Burden of Blood

I was stabbed so many times that I lost count. Right before I blacked out, I heard my sister-in-law, Maeve Cohen, laugh manically at me.

"Honestly, I'm not any worse than you in looks or education. Why did you get to marry the handsome, rich brother? He's long gone, and after you’re dead, all you have will be mine!"

I died unwillingly under her triumphant laughter.

Maybe fate took pity on how unfair everything was. I was given one more chance.

I was reborn to the day the victims' family first came to our house.

As I stood outside the airport, I heard the cab drivers calling for fares. The noise buzzed around my head, and a fierce excitement rose inside me.

I held my phone, waiting for Maeve's call. Sure enough, she called three seconds later.

"Lydia! What do I do? Someone scraped my car while it was parked!"

In my last life, she had said the same thing.

My brother-in-law, Richard Cohen, worked at a construction site, and they were struggling because Maeve had no income. So, I didn't make her pay for the repair.

"Do we need to compensate the other party? Since the car's mine, I'll cover it," I had said.

I said the exact same line this time.

"Yes, since you're not here, I can't report it to insurance… It'll be… a few thousand. You won't mind, right? When will you be home?"

"Of course not. I'll be home soon. I'll transfer the money to you."

"Wait—" she spoke, but I hung up before she could finish.

Last time, she had me send the money straight to the victims, and that became my admission of responsibility.

She was checking when I'd arrive because the victims' family was already on their way to my in-laws. She needed to know whether I'd get there in time.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn't the same naive Lydia Cohen anymore.

If she wanted to play games, I'd play better.

I had been slaughtered at my in-laws' house in my last life, and my father died without an intact body. I was going to make her pay, one thing at a time.