SECOND LIFE: CEO's shadow

The night was too beautiful. That should have been my first warning.

I stood on the edge of the rooftop garden at the Vane Estate, looking out at the city of Oakhaven. From up here, forty stories high, the cars looked like tiny glowing bugs and the people didn't exist at all. The wind was cold, biting at my bare shoulders, but I didn't mind. I felt like I was on top of the world.

It was my twenty-fourth birthday. Downstairs, the ballroom was packed with the city's elite. I could hear the faint, muffled thrum of the orchestra playing a waltz. They were all there for me, drinking my father's vintage wine and celebrating the Vane name. But I had escaped the noise to find some peace. And to find Marcus.

I looked down at the "Vane Heart" emerald hanging from my neck. It was a massive, deep green stone that felt heavy and cold against my skin. My father gave it to me before he passed, telling me it was the soul of our family. I felt like a queen wearing it. I felt safe.

"There's my birthday girl."

I turned around, a smile lighting up my face. Marcus stood there, looking so handsome in his tuxedo. His sandy hair was perfectly pushed back, and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle under the moonlight. I loved him so much it hurt. I had spent the last three years giving him everything-my heart, my time, and a lot of my inheritance to help him build his dreams.

"You're late," I teased, stepping toward him. "I thought you were going to meet me here twenty minutes ago."

"I had to make sure everything was in place," Marcus said. His voice was smooth, but there was a strange edge to it. He didn't reach out to hug me. He stayed a few feet away, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"In place? What do you mean?" I asked.

A shadow moved behind one of the large marble pillars. A woman stepped out, smoothing her silk dress. It was Sienna. My best friend. My assistant. The girl I had treated like a sister since the day we met. She was wearing a smirk that made my stomach do a slow, sick roll.

"It means the paperwork is finished, Clara," Sienna said. She walked over to Marcus and slid her arm through his. She didn't look like a friend anymore. She looked like a predator who had finally cornered its prey. "The final transfer for Reed Development went through at midnight. You're officially broke."

I laughed, but it was a nervous, shaky sound. "Sienna, stop. That's not funny. Marcus, tell her she's being weird."

Marcus didn't move. He didn't look at me with love. He looked at me like I was a problem he had finally solved. "She isn't lying, Clara. Those 'charity' papers you signed this morning? They weren't for a hospital. They were the deeds to the Vane holdings. Every building, every emerald mine, every cent. It all belongs to me now."

I felt the blood drain from my face. The cold wind suddenly felt like it was cutting through my skin. "But... I trusted you. We were going to get married. You told me you loved me."

Sienna let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "He loved your bank account, you idiot. Did you really think a man like Marcus could ever be satisfied with a girl as boring as you? You're soft, Clara. You're weak. You spent your life playing princess while we did the hard work of figureing out how to take it all away from you."

She stepped closer, her perfume-a scent I had bought for her-filling my nose. "He's been in my bed since the month you hired me. Every time you thought he was working late at the office? He was with me. We used to laugh about how easy you were to trick. You practically begged us to rob you."

I looked at Marcus, my eyes stinging with tears. "Is this true? All of it?"

"It doesn't matter if it's true," Marcus said, his voice cold as ice. He checked his watch, looking bored. "What matters is that the Vane family line ends tonight. If you stay alive, you're a loose end. You'll go to the lawyers. You'll make a scene. I can't have that."

"What are you saying?" I whispered, backing away. My heels clicked against the stone ledge of the roof.

"I'm saying goodbye," Marcus said.

He didn't even do it himself. He didn't want the blood on his hands. He just looked at Sienna.

With a look of pure joy, Sienna stepped forward. She put her hands on my shoulders. I saw the moonlight hit the diamonds on her fingers-diamonds I had paid for.

"See you in the next life, Clara," she hissed.

Then, she pushed.

The world vanished. I felt the terrifying sensation of my feet leaving the solid ground. My stomach dropped into my throat. I reached out, my fingers clawing at the empty air, but there was nothing to catch me.

I saw the roof receding. I saw Marcus and Sienna leaning over the edge, watching me fall like I was nothing more than a piece of trash they had thrown away. They weren't crying. They weren't screaming. They were just watching.

I fell through the dark. The wind tore at my hair and my dress. I saw the lights of the city flashing by-floor after floor of the building my father had built. I thought of my dad. I thought of how much I had let him down. I thought of my own heart, which had shattered long before I hit the ground.

A hot, burning rage flared up in my chest. It was stronger than the fear. It was a promise. If I could go back, I thought, the air screaming in my ears, I would burn their world to the ground. I would make them wish they had never heard the name Vane.

Then, there was a sound like a thunderclap.

The world went black. It wasn't a soft darkness. It was heavy and cold. I felt like I was being crushed, like every bone in my body was turning to dust. I waited for the end. I waited for the silence to last forever.

But then, I felt something.

It was a smell. It wasn't the metallic scent of blood or the cold wind of the roof. It was the smell of roasted coffee beans and old books.

I felt a sudden, violent jolt, like I had been dropped from a small height onto something soft. My lungs burned as I took in a sharp, gasping breath. I choked, my hands flying to my throat. I expected to feel broken skin and jagged bone.

But my skin was warm. My neck was whole.

"Clara? Hey, are you okay? You look like you're having a heart attack."

The voice hit me like a physical blow to the chest. It was a voice from the past. A voice that belonged to a killer.

I snapped my eyes open.

I wasn't on the pavement. I was sitting in a sun-drenched wooden booth at a small cafe called The Golden Bean. I knew this place. I used to come here every Tuesday when I was twenty-one.

I looked across the table. Marcus was sitting there.

He looked younger. His face was fuller, and he didn't have the expensive watch or the designer suit yet. He was wearing a cheap, wrinkled shirt and looking at me with a fake, worried smile.

I looked down at the table. Between us sat a blue folder. I knew exactly what was inside it. It was the Seed Capital Agreement. This was the day he asked me for my inheritance. This was the day my real life ended and my nightmare began.

My heart was beating so fast I could feel it in my teeth. I wasn't dead. I was back. I was really, truly back.

"Clara? Did you hear me?" Marcus asked, reaching across the table to touch my hand.

I pulled my hand away so fast I almost knocked over my drink. The rage I had felt as I fell was still there, bubbling under my skin like lava. I looked at him-really looked at him-and I didn't see the man I loved. I saw the man who watched me die.

"I heard you," I said. My voice was raspy, but it was strong.

I looked at the pen sitting on the table. It was the pen that was supposed to sign away my life. I picked it up, feeling the weight of it in my hand. Marcus smiled, his eyes hungry for the money he thought was coming.

I didn't sign the paper. Instead, I gripped the pen so hard I thought it might snap. I looked Marcus Reed dead in the eye, and for the first time in two lives, I wasn't afraid.

"I'm not signing this, Marcus," I said.

The game had changed. And this time, I was the one who knew how it ended.

I could hear the blood rushing in my ears like a heavy waterfall. The cafe was too bright and too loud. The clinking of spoons against ceramic mugs sounded like hammers hitting stone. I stared at Marcus, really looked at him, and I felt a wave of cold sickness wash over me.

He looked so innocent. He had that boyish charm I used to adore, with a little lock of hair falling over his forehead. Back then, I thought it was cute. Now, I just saw it as a mask. This was the man who had stood on a roof and watched the life go out of my eyes without blinking.

"Clara? Babe, you're scaring me," Marcus said. He laughed, but it was that hollow, nervous laugh he used when he wasn't getting his way. "What do you mean you aren't signing? We've been talking about this startup for months. It's our future. Our house, our kids, everything we ever wanted is in that folder."

Our kids. The lie made my skin crawl. He never wanted a family with me. He just wanted a bank account that didn't talk back.

I looked down at the paper. It was a simple contract. If I signed it, I would move five hundred thousand dollars from my father's trust into a business account Marcus controlled. In my first life, I had been so proud to do it. I thought I was being a supportive partner. I thought I was being a hero.

"I can't do it today, Marcus," I said. I was proud of how steady my voice was, even though my insides felt like they were made of glass.

"Is it the money? Are you worried about the risk?" Marcus leaned over the table, trying to catch my gaze. He reached for my hand again, but I moved it to my lap before he could touch me. "I told you, I've done the research. The tech market is booming. If we don't move now, we lose the office space. I already told the landlord we'd have the deposit by four o'clock."

"That was a mistake," I told him. "You shouldn't make promises with money that isn't yours yet."

Marcus flinched like I had slapped him. The mask slipped for just a second. His eyes went hard and dark, the same way they looked on the roof. It was a tiny flash of the killer he would become, and it made my heart stop for a beat.

"What is wrong with you today?" he snapped. He caught himself and softened his voice quickly, but the damage was done. "I'm sorry. I'm just stressed. This is a big deal for us, Clara. I thought we were a team."

"We are a team," I lied. The words tasted like poison in my mouth. "But I had a meeting with my estate lawyer this morning. There is a random audit on my father's accounts. The bank has flagged some of the larger transfers because they happened so close to his death. Everything is frozen for at least thirty days."

Marcus stared at me. He wasn't looking for signs that I was okay or stressed about my inheritance. He was just calculating how this would hurt his plans.

"Thirty days?" he whispered. "Clara, that's impossible. We'll lose the building. The investors will walk away. Can't you call someone? Use your name?"

"I tried," I said, leaning back in the booth. I felt a strange, cold sense of power. For the first time, I was the one holding the keys to the kingdom. "There is nothing I can do. The law is the law."

Marcus sat back, his face twisted in frustration. He wasn't the man I loved anymore. He was just a small, greedy person who was losing his grip on a golden ticket. He didn't even try to hide his anger this time. He just stared at the folder like he wanted to set it on fire.

"Fine," he spat. "I guess I'll have to call the landlord and tell him my girlfriend can't keep her word."

"Tell him whatever you like," I said.

I stood up and grabbed my purse. My legs felt heavy, but I forced myself to walk away with my head held high. I didn't look back to see the look on his face. I knew what it looked like. I had seen it as I fell from the building.

I stepped out of the cafe and into the warm morning air. My lungs felt like they were finally getting enough oxygen. I was back. I was really back. And I had just taken the first step toward saving my life.

But Marcus was only half the problem.

I walked toward the subway, my mind racing. If I was twenty-one again, that meant Sienna was already in my life. She was probably sitting in my living room right now, pretending to be my best friend while she waited for me to come home and tell her the good news about the money.

The thought of her made my blood boil. I remembered the way she pushed me. I remembered the joy in her eyes when she told me Marcus never loved me.

I checked my phone. It was an old model, the screen was small and the buttons were clunky. I had a message from her.

Hey bestie! How did the meeting go? Are we rich yet? I've got wine chilling!

I felt a shiver of pure disgust. I didn't reply. I couldn't. Not yet.

I needed a plan. I had thirty days before Marcus found a way to pressure me again. Thirty days to move my money, hide my assets, and find someone who could help me take them both down. I couldn't do this alone. I was rich, but I didn't have power. Not the kind of power Marcus was afraid of.

I remembered a name I used to hear in the shadows of the high-society parties. A man who didn't play by the rules. A man who made Marcus look like a child playing with toy cars.

Alistair Thorne.

In my first life, I was terrified of him. Everyone was. He was the kind of man who bought companies just to break them apart. He was cold, he was ruthless, and he didn't care about anything but winning.

I looked at the reflection of my young, tired face in a store window. I looked like a girl who was about to lose everything.

"Not this time," I whispered to the glass.

I wasn't going to be the girl who fell. I was going to be the girl who stood her ground. And if I had to make a deal with a monster to do it, then that's exactly what I would do.

The walk back to my apartment felt like a trip through a graveyard. Every street corner reminded me of a memory that turned out to be a lie. I passed the bakery where Marcus used to buy me cupcakes, and the park where he first told me he loved me. Back then, those memories were gold. Now, they were just trash.

I reached the front door of my building. It was a beautiful place with a marble lobby and a doorman who always tipped his hat to me. My dad had worked his whole life to make sure I lived in a place like this. He wanted me to be safe. I felt a sharp pang of guilt in my chest thinking about how I let two snakes crawl right into the heart of his legacy.

I took a deep breath and pushed the key into the lock.

The apartment was bright and airy. The scent of vanilla candles filled the air, and for a second, I almost let myself relax. Then I heard the sound of humming coming from the kitchen.

Sienna walked out, wearing a pair of my expensive yoga leggings and a cropped top. She was holding a glass of chilled white wine in each hand. She looked so pretty, so small, and so perfectly fake.

"There she is!" Sienna chirped, walking toward me with a huge smile. "I heard the door. Well? Tell me everything! Is Marcus the happiest man in the world? Are we officially the board members of a tech empire?"

She tried to hand me a glass of wine. I looked at her hand-the same hand that had pushed me off the roof-and I felt a surge of heat in my face. It took everything I had not to throw the wine right back at her.

"No," I said, walking past her and dropping my bag on the counter. "I didn't sign."

Sienna froze. The glass in her hand wobbled. "Wait, what? Why not? Did Marcus get cold feet? I thought he was so ready for this."

"It wasn't Marcus," I said, turning to face her. I watched her closely, looking for that tiny crack in her mask. "The bank flagged my inheritance. There's a random audit on the estate. Everything is locked down for at least thirty days."

The disappointment that flashed across her face was so quick most people would have missed it. But I wasn't most people anymore. I saw her eyes go cold for a split second before she forced them to look worried.

"Thirty days?" Sienna whispered. She set the wine glasses down on the counter with a loud clink. "But Clara, you know Marcus. He was counting on that money for the deposit. He's going to be so stressed. Can't you just call the bank and tell them who you are?"

"I already told him I wouldn't do that," I said. I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. "The law is the law, Sienna. Besides, if his business idea is so great, it can survive a few weeks of waiting, right?"

Sienna's mouth thinned into a straight line. She wasn't used to me talking back. In the old life, I was the girl who apologized for everything. I was the girl who let Sienna borrow my jewelry and never asked for it back.

"I just think you're being a little hard on him," Sienna said, her voice turning sweet and manipulative. "He loves you so much, Clara. He's doing all of this for your future. Don't you think you owe him a little more trust?"

"I think I owe myself a little more caution," I replied.

The silence in the room grew heavy. Sienna stared at me like she was seeing a stranger. She wasn't wrong. The girl she knew died on a sidewalk three years from now.

"You're being really weird today," Sienna said, picking up her wine and taking a long sip. "Is it because of that dream you had? You've been acting like you're in a bad mood since you woke up."

"I'm not in a bad mood. I'm just tired," I said, though my heart was racing. I had to get her out of my space. Being near her felt like being near a ticking bomb. "In fact, I think I need some space. I told Marcus I had a headache, and I think I need to just be alone for a few days to figure out this bank stuff."

Sienna blinked. "A few days? But we were supposed to go to that gallery opening tomorrow night! And I was going to stay over so we could finish that mood board for the office."

"I'm canceling the gallery," I said. "And I think it's better if you stay at your own place for a while. I need to focus."

Sienna's face twisted. She wasn't just disappointed now; she was angry. She had been living off my generosity for a year, treating my guest room like her own private suite.

"Fine," she spat, her voice losing all of its sweetness. "If you want to be alone and miserable, go ahead. But don't come crying to me when Marcus gets upset that you're treating him like a stranger."

She grabbed her purse from the sofa and marched toward the door. She didn't even say goodbye. She slammed the door so hard the pictures on the wall rattled.

I sank onto a kitchen stool, my hands shaking. I had done it. I had said no to Marcus and I had kicked Sienna out. The two people who had destroyed me were finally on the outside looking in.

But I knew this was just the beginning. Marcus wouldn't give up on five hundred thousand dollars that easily. He would try to guilt me. He would try to make me feel small. And Sienna would be right there, whispering in his ear, helping him find a way to break me.

I looked at the wine glasses on the counter. Two glasses for a celebration that would never happen.

I picked them both up and poured the wine down the sink. I watched the pale liquid swirl down the drain, and I felt a strange sense of peace. I wasn't a victim anymore. I was a player in a game they didn't even know we were playing.

I went to my bedroom and pulled out an old notebook. I sat on the edge of the bed and started writing. I wrote down everything I remembered. The dates of the mergers, the names of the investors Marcus had cheated, the secret deals Sienna had made behind my back.

I had thirty days.

By the time the bank "audit" was over, I wouldn't just be protecting my money. I would be building a trap so big they would never see it coming.

And I knew exactly who the first person I needed to call was.

I looked at my phone and typed in the name I had searched for earlier. Alistair Thorne. I knew he was going to be at a high-end jewelry auction on Friday. It was an event for the richest people in the country. Marcus had tried to get us an invitation in the first life, but he wasn't important enough.

But I was a Vane. And my name still meant something.

I was going to that auction. And I was going to meet the only man who could help me turn my rage into a weapon.