"Elsa. Elsa... hey!" The sharp voice sliced right through the fog.
Elsa blinked, gasping for air.
"I've been calling your name for ages. Why are you just standing here staring into space?" her best friend, Julie, asked, looking at her in total confusion.
Everything felt dangerously blurry; the bright overhead lights were spinning. Elsa’s hand flew to her hair, then she pulled it back to look at her palm.
No blood.
She looked around at her surroundings. What am I doing in a bustling department store instead of lying in a hospital? she whispered to herself.
"What on earth are you thinking about?" Julie snapped her fingers in front of Elsa's face.
"Julie...?" Elsa choked out.
"Oh, come on. Did you really miss me that much?" Julie teased, playfully pulling Elsa's cheeks. "Or are you just nervous about buying sexy lingerie for your husband?" she whispered.
Lingerie?
"Honestly, Elsa, I've been telling you to leave that Josh guy. I don't trust him," Julie continued, her voice slipping into her familiar, protective nagging tone.
Elsa ignored the chatter, her heart racing as she scanned the area. Everything looked incredibly familiar.
"It's only been a year since you lost your first baby, and now you're already trying to seduce your own husband to try for another one," Julie sighed, shaking her head.
A year? What was going on?
"Julie..."
Suddenly, a loud announcement boomed from the mall's speakers. "Hello everyone! We are excited to announce a special store bonus today... You will get a massive discount on any purchase!"
Elsa's eyes shot toward the digital calendar banner flashing above the boutique entryway.
MAY 21, 2026
The exact day she had taken Julie to buy lingerie. Five months before she was murdered.
Her phone vibrated in her palm.
Josh: Honey, I won't be back early today. Don't wait up.
The exact same message.
Elsa's trembling hand almost dropped the device. She turned abruptly and hurried toward the escalator, gripping the glass handrail tightly.
"What are you doing?" Julie asked, rushing to keep up with her.
Yes, Elsa thought. A little girl is supposed to fall down these stairs on this exact day and be rushed to the hospital. That was definitely how she was going to prove to herself what was happening.
Right on cue, a small five-year-old girl broke away from her mother, running toward the moving stairs.
"Stop!" the mother called out.
Before anyone could yell, the child's foot caught the edge, and she stumbled, falling forward.
Elsa's breath caught. It was all real. God had given her another chance.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she threw her arms around Julie, burying her face into her friend's shoulder.
"I'm alive," she whispered, her shoulders shaking. "I'm really alive."
"Uh... were you dead before?" Julie asked, patting her back, thoroughly bewildered.
Elsa pulled away and wiped her eyes. "We're not buying the lingerie anymore."
"What? Why?"
Elsa grabbed her wrist, dragging her straight out of the boutique. "Let's go home."
Brace yourself, Josh... because your submissive little wife is back, but she is not the same person anymore. This time, she will give you exactly what you deserve.
"Speak of the devil," Julie muttered, gesturing toward the main road as they walked out of the shopping complex.
Elsa followed her gaze to a massive billboard towering over the highway. Josh's face filled the screen. He always took over the media interviews or press conferences whenever his billionaire boss refused to appear.
Looking at him now, he looked anxious, his posture rigid. He was always terrified of messing up at work.
To destroy someone like him, going after the one thing he valued most was the only way.
"I'm going back to Wright Empire," Elsa announced, pointing a finger directly at his face on the billboard.
Julie stared at the logo flashing on the screen: WRIGHT EMPIRE. The most powerful conglomerate in Los Angeles—the very company Elsa had walked away from just to please Josh.
Julie's eyes widened. "You want to go back there? After giving up that job for Josh?"
"Yes," Elsa said, meeting her eyes with absolute certainty. "And this time, I'm not giving up anything for him."
***
One week later, Elsa walked back into Wright Empire for the first time in two years. Everything was exactly the same—the polished marble floors, the towering glass walls.
Dozens of highly qualified women sat on the sleek leather couches in the waiting area, murmuring quietly as they competed for the same corporate roles.
"Miss Elsa," a voice called out.
Elsa braced herself and stepped inside the private office.
"We will only accept you as an accountant," the new hiring manager said immediately. She didn't even bother to look up at Elsa's portfolio, her perfectly manicured, glowing acrylic nails clicking sharply against her tablet screen.
"Accountant?" Elsa repeated. "You haven't... you haven't even opened my portfolio yet."
"Yes, well, it's an urgent position our boss needs to fill immediately," the woman replied indifferently.
Elsa smiled inwardly. She hadn't realized getting back into the company would be this easy. An accounting position meant direct access to the financial books.
"I accept."
"Good."
"Can I start in a few days?" Elsa asked, keeping her voice steady. "Right after my husband's birthday party."
"Just arrive early."
"Thank you."
Elsa lowered her head and stood up. But as she turned to leave, the strap of her bag caught the edge of a ceramic coffee cup resting on the table.
SMASH.
The cup shattered violently against the floor.
Elsa's breath instantly jammed in her throat. The sharp sound triggered a violent, blinding flashback. Her fingers gripped the edge of the desk to keep her knees from collapsing under her.
"Are you okay?" the hiring manager asked, but her voice sounded blurry and distant, as if Elsa were trapped underwater. "Miss Elsa?" The woman reached out, touching her arm.
Elsa nodded frantically, a cold sweat breaking out across her collarbone. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered, immediately bending down to help clean up the mess.
But as her hand moved down toward the floor, her eyes locked onto her left wrist.
A glowing, digital-like mark was etched into her bare skin, pulsing with a faint, eerie light. Written clearly against her flesh were :
October 15... 5 chances left.
