Chapter 1

I stood on the cold marble floor, the air thick with fake sympathy.

They called it a memorial, a tribute to Liam Carter and Noah Vance, my childhood friends, now supposedly dead in a fiery crash.

CyberCorp, the tech giant I was forced to spy for, had conveniently "exposed" my role just days before.

Now, their lawyers, their families, all eyes were on me.

Liam' s representative, a sharp woman in a gray suit, spoke first.

"Ava, Liam' s shares in Innovatech, his legacy, he wished for you to guide it."

She slid a heavy portfolio across the polished table.

Then Noah' s uncle, a man whose smile never reached his eyes.

"Noah adored you, Ava. His family' s holdings, considerable assets, he wanted you to have this control."

Another portfolio joined the first.

The ultimatum was clear: choose a "legacy," and the "winner" would make my corporate espionage charges disappear.

My stomach churned, not from grief, but from memory.

Two lives, two horrific deaths, all replayed in my mind with chilling clarity.

My "premonitions," my rebirths.

The first time, I chose Liam.

He smiled, that charismatic, possessive smile I once found charming.

Weeks later, a "boating accident." Cold water, his hand pushing me under, the surprise in his eyes when I fought back, then nothing.

The second time, Noah.

His eyes, always a little too intense, gleamed with triumph.

He took me to a remote family estate, a beautiful prison.

When I tried to leave, his men "disappeared" me. Pain, then darkness.

These men, who proclaimed their love, were my murderers.

They didn' t love Ava Chen, the software engineer, their friend.

They loved Eliza Bloom, our other childhood friend, vanished years ago, presumed dead.

I was just a stand-in, a ghost they projected their obsessions onto.

"Ava?" Liam's lawyer prompted gently.

I looked at their expectant faces.

I wouldn' t choose. Not again.

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a small, metallic data chip.

My father' s failsafe.

"I appreciate your generous offers," I said, my voice steady, surprising even myself.

"But I have a pre-existing, binding agreement."

I held up the chip.

"With an entity far more capable of protecting me."

I didn' t name Aegis Solutions, not yet. Let them wonder. Let them fear.