Chapter 1

The first cry of my son, then my daughter, filled the delivery room.

Twins.

Mark would have been so proud.

A nurse laid them on my chest, tiny and perfect.

Then the world tilted.

Not from blood loss, not from exhaustion.

A memory, sharp and brutal, slammed into me.

Another life. This exact moment.

Giving birth.

Aethel Corp. The Thorne family.

Damian Thorne.

His cold eyes.

Cassandra Vance, his mistress, her fake tears.

The "Thorne Legacy" scholarship.

My baby chosen.

Then fire, screaming. My child, gone.

And Damian' s hands on me, ending it all.

"No," I whispered, clutching my newborns.

It wasn't a dream. It was real. It happened.

And it was happening again.

A nurse smiled. "Mrs. Hayes, you did wonderfully."

I barely heard her.

My gaze shot to the door as it opened.

Damian Thorne walked in, his expensive suit immaculate, his face a mask of polite concern.

Behind him, Cassandra Vance, pale and leaning on his arm, a picture of fragile beauty.

They were here. Just like before.

My heart hammered. My babies. I had to save my babies.

Bianca, my friend, my rock through all this, was by my side.

"Ellie, are you okay? You're white as a sheet."

I couldn't answer her.

My eyes locked with Damian's.

He nodded, a slight, almost imperceptible acknowledgment. Did he remember too?

It didn't matter. I had to act.

Ignoring the pain, the dizziness, I slid off the bed.

My legs buckled. Bianca caught me.

"Ellie, what are you doing?"

I pushed her away gently.

I stumbled towards Damian Thorne, the acting CEO of Aethel Corp, my late husband Mark's distant cousin, the man Mark had trusted to be a guardian if anything happened.

The man who had murdered me and my child in another life.

I fell to my knees before him, right there in the pristine hospital corridor.

Gasps echoed around us. Nurses, other Aethel Corp families.

"Mr. Thorne," I said, my voice hoarse, desperate.

"Eleanor," he replied, his tone smooth, unreadable. "You should be resting."

Cassandra watched, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes.

"I renounce any claim," I blurted out, the words tumbling. "Any claim for my children to the Thorne Legacy scholarship. Any Aethel Corp benefits."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "What is this, Eleanor?"

"We want nothing," I insisted, my voice cracking. "Please. I just want to take my children and leave. Sever all ties. We don't want to be a burden. We don't want anything from the Thorne family or Aethel Corp."

I bowed my head, my forehead almost touching the polished floor.

"Please, I beg you."

Let us go. Let us live.

This was my only chance. Appease him. Show him we were no threat.

My twins. I had to protect them.

Mark' s children.

The memory of his Medal of Honor, the respect people had for him, it meant nothing to Damian in that other life.

It would mean nothing now.

Only my complete submission might save us.