Chapter 2

I'd been given another chance. I'd come back to the exact morning I drove Callum to school. In ten minutes, Elara would accuse him of filming her.

I sat frozen behind the wheel, my heart pounding so hard I could barely breathe.

Then, Callum's phone buzzed. The screen lit up. It was Dorian Ashcombe.

The second I saw the name, ice shot through my veins. Dorian was Elara's boyfriend. He was the boy who'd ended up with Callum's competition spot after he was disqualified.

Callum noticed none of my panic. He simply answered the call.

"Callum, are you at school yet?" Dorian's anxious voice came through the speaker. "I left some stuff in my locker at the gym. My competition notes. I've got class in a minute, so I can't get over there. Any chance you could grab them for me on your way in?"

Every alarm bell in my head went off at once.

"No!"

Callum jumped and turned to me. "Liv? What's wrong?"

The call was still connected. Dorian pressed harder. "Come on, Callum. I'm seriously stuck here. It'll take you five minutes, tops. The gym's right by the entrance. Just grab the notes and leave them on my desk. They're taking attendance in the first period. I can't just walk out."

That was when everything finally clicked. I realized why Callum had gone to the gym that morning, why he'd happened to be outside the locker room at exactly the wrong moment, and why, when Elara came running out in tears, there had been a crowd around her almost instantly.

None of it had been a coincidence. They'd planned the whole thing. Callum had been walking straight into a trap.

Anger surged through me. For one wild second, I wanted to rip the phone out of his hand and tell Dorian I knew what he and Elara were planning.

However, I couldn't. If they were willing to go this far, they wouldn't give up after one failed attempt.

Maybe I could save Callum today, but what about tomorrow? I couldn't spend the rest of my life waiting for their next move.

No. This time, I was going to make sure every scheme they came up with blew up in their faces.

Callum must have noticed how pale I'd gone. He reached over and took my hand. "Liv, are you okay?"

His hand was warm. Suddenly, all I could remember was that same hand clutching desperately at my sleeve in my previous life while he asked me why no one believed him.

My eyes burned. I almost broke down right there.

Dorian was still talking. "Callum, please. I'm begging you. There's literally no one else I can ask. You're always the guy who helps people out, right? And you know I can't afford to replace those notes. If they're gone, I'm screwed."

Callum had always had a soft spot for people in trouble. Dorian knew exactly which buttons to push.

Callum hesitated for a few seconds before finally giving in. "Fine. I'll grab them when I get there."

My stomach dropped. After the call ended, I checked my phone. It was 7:24 am. Eight minutes. That was all we had before Elara came running out and accused Callum.

My hands started shaking against the steering wheel. No matter how hard I tried to stop it, I kept seeing Callum as I'd found him in my last life.

If he walked into that gym eight minutes from now, it would all happen again. Every piece of evidence they'd planted would lead straight back to him.

No. Not this time. I wasn't going to let them destroy my brother twice. What could I do, though? I couldn't let him go to school. I couldn't let him anywhere near the gym. Most of all, I couldn't let Elara get close enough to put their plan into motion.

They'd thought this through—every detail, and every minute. All Callum had to do was show up when they expected him to. After that, the trap would close around him, and there would be no way out.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to think.

At 7:32 am, Callum needed to be somewhere else, and not just somewhere else. I needed proof so airtight that no accusation could touch him. It had to be something that would tear their story apart before they even had the chance to tell it.

However, what could give him an alibi no one could question? What could turn their carefully planned setup into a complete joke?

I pulled up outside the school, and Callum immediately unbuckled his seat belt. "Liv, you seriously don't look good. Why don't you go home and get some rest? I'll grab Dorian's notes and head straight to class."

He tucked away the competition study guide he'd read so many times that the edges were starting to fray, then reached for the door.

I got out right behind him.

The morning bell was already ringing, and students were streaming through the school gates.

Callum headed toward the steps of the main building, then glanced back at me. "Go home, okay? And take it easy on the drive. When I win the competition and get the prize money, I'll buy you a new phone. Yours has that huge crack across the screen."