Reborn and Relentless: She's Going Down

"Elena, look what I brought you!"The instant my sister-in-law, Sabrina Linskey, pulled out that clumsily stitched little dress, I knew that I had been reborn.In my past life, Sabrina never hid her contempt for me. Yet she had appeared on my doorstep, wanting to celebrate my daughter Elena Satchwell's birthday. And not only that; she had brought a dress she had sewn with her own hands, eager to slip it onto Elena herself.Sabrina's sudden warmth had caught me off guard.Ever since her marriage, she had made no secret of her disdain for me. To her, every sister-in-law alive was nothing but a schemer, clawing for the family inheritance. She didn't think my child was even worth a mention.At the time, Elena wrinkled her nose at the dress and called it ugly. But I couldn't bring myself to embarrass Sabrina. More than that, I didn't want to waste the chance to ease the strain in the family. So, I let her put it on Elena.Little did I know that the dress was never meant to be a token

Owen came over, grinning while cradling the dress and necklace in his arms. "Emma, why don't you let me hang on to these for now, huh?"Elena didn't care much for the dress, but seeing the gold heart pendant in his hands made her burst into tears on the spot."Uncle Owen, that's mine."He crouched, his hand reaching for her shoulder. I yanked her back before he could touch her."Fine, fine. If you like them so much, take them. Didn't you say you couldn't even spare a minute for Elena's birthday? What's next? Will you be too busy for dinner too?"The moment I gave in, Owen's eagerness flared. He couldn't wait to turn the gold into cash, and the whole brother-sister act he put on with me vanished."I've got business to take care of. Just wait, Emma. When I make it big, you and Herman won't ever have to lift a finger again. I'll send you money every single day."I watched him walk away, a slow smile spreading across my face.I couldn't tell when Owen first started turning into a f

The next day, I followed Mr. Barlow's advice and turned up at Mom and Dad's with a few gourmet ingredients.As soon as Sabrina saw me juggling all that, she laughed. "Emma, why do you show up with half the store every time you come?"I said, "Says the one who dropped off a dress for Elena yesterday and didn't even stick around for dinner. I had a few gift cards from work, so I grabbed a few things. How about I cook lunch for everyone today?"Mom's face tightened a little. "You didn't have to bring all this. Why didn't you bring Elena with you?""Elena wasn't feeling too well this morning. Herman's back, so I left her with him."Mom's voice wavered. "What's wrong with her?"I smiled, trying to put her at ease. "It's nothing. She just has a little rash from an allergy."Mom closed her eyes.For a moment, I thought guilt might finally catch up to her. But she just said dismissively that Elena had probably reacted to the cake.Sabrina looked even more pleased. "Emma's so thoughtfu

The instant Sabrina caught Owen's voice, her mood curdled, and her brows pulled into a hard knot. "Great, the freeloader's back!"Mom, however, adored Owen and Alex more than anyone. She bustled over to the door, eager to let him in. But the moment she saw him, she went still.Owen stood there, wearing a mask. His eyes had puffed into narrow slits, and his forehead was flushed with a fierce red."What on earth happened to you? Did you eat something you're allergic to?"Owen collapsed against Mom, sobbing. "I don't know what's wrong. My skin started itching in the middle of the night, and the second I scratched, it split open. Mom, please, you have to take me to the hospital."Mom's heart nearly shattered. "How could this happen all of a sudden? Oh, my sweetie, what's happening to you?"Panicked, she fumbled with her phone and called me.I muted the security feed and answered."Emma, you need to come home right now. Owen's sick. We have to get him to the hospital."As if I'd ev

At Owen's funeral, Mom's eyes were rimmed red as she turned to me. "Emma, tell me, am I paying for my sins?"I kept my expression impassive, though inside, I felt as cold as ice.In my last life, when Elena died, Mom had only murmured a few words about how sorry she felt for her. And in the end, she even joined the others to kill me.Once the funeral was over, Mom went home.But Owen's last words had taken root, gnawing at her. Now that Owen was gone, she clung desperately to Alex.Even if it was Sabrina who killed Owen, Mom would never cut Alex loose. He was her only grandson, after all.Sabrina kept denying that she was the one who had switched Owen's and Alex's fates. She swore up and down she'd never go after someone like Owen. How could she ever wish for Alex to have his fate?A part of Mom believed her, but she still had her doubts. Carrying the weight of Owen's loss, she simply went on with her life.Meanwhile, Alex was quietly slipping into something monstrous. He began