Chapter 4 : The Return

My throat hurt. “Then… who am I? Scarlett?”

Victor stepped into the light. His suit was perfect. It had no wrinkles. His eyes were harder than the shiny floor. “Yes. Your name is Scarlett Blackwood.”

My hand lifted. It was slow and weak. I touched the bandages on my face. I could feel a new shape under them. Tears filled my eyes but did not fall. “So she is really gone…”

Victor’s voice was cold and sure. It was not a question. “Yes. Emily Hart died. Scarlett Blackwood was born.”

He moved to the side. The doctor stepped forward. He held a mirror in front of me.

I looked at my reflection. A stranger wrapped in white looked back. I could not see Emily anywhere.

Victor leaned down close to my ear. His whisper was like a law. Something that could not be broken.

“Welcome to your new life, Scarlett. Never forget. You belong to me now.”

---

“Scarlett.”

My name no longer felt strange. Emily was gone. She was hidden under weeks of surgery and healing. Victor had poured fire into me. I sat in front of the mirror. I brushed my black hair. Slow and steady strokes. A knock came on my door. It was deep and heavy.

“Come in,” I said.

Victor walked in. He filled the doorway with his dark clothes and sharp eyes. He looked at me the way a man looks at a blade he has made.

“You are ready, my Scarlett,” he said. His voice had no question. Then he paused. “Not fully. But ready enough. The guards will go with you.”

I placed the brush down on the table. “So it is finally today.”

“Yes.” Victor stepped closer. His shadow swallowed my small space. “Today, the world will meet Scarlett.”

I gave him a thin smile. “And Emily stays dead.”

“Exactly. Emily stays dead.” He touched a strand of my hair. It had fallen over my cheek. He tucked it back. His lips brushed my forehead. It was a strange softness. I still did not understand it. “Fear is a waste now. You walk like you own every stone on the ground. Let them whisper. Let them choke on it.”

“I will not bow my head again,” I whispered. More to myself than to him.

“That is my girl,” Victor said. He had the smallest of smiles.

The car ride was silent. I sat in the back. One guard sat beside me. Two sat in the front. My black dress hugged my body. The jacket was sharp. My red lips burned against my pale skin. It was the first time I had ever worn such a color.

The guard next to me broke the silence. “Nervous?”

I kept my eyes on the tall gates ahead. “No,” I said. My voice was steady and cold. “I am only waiting.”

The guard chuckled. “Good answer. The boss will like that.”

The car rolled to a stop. The driver opened my door. “Miss Scarlett.”

I stepped out. The sound of my heels was sharp on the ground. It cracked the air. Heads turned. Conversations stopped mid-laugh. Students stared.

“Who is that?” one voice whispered.

“New girl?” another said.

“No way. She does not look like a student. She looks… rich.”

I did not look at any of them. I walked forward. My hair swung. My chin was high. Boys’ mouths dropped open. Girls squinted. They whispered like bees.

“She is gorgeous.”

“She is scary.”

“That dress…it must cost more than my life.”

My red lips curved a little. Not a smile. More like a warning. Inside me, Emily’s ghost shook. But I whispered back to it, You are dead. Stay buried.

The entrance hall was crowded. Students leaned on lockers. Their arms were folded. But all of them were staring now. Whispers spread like fire.

Then I saw him.

Ayden.

His arm rested around Kelsey’s shoulders. Kelsey—perfect blonde hair, perfect laugh, perfect queen of the school. Emily had always been the shadow to her shine.

Ayden’s friend elbowed him. He nodded toward me.

“Bro, who is that?”

Ayden’s smirk froze. His eyes, sharp and clever, moved from Kelsey to me. His gaze narrowed. He stared as if he wanted to pull the truth from my face.

Kelsey followed his eyes. Her laugh stopped. Her hand tightened on Ayden’s arm. “Ayden?” she said. Her voice was sharp.

He did not answer her. His steps moved. They were smooth and confident. He walked through the crowd toward me.

I saw him but did not slow down. I walked like he was invisible. My heels hit the ground.

Kelsey called again, louder this time. “Ayden!”

Still he ignored her.

He stopped right in front of me. He blocked my path. His smell, clean cologne mixed with pride, hit my nose. He leaned down a little. His eyes were fixed on mine.

“Well, hello,” he said. His voice was low and smooth. “You must be new.”

I lifted my eyes to him. I said nothing. I only stared. I let the silence press heavy between us.

Ayden smiled wider. He was used to girls melting under that look. “Not much of a talker?”

My gaze dropped to his mouth, then back to his eyes. “Not for everyone.”

The words cut sharper than a blade.

Behind him, Kelsey’s face went red. “Excuse me?” she snapped. “Ayden, you are just going to—”

Ayden lifted a hand. He silenced her without looking back. His eyes never left me. “You have fire. I like that. I love girls like you."

I tilted my head. My lips curved in a cool smirk. “I do not care what you like. And boys like you are just not my type."

The crowd gasped. A wave of shock passed through the students. Nobody spoke to Ayden that way. Nobody.

Ayden blinked once, then laughed softly. “Interesting.”

I stepped forward. I brushed past Kelsey like she was air. The crowd moved without a sound. They gave me space.

Ayden watched me. The smirk never left his face. “Scarlett, huh?” he called after me.

I did not look back. “That was fast. But then remember it,” I said. My voice was cool and sharp. “It is the last name you will need to know.”