Introduction

The sterile scent of antiseptic always brought me back.

It was the smell of my last death – broken and bleeding in a dark alley.

But this time, I wasn\'t dying; I was walking into Senator Maxwell' s garden party, my husband, Professor Ethan Thorne, adjusting his tie beside me.

To the world, he was a rising academic star.

To me, he was my future murderer.

Just hours ago, in a lifetime I' d miraculously escaped, his accomplices left me for dead after his brilliant scheme to have his lover, Holly Summers, "save" the Senator' s granddaughter backfired, permanently disfiguring little Lily Maxwell.

His last words echoed in my mind, "Make sure she doesn' t talk."

I\'d loved him, trusted him with my life, and he' d thrown it all away for power and wealth.

Now, he asked, his smile perfectly crafted but his eyes calculating, "Liv, are you ready? Holly is already in the garden."

He saw his naive wife, the talented musician.

He couldn\'t see the ghost in my eyes, the cold resolve that now fueled me.

He had no idea he was looking at the woman who would orchestrate his ruin.

I had been given a second chance.

Not for love, not for happiness, but for justice.

The game had just been reset, but this time, I was writing the rules.