Chapter 3

MIA'S POV

I call the number immediately. It rings four times before he answers.

"Took you longer than I expected."

"How do you know?" My voice comes out shaky and desperate.

"Know what, Miss Carter?" Ethan's voice is calm, almost amused.

"About the rebirth. About me dying. How do you know?"

There's a pause. "I don't know anything about rebirth. I know you're a pathetic coward who can't even stand up to her own family. I watched you agree to support your sister after she spent the evening seducing your boyfriend."

"You were at the party?"

"I was across the street. I wanted to see if you'd prove me wrong." He sounds almost bored now. "You didn't. You failed spectacularly, actually."

My hands are shaking so hard I almost drop the phone. "Why do you care what I do?"

"I don't. But I hate waste, and you're wasting a second chance most people would kill for."

"I never told you about a second chance."

"You told me everything when you broke down in that parking lot two weeks from now. Or do timelines confuse you?" His voice sharpens. "I've been watching you, Mia. Waiting to see if you'd do anything different. You haven't."

Two weeks from now. He knows. He actually knows.

"Are you—did you also—"

"No. I'm not reborn. But I believe you are." He says it so matter-of-factly, like we're discussing the weather. "Your father mentioned your strange behavior lately. How you've been anxious, jumpy, staring at people like you're seeing ghosts. I did research. You match every pattern of someone who claims to have lived before."

"That's insane."

"Is it? You knew I'd walk out of that meeting before I did. Your pupils dilated when I stood up, like you were expecting it. You weren't surprised, you resigned." He pauses. "So either you're reborn, or you're psychic, or you're the most anxious person I've ever met. Given your family, I'm betting on option one."

I sit down on my bed because my legs won't hold me anymore. "What do you want?"

"I want to know if you're going to do anything with your second chance or if you're going to waste it being exactly who you were before."

"I don't know how to be different."

"Then you'll die the same way twice. Seems pointless." He sounds disappointed now, like I'm a failed experiment. "Goodnight, Miss Carter."

"Wait!" I'm shouting now, desperate. "Please. Help me. You said you would help me destroy them if I could say no. I'll do it. I'll say no next time."

"You've already had a dozen opportunities tonight. You said yes to every single one."

"Then give me another chance. Please." I'm begging now and I hate it but I can't stop. "I don't want to die again."

The silence stretches so long I think he's hung up. Then: "Fine. One more test. Your mother is going to call you tomorrow morning and ask you to give up your apartment so Lily can move in. She'll say Lily needs the space and you can move back home. Say no."

"That's not—she wouldn't—"

"She will. At nine thirty AM. Say no, and I'll help you. Say yes, and I never want to hear from you again." He hangs up before I can respond.

I don't sleep. I lie in bed staring at the ceiling, phone clutched in my hand, waiting for nine thirty.

Mom doesn't call until nine forty-five.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I hope you're feeling better after last night."

"I'm fine, Mom."

"Good, because I need to talk to you about something." Her tone shifts to business. "Lily's current apartment has mold issues. The landlord won't fix it and she can't break her lease for another six months. Your place is bigger and closer to the office."

My stomach drops. He was right. Exactly right.

"I thought maybe you could move back home for a while and let Lily take your apartment. Just until her lease is up. You're barely there anyway with how much your father has you working."

In my first life, I said yes immediately. Lily moved in and never left. She found my journal and read every private thought. She went through my things and found the bonus check Dad gave me that I never told anyone about. She used everything against me.

"Mia? Are you there?"

"I'm here." My voice sounds far away.

"So you'll do it? I already told Lily you'd agree. She's so relieved."

This is it. This is the test. Just say no. Two letters. One word.

"Mia?"

"I..." My throat closes up. I see Lily's grateful face. Mom's approving smile. Dad was finally proud of me for being a team player.

"Of course I'll do it."

The words are out before I can stop them. Mom sounds pleased, already talking about moving logistics, but I don't hear her. All I hear is Ethan's voice: "Say yes, and I never want to hear from you again."

I hang up on Mom mid-sentence and immediately call Ethan back. It goes straight to voicemail. I call again. Again. Fifteen times until I'm sobbing into my pillow like a child.

At noon, there's a knock on my door. I answer it with swollen eyes and find a courier holding an envelope.

Inside is a contract and a business card. The contract has one line: "Every time you fail to stand up for yourself, you owe Ethan Black ten thousand dollars."

There's a note paper-clipped to it: "You're a coward, but you're a coward with information I need. Work starts Monday. Don't be late. Also, you owe me ten thousand dollars."

The business card just has an address and time: "Black Industries, 42nd Floor, 8 AM Monday."

I should rip it up. Tell him to go to hell. Refuse to be manipulated like this.

Instead, I sign my name at the bottom and text a photo to his number.

Three dots appear, then: "Good. Now tell your mother you changed your mind about the apartment."

My fingers hover over Mom's contact. She's already told Lily. Lily's probably already packing. If I say no now, they'll both hate me.

I type out the message: "Mom, I changed my mind. Lily needs to find somewhere else."

I stare at it for ten minutes before deleting it and typing instead: "Mom, what time should I start packing?"

Her response is immediate: "This weekend. Thank you for being so understanding, sweetheart."

My phone rings. Ethan.

"You failed again."

"I know."

"That's twenty thousand you owe me now."

"I don't have twenty thousand dollars."

"Then you'd better start earning it. And Mia?" His voice drops lower. "Next time you fail, it's thirty thousand. Every time you choose being liked over being respected, the price goes up. Eventually, you'll hurt enough to change. Or you'll go broke trying to stay weak."

"That's cruel."

"Your family is cruel. I'm just expensive." He pauses. "Get some sleep. Monday's going to be difficult for you."

"How do you know about my family?"

"Because your father is my target, and you're going to help me destroy him. Whether you know it or not."

The line goes dead.