Chapter 1

The phantom sensation of freezing water filled my lungs, a cold that seeped into my bones. I jolted awake, gasping for air that wasn't there.

But I wasn't in the icy depths of Lake Champlain. I was in my luxurious Boston apartment, the silk sheets tangled around my legs.

My fiancé, Matthew Scott, stood by the bed, a condescending smile on his handsome face. His mother, a woman whose every look was a calculation, stood beside him, her arms crossed.

"Gabrielle, darling, are you finally awake? We need you to sign these papers," Mrs. Scott said, her voice smooth but laced with impatience.

Matthew placed a folder on the nightstand. "It's just to dissolve our shared assets before the wedding. A formality. I have a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity, and this just simplifies things."

I stared at them, my heart pounding not with love, but with a chilling, absolute clarity. I recognized this moment. It was the moment before everything went wrong.

Thirty days.

I had been reborn thirty days before "The Great Silence."

Thirty days before the world ended, before subterranean creatures that hunted by sound clawed their way out of the earth and plunged humanity into a quiet, terrified hell.

In my last life, this conversation ended with me in tears, refusing to sign, feeling betrayed. This time, I felt nothing but a cold, hard resolve.

I looked at Matthew, the man who would use me as a decoy, pushing me off a boat to create a loud splash that would draw the creatures away from him and his pregnant mistress.

I looked at his mother, the woman who encouraged him to use me for my family's money and then discard me.

I picked up the pen.

"Okay," I said, my voice steady.

They both stared, shocked into silence. I didn't cry. I didn't argue. I just signed the papers, one by one, giving away my claim to everything we had built together.

Matthew's shock quickly turned into smug satisfaction. "See, Mother? I told you she'd understand."

I pushed the signed papers back towards him. "There. It's done."

My new goal was simple. Survive. Protect my family. And watch my enemies get everything they deserved.

I got out of bed and started packing a small duffel bag. I took only a few valuable family heirlooms, things my mother had given me. Then, as Matthew and his mother were celebrating in the living room, I walked to the entryway table.

I picked up his wallet, took out his driver's license, and slipped it into my pocket.

Then I walked out the door without a backward glance.

The city of Boston, loud and alive, felt like a ghost town to me. All I could hear was the future silence. I got into my car and started driving north, toward the Vermont wilderness.

As I drove, I thought about the things that mattered. Not the shared assets, not the real estate deals, not the life I had been building with a monster.

What mattered was my father, a reclusive, brilliant engineer who had been preparing for doomsday his entire life.

What mattered was my brother, Andrew, a U.S. Army Ranger who died a hero in my last life, a sacrifice I would not let happen again.

What mattered was the fortified compound my father had built, a self-sufficient fortress that would be our salvation.

Thirty days. The clock was ticking.

Matthew and his mother thought they had won. They were celebrating their future wealth, built on my family's connections and my hard work.

Let them.

I gripped the steering wheel, a grim smile on my face. Let them celebrate their meaningless paper fortune. In thirty days, money would be worthless.

And they would be food.