Chapter 2

I gasped, my eyes flying open.

Sunlight streamed through my bedroom window.

My old alarm clock read 6:00 AM. Saturday.

SAT exam day.

My heart hammered against my ribs. It wasn't a dream. It was a memory. A horrible, vivid memory of a life I' d already lived, a life that ended in despair.

I was back.

I had a second chance.

The pain of that first life, the sting of betrayal, the crushing weight of injustice, it was all fresh, raw.

But this time, there was something else too: a cold, hard resolve.

They would not win. Not again.

My first thought was Ethan Hayes.

He was wealthy, popular, kind. And crucially, he could tell Jessie and me apart.

I had a small, faded birthmark on my left wrist, almost invisible unless you knew where to look. Jessie had nothing like it.

Instead, Jessie had a tacky butterfly tattoo on her right ankle, a souvenir from a rebellious night with her delinquent friends.

I threw on some clothes, my mind racing.

I had to get to Ethan before the exam.

I found him in the school parking lot, leaning against his expensive car, reviewing some notes.

"Ethan," I said, my voice a little shaky.

He looked up, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Sarah! Hey. Ready for the big day?"

"Ethan, I need to talk to you. It's urgent."

He saw the look in my eyes, the fear, the desperation. His smile faded. "What's wrong?"

I couldn' t tell him about the rebirth, he' d think I was crazy.

"I... I have a bad feeling about today, about what my mom and sister might try to do if I score well on the SATs. They... they' ve done things before to take what' s mine." My voice trembled, but I met his gaze. "I think they might try to steal my results, my university acceptance, if I get one."

Ethan knew my family situation, the blatant favoritism. He' d seen Mom fawn over Jessie while ignoring me.

He frowned, his expression serious. "Your mom and Jessie? What kind of things?"

"Things that could ruin my life," I said, keeping it vague but firm. "I can't prove it yet, but I will. I just... I need someone to believe me. Someone who can see the difference between me and Jessie." I showed him my wrist, the small birthmark. "Jessie doesn't have this."

He looked at my wrist, then back at my face, his eyes thoughtful. He' d always been observant.

"Okay, Sarah," he said slowly. "I believe you. What do you need me to do?"

Relief washed over me, so potent it almost buckled my knees. "Just... be aware. And if things get bad, I might need your help to prove who I am, and what they' re doing."

"You've got it," Ethan said, his voice solid. "I'll keep an eye out. And Sarah? You're going to ace this test."

His confidence was a lifeline.

I took the SAT. The questions felt familiar, easy. I moved through them with a calm I hadn't possessed in my first life. This time, I knew what was at stake.

After the exam, I didn' t go home immediately.

I walked to the library, my mind already working.

Evidence. I needed irrefutable evidence.

First, Jessie' s real behavior. I knew her hangouts, the parties she frequented. Ethan, with his connections, could help get photos, videos. Undeniable proof of her recklessness, with her ankle tattoo clearly visible.

Second, Mom and Rick. Their affair was the rotten core of our family' s misery. I needed proof of their meetings, maybe financial trails. Rick was married. His wife, Brenda, was known to be a formidable woman. She would be an unwilling ally.

Third, Dad' s death. The memories were clearer now, less clouded by childish confusion. I remembered hushed arguments, Rick' s car speeding away that night, Mom scrubbing something frantically from the kitchen floor the next morning. She thought I was asleep. I needed to make her admit it. A recording. That would be the key.

The path ahead was dangerous, but this time, I wasn't walking it alone. And I wasn't walking it in despair. I was walking it with a burning fire for justice.