The Girl Who Cheated Death

I was three months pregnant when my Austin penthouse became my tomb.

My boyfriend, Liam, pushed me from the balcony, a fall swift and final.

My death was staged as a tragic suicide, a lie the news readily swallowed.

They didn't know the real reason: Daisy, a coyote pup I'd rescued, could shift into a beautiful woman.

Liam couldn't let that secret out, and now I watched my killers, my spirit haunting the home I' d paid for.

He pulled Daisy into his arms, sharing a passionate kiss right where my lifeless body had fallen.

"She's gone," Liam whispered, "It's all ours now."

They slandered my name, seized my family' s oil fortune, and buried me in a cheap wooden box.

Then, on my family ranch, over my desecrated grave, Liam confessed: "I only dated her to give you this life, Daisy. Chloe owed you this."

I burned with a rage so consuming, it felt like my very soul was on fire.

And then, I woke up, back in my Range Rover, the Texas storm roaring outside, faced with Daisy once more.

I was three months pregnant when my boyfriend, Liam, pushed me from the balcony of my Austin penthouse.

The fall was fast. The impact was final.

My death was staged as a suicide, a tragic story for the news. "Rich Heiress Overwhelmed by Life." They didn't know the real reason.

The catalyst was a coyote. A pup I' d rescued, who I named Daisy. I saw her shift, saw the mangy fur melt away and reform into the shape of a beautiful, wild-looking young woman.

Liam couldn't let that secret out.

My spirit, or whatever was left of me, lingered in the home I had paid for. I watched as Liam pulled the coyote-woman, Daisy, into his arms. They shared a passionate kiss right over the spot where my body had been.

"She's gone," Liam whispered to her. "It's all ours now."

They slandered my name to my friends and family. They seized my inheritance, my family' s oil fortune that I was meant to protect. They buried me in a cheap wooden box on an undeveloped patch of land my father had owned, a place I used to love.

Later, they held a lavish wedding on my family's ranch. They even had the nerve to go to my makeshift grave, standing on the dirt above me, and desecrate it.

I heard Liam' s confession then, a whisper carried on the wind.

"I only dated her to give you this life, Daisy," he said, his voice full of a sick devotion. "Chloe owed you this. All that privilege, all that money... it was never really hers to begin with. It was always meant for you."

The rage was a fire that consumed my very soul.

Then, I woke up.

I was back in my custom-fitted Range Rover, the leather cool against my skin. The roar of a Texas storm was fading outside.

My ranch hand, a kind old man named Javier, was in the passenger seat.

"Miss Chloe, look over there," he said, pointing.

On the muddy shoulder of the road, a lone coyote pup was whimpering, soaked and shivering.

Daisy.

The memory hit me like a physical blow. The fall, the betrayal, the cold dirt over my face. My baby, gone before it ever had a chance.

The pup looked at me with those same dark, intelligent eyes.

"Just a varmint, Javier," I said, my voice cold and unfamiliar even to my own ears. "Leave it be. It'll find its mother or it won't."

Javier looked at me, surprised. "But Miss, it's just a baby."

"Drive," I commanded.

He didn't argue. He put the truck in gear and we drove away, leaving the whimpering sound behind.

In the backseat was a gift box. A custom-made leather briefcase for Liam's birthday, with his initials embossed in gold. I had been so excited to give it to him.

On the way back to the ranch, I told Javier to pull over by a dumpster behind a strip mall. I got out, opened the back door, and tossed the expensive gift into the filth without a second thought.

I got back in the car, my hands steady.

I vowed to myself, never again. I would not support Liam. I would not rescue his monstrous pet. I would make them pay for what they did to me and my child.