Chapter 1

My life was perfect, or as close to perfect as an art student could get. I was the top candidate for the prestigious Atherton scholarship, a full ride that would launch my career. My paintings were getting noticed, my grades were stellar, and for the first time, I felt a deep, unshakable confidence.

It all started the day my roommate, Chloe, gave me the locket.

She found me in our shared dorm room, hunched over a canvas, adding the final touches to my portfolio.

"Ava, you' ve been working too hard," she said, her voice full of that sweet, manufactured concern she was so good at.

She pressed a small, cool object into my palm. It was an antique silver locket, tarnished with age, with intricate vines carved into its surface.

"It' s a family heirloom," she explained, her smile wide and genuine. "For good luck. You deserve this scholarship more than anyone."

I was touched. I trusted her completely. I put the locket on, and the cool metal felt strange against my skin for a moment, then warmed up.

From that day on, everything got better. My artist' s block vanished, replaced by a flood of inspiration. I slept soundly and woke up full of energy. A sense of well-being washed over me, calming the usual pre-exhibition jitters. I felt incredible. I attributed it all to the locket, my lucky charm from my best friend.

The day the scholarship was announced was also the day of the annual student art exhibition. The gallery was packed. My paintings were front and center. The university dean, a stern woman named Mrs. Albright, walked to the podium. The air was thick with anticipation.

"The Atherton scholarship," she announced, her voice echoing in the silent room, "is awarded to the student whose work has shown not only exceptional skill but profound vision. This year, that student is Ava."

A wave of applause washed over me. I was beaming, shaking hands, accepting congratulations. I felt Chloe' s arm wrap around my shoulder. "I' m so proud of you," she whispered in my ear.

And then it happened.

A pain, so sharp and blinding it stole my breath, shot through my abdomen. It wasn' t a cramp, it was something brutal, something tearing me apart from the inside. I gasped, stumbling forward, my hand clutching my stomach. The room fell silent again, the smiles freezing on people' s faces.

Another wave of agony hit me, and I screamed. I collapsed to the floor, the polished wood cold against my cheek. My vision blurred. People were shouting, backing away. I could feel something happening, a horrifying, impossible pressure building inside me.

The next few moments were a chaotic blur of pain, blood, and the collective gasp of the crowd. Right there, on the floor of the art gallery, under the bright lights and surrounded by my life' s work, I gave birth to a baby.

The scandal was instant and absolute. Cameras flashed, phones recorded. My name wasn't just on the scholarship list anymore, it was in the headlines of every gossip blog. "Miracle Birth or Immoral Hoax? Art Student' s Public Scandal."

The university revoked the scholarship the next morning. Dean Albright didn' t even look at me.

"The board finds your conduct unbecoming of an Atherton scholar," she said, her words cold and final. "Your enrollment is terminated, effective immediately."

I tried to explain. I begged. I pleaded that I didn' t know, that I had never been with a man, that it was impossible. They looked at me with pity and disgust. The baby, a product of a curse I didn't understand, was proof of my lie.

My parents were worse. My mother' s voice was a blade over the phone.

"How could you do this? How could you bring such shame to this family? We are a laughingstock, Ava. Don't call us again."

They disowned me. My friends, my future, my family-all gone in an instant.

The despair was a physical weight, crushing the air from my lungs. I had nothing left. The baby was taken by social services, a stranger I had no connection to. I was alone in a cheap motel room, the walls closing in.

I couldn' t see a way out. I walked to the bridge, the cold night air doing nothing to numb the pain inside. I looked down at the dark, swirling water below. This was the only way to make it stop. I let go.

In the strange, quiet space after death, the truth was revealed to me. I saw it all with horrifying clarity. The locket wasn' t for good luck. It was a cursed object, ancient and evil. It didn' t just bring inspiration, it drained the life essence from one person and transferred it to another, along with a stolen pregnancy.

And the mastermind was Chloe.

I saw her envy, a toxic green poison that had festered for years. I saw her orchestrate a one-night encounter with Liam, a wealthy art collector who sponsored the exhibition. She had intended for him to get her pregnant, to secure her future. But the locket offered a cleaner, more diabolical plan. She stole his life essence during that encounter, stored it in the locket, and then gave it to me.

She planned for me to have Liam' s baby, to have my reputation destroyed so she could swoop in and claim the scholarship. She would then present the child to Liam, claiming a brief, forgotten affair, and manipulate him into a life of luxury. My public humiliation was her stepping stone.

My soul screamed with a rage that transcended death. The betrayal was so deep, so monstrous, it burned away my despair and forged it into something hard and sharp: a desire for revenge.

And then, a pull. A violent, wrenching sensation. The darkness dissolved.

I gasped, my eyes flying open.

I wasn't falling into cold water. I was standing in my dorm room, the smell of oil paint thick in the air. My portfolio piece was on the easel, nearly finished.

In front of me, Chloe stood smiling, her hand outstretched.

And in her palm, gleaming under the desk lamp, was the antique silver locket.

"For good luck," she said, her voice dripping with poison I could finally hear. "You deserve it."

I was back.