Chapter 3

The systematic undermining continued, relentless and precise.

Em, a bright student, had her sights set on a regional scholarship, the Oakhaven Promise Grant, her best chance to afford college outside their struggling town. Her grades were top, her essay praised by her English teacher.

A week before the announcements, the scholarship criteria suddenly changed. A new, significant weight was given to "demonstrated overcoming of recent family hardship," and a substantial "anonymous donation" had increased the scholarship amount, making it even more coveted.

Britt Evans won the Oakhaven Promise Grant.

The "recent family hardship" cited was a minor electrical fire in the Evanses' garage, quickly extinguished, no injuries. The "anonymous donor," it was later rumored, had ties to Mark Evans' s expanding business interests.

Em felt a cold knot in her stomach. It was too neat, too specific.

Her teacher, Ms. Albright, looked genuinely sorry. "Emily, your application was outstanding. This last-minute change... it' s unusual."

But there was nothing to be done.

Susan Carter, trying to bring in extra money, decided to open a small booth at the local farmers market, selling her famous jams and baked goods. She found a perfect, tiny, underused storefront downtown, cheap rent, good foot traffic. It was her dream to turn it into a little diner someday.

They scraped together the deposit, Tom taking extra shifts.

The day before they were due to sign the lease, the "SOLD" sign went up.

The buyers? Mark and Sharon Evans.

They announced plans for a "chic, upscale boutique," something Oakhaven had never seen and, frankly, didn't seem to need. Sharon gushed to the local paper about "bringing a touch of city glamour" to their town.

Susan was quiet for a long time that evening, looking out the kitchen window at her wilting rose bushes.

"It's like they know," she finally said, her voice barely a whisper. "It's like they know what we want, and they take it."

Em started to feel isolated. Friends she' d had for years seemed distant. Whispers followed her in the school hallways.

"Did you hear? Em Carter thought she had that scholarship in the bag."

"The Evanses are really going places. That new boutique is going to be amazing."

Britt, meanwhile, floated through her days with an air of serene triumph. She didn't gloat openly to Em anymore. She didn't need to. Her life was becoming a testament to her strange prophecy.

Her parents enabled it all. Sharon, preening at every local event, dropping casual mentions of Britt's "bright future." Mark, ever the opportunist, using his new foreman position and business connections to smooth paths for his family, often at the expense of others.

He' d once cornered Tom after a town meeting. "Carter," he'd said, a smug look on his face. "Some people are just meant for bigger things. Others... well, they find their level."

The final blow to their Oakhaven life came with the spring rains.

The Conemaugh River, usually a placid ribbon of water, swelled over days of relentless downpour. Flood warnings were issued, then upgraded.

The Carters lived on lower ground, closer to the river. They moved what they could to the small attic, but it wasn't much.

Britt Evans found Em helping her parents stack sandbags, a futile effort against the rising water.

"You should move your valuables higher, Em," Britt said, her voice eerily calm amidst the growing panic. "Especially anything irreplaceable. The water's going to come fast tonight. Higher than anyone expects."

"How would you know?" Em snapped, tired and scared.

Britt just gave that knowing smile. "I just do."

Later, they heard the Evanses, who lived on slightly higher ground, had rented a U-Haul days before the worst of the flooding and moved most of their possessions to a storage unit in the next county.

The flood was devastating. Water surged through Oakhaven' s streets, invading homes, destroying businesses. The Carters' small house was inundated. Their savings, kept in a "safe" box Tom had bolted to the basement floor, were submerged, the cash ruined. The damage to the house was catastrophic.

They sheltered at the local high school gym with hundreds of others.

A few days later, picking through the mud-caked ruins of their home, Em found Britt standing there, dry and untouched in new clothes.

"See?" Britt said, her voice soft, almost gentle, which made it even more chilling. "I told you."

Em stared at her, numb with grief and exhaustion.

"This was all supposed to be your life, Em," Britt continued, her eyes gleaming. "The successes, the easy path. I know because... I' ve lived it before. This is my second time around."

Em just looked at her, uncomprehending.

"I'm reincarnated," Britt said, as if explaining the weather. "I know the original script. Your life was supposed to be good. Easy. But I'm living it now. This flood, your family losing everything... it wasn't in your original script. But it clears the way for me."

She paused, then added, with a hint of cruel triumph, "This town was always a dead end for you anyway. Now you have no choice but to leave."

Em felt a rage so cold it burned. "You're insane."

Britt shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm the one with the good life, aren't I?"

She turned and walked away, leaving Em standing in the wreckage, the stench of river mud and despair filling the air.