Chapter 3 A Second Chance

YISO'S POV

Pain is all I feel. Dull, throbbing, spreading through my skull like thick, hot lava. I try to move, to scream, but my body won't respond.

I hear voices. Their voices.

"Why did you kill her?!" Marshall's voice is shaky, almost unrecognizable.

"Kill?", the word sounds foreign as it echoes in my head.

"You know we just wanted to force her to sign the deed of transfer."

My pulse, if it's still mine, slows and then quickens.

A wave of nausea rolls through me. Pieces come back like tiny shards of memory about Karen, the hammer and the sharp crack against my skull.

I'm dying.

Karen exhales sharply. "Don't yell at me, Marshall. It's done already."

"No. No, it's not. Please no", I yell, although I'm sure no one can hear me.

I try to swallow, but my throat is thick, and filled with something metallic and warm. Blood.

Marshall's voice lowers. "What do we do now?"

Karen, answers without hesitation. "Call 911. Let's drag her body to the bathtub. We'll say she slipped and hit her head."

" I can't let them do this to me. I have to fight. I have to.."

A siren wails in the distance distracting my thoughts.

The sound pulls me in. My body feels lighter. I'm slipping.

"No", is all I can say as I hear orders barked and feel myself being lifted. And then..the light.

It floods my vision, not harsh like in a hospital, but warm and golden, like sunlight.

I shut my eyes, trying to focus only on the warmth the light provides.

A figure steps forward, she feels familiar in a way that breaks my heart.

"Do I know you? ", I call out.

She steps closer and I gasp. She looks exactly as in the pictures I've seen, strong, beautiful, her eyes filled with something I can't quite figure out.

"My baby," she whispers, her fingers brushing against my cheek. "You were not meant to leave like this."

Mom?" My voice is barely a whisper.

She nods, stroking my cheek.

She cups my face in her hands, and I feel everything, the love, the pain and the regret.

"You have another chance," she says.

Another chance. The words echo in my mind, filling the space where fear should be.

A shiver runs through me. "A second chance? A way back? ", I whisper.

"But if you choose to return," she continues, "you cannot return as you were."

A deep, chilling fear moves through me. "Then who will I be?" My voice barely comes out.

Mom smiles, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.

"That is for you to discover." She whispers.

Why am I being given another chance?", I ask.

"Because you need to see and fight for the truth.", she replies.

Before I can ask what she means, the golden light around us shifts. The warmth fades and the air grows heavier, thick with something dark.

Suddenly, we are standing somewhere else.

It's a familiar office. I look around and notice Mama stands beside me, calm and silent, as if she expected this.

At his desk, Marshall and Karen sit together. Papers are spread between them, the faint scent of whiskey lingering in the air.

Marshall leans forward, fingers tapping against the polished wood.

"We need to move fast. Once the papers are finalized, everything will be under my name." Karen smirks, crossing her legs.

"And Yiso?" Marshall sighs, rubbing his temples. "I told you, I've been working on her. She's stubborn, but once she signs"

Karen cuts him off. "She won't sign."

Marshall's jaw tightens. "She will. She has to."

Karen leans in, voice dropping into something cold."..And if she doesn't?"

Silence. A heavy, knowing silence. Marshall looks away, exhaling sharply.

He doesn't answer, but the unspoken words settle between them like a thick fog.

Karen's lips curl. "You know there's another way."

A chill runs through me as I realize that they planned this.

They had been planning it long before tonight.

My stomach twists.

I turn to mom, my voice barely a whisper. "He was going to do this anyway. Even if I hadn't caught them."

She nods, sadness in her eyes. "Yes, my love."

The scene shifts again. Now, it was the place where it happened. Where Karen raised the hammer. Where I felt my skull shatter.

I watch as it happens again.

Marshall standing frozen in shock. Karen breathing heavily, the hammer slipping from her fingers.

Marshall's voice shakes. "Karen, what the hell?"

"You said we needed her out of the way.Not like this!"

Karen scoffs, stepping over my fallen body like I'm nothing.

"Well, it's done. Now we clean up the mess."

The sirens. The panic. The rush to hide the truth.

I squeeze my eyes shut, willing it all to disappear.

When I open them, I am back in the golden light, back with mom.

Tears slip down my cheeks, my hands shaking. "He never loved me."

Mama wraps her arms around me. "No, baby. He didn't."

A sob rises in my throat, but she pulls back, holding me steady.

"But this isn't the end of your story."

I shake my head, confused. "Then what is?"

She touches my chest, right over my heart. "You will know soon."

She sighs, tilting her head. "Because some things cannot be undone, my love. But a new life can be made, and you're stronger than you know."

I want to ask more. I want to understand but the light around us flickers.

Her hands tighten around mine. "Time is slipping. You must choose now".

The golden glow dims. A cold breeze brushes against my skin, and suddenly, I feel my body again, heavy, aching, broken.

I look up at mom, panic rising. "I don't know what to do."

Then she leans in and kisses my forehead and suddenly the warmth vanishes and then I fall.

Air rushes into my lungs. It feels like I've been drowning, and suddenly I'm here, but where is here?

Beep. Beep. Beep is all I hear. I can smell the scent of antiseptic and feel a soft mattress beneath me.

I slowly open my eyes and all I can see above me is a White ceiling and then it registered that I'm in a hospital.