasn't a fool. The evidence was right there. The story didn't add up.
I pressed my advantage, my voice dropping lower. "Did I push her, Junior? Or did she try to drown me and lose her balance in the struggle?"
The color drained from Kandace's face. She stared at me, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and fear. She had expected tears and denials, not cold logic and proof.
Her body went limp. She let out a series of ragged, theatrical coughs, her hand flying to her chest. It was her go-to move, faking a fainting spell to escape any situation where she was losing.
But I knew, this time, it wasn't entirely an act. The shock was real. And it was about to trigger something far worse.
