Chapter 1: The Day I Died

The rain was loud, like a thousand crying ghosts screaming outside while I lay in my own pool of blood.

My hands were shaking so hard I couldn’t feel the pain anymore, just the cold creeping into my bones fast.

I looked up at my husband, the man I gave everything to, and saw nothing but disgust in his eyes.

“You’re in the way, Eva,” he said slowly, like I was a broken toy he couldn’t wait to throw away.

Behind him, my stepsister smiled, her hand holding the same knife that pierced my belly and killed our baby.

“Poor Eva,” she whispered sweetly, leaning closer as if she cared, “you were never smart enough to win anything.”

I wanted to scream, to curse them, to drag them down with me—but my voice was already leaving me.

As the world turned black, I made one wish—I wished for a second chance to destroy them both completely.

---

I woke up gasping, sweat dripping down my back, my heart pounding like drums in a thunderstorm crashing nonstop.

The ceiling above me was familiar, ugly pink with tiny cracks I used to count when I couldn’t sleep.

I sat up fast, almost dizzy, grabbing my chest like I could stop my heart from bursting through my ribs.

Was I dead? Was this a dream? I looked around the room, the old walls, the broken mirror, my body.

It was my body, but younger—no stretch marks, no baby bump, no fresh scar on my belly from the stab.

I ran to the mirror and stared hard, touching my cheeks, my lips, my skin—this was me at twenty-two.

Tears ran down my face like hot rivers—I was alive again, but five years before everything had gone wrong.

“Eva,” I whispered to myself, “you have a second chance. You’re not going to waste it being weak again.”

---

“Eva, get down here now!” My stepmother’s sharp voice sliced through the air like a knife I wanted to break.

I changed quickly into something simple, not the pretty dress she laid out to make me look desperate and obedient.

Downstairs, the same nightmare family waited: my father reading the paper, my stepmother glaring, and my stepsister pretending innocence.

“You’re late,” my stepmother hissed, eyes narrowing like she always wished I would disappear from their perfect little life.

“There’s traffic between my room and the stairs,” I said slowly, letting a smile curl across my lips like poison.

My stepsister, Clara, blinked like she didn’t expect that—she always saw me as the weak, dumb little house mouse.

“Eva, your fiancé is waiting. Don’t embarrass us. Go get ready. Look happy for once in your spoiled life.”

I blinked at her, then walked up to Clara, leaned close, and whispered, “You’ll regret hurting me. I promise that.”

Her fake smile cracked for just a second—but it was enough. I turned and left without saying another word.

---

I met Julian Hayes, my ex-fiancé, at a fancy rooftop restaurant, the same place he first cheated on me.

He looked the same—handsome, smooth, lying eyes that used to make my heart race and now made me gag.

“Eva,” he said, standing to kiss my cheek, “you look… fresh today.” Fresh. Like I was a fruit he owned.

“Thanks,” I said, sitting down slowly. “You look like a guy who cheats with his fiancée’s sister for fun.”

He choked on his wine. “What did you just say?”

“I said you look good,” I lied sweetly, sipping water and watching his face turn pink like a guilty pig.

I used to love him. Now I wanted to feed him to wolves and watch them spit him back out.

“Eva,” he said, voice low, “your father and I talked. The wedding will be in two months. You’ll be ready.”

“No,” I said, placing my glass down slowly, “there won’t be a wedding, Julian. I’m not marrying a lying snake.”

He stared at me like I had grown horns. “What the hell are you talking about? This marriage is important, Eva!”

“You’re not important,” I whispered, standing up, “and if you touch me again, I’ll make sure you regret being born.”

I walked out while he shouted behind me, his voice like trash in the wind, already beneath me, already forgotten.

---

Outside the restaurant, I pulled out my phone and made a call I never dared make in my past life.

“Hello,” a deep voice answered, cold and calm like the ocean before a deadly storm rises and swallows everything whole.

“Mr. Black,” I said softly, “I want to work for you. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

There was a pause, and I could almost hear him smiling slowly like a lion smelling blood for the first time.

“You’re Eva Lancaster,” he said, voice low, dangerous, and rich. “Why would the spoiled heiress want to work for me?”

“Because I want power,” I whispered, “and I want revenge. And I know you love both more than breathing.”

Another pause. “Come to my office tomorrow at ten. Don’t be late. And wear something smart, not pretty.”

The line went dead, but I could still hear his voice in my ear like a promise I shouldn’t believe.

---

The next day, I stood in front of Black Corporation, a huge glass tower that touched the sky.

Inside, everything was cold—silver, white, black marble, like the man who ruled it with eyes that froze everyone.

I stepped into the elevator, my fingers tight on my purse, my stomach flipping like I was falling from the clouds.

When the doors opened, he was already standing there—Lucas Black, the Devil CEO, and the man who’d change everything.

He wore a black suit like it was made just for him, like it obeyed him the way people feared him.

He turned slowly, eyes locking on mine like fire meeting gasoline, and my breath caught somewhere deep inside my chest.

“Eva,” he said, walking toward me with slow, heavy steps, “you didn’t disappoint. That’s a good start.”

“I never plan to disappoint anyone again,” I said, holding my head high, even when my knees felt like jelly.

He walked around me once, like a predator circling prey, and then stopped close enough for our shoulders to touch.

“Why should I trust you?” he asked, voice lower now, almost dark. “Why let a spoiled heiress into my world?”

I looked him dead in the eye and said, “Because I’ve already died once, and now I’m ready to destroy everything.”

He didn’t say anything for a while. Then he chuckled—a soft sound, deadly and delicious at the same time.

“You’re either very brave or very stupid,” he said, taking a step back. “Either way, you’re hired. Welcome to hell.”

My lips curled. “I’ve been to worse places. At least in hell, you know who wants to burn you alive.”

He laughed again, then turned away, motioning for me to follow like a king leading someone to a sharp throne.

His office was large, dark, full of expensive silence, and a view that made everything below look like ants.

“You’ll be my assistant,” he said, sitting behind his desk. “You’ll stay close. Listen more than you speak. And never lie.”

I nodded slowly, even though my heart raced like a wild thing trying to run out of my chest.

“Do you want anything else?” I asked. “Coffee? Files? Or maybe just someone to argue with all day?”

He leaned back, his eyes sharp like blades. “I want everything, Eva. But mostly, I want to know your secrets.”

I smiled slowly, crossing my legs. “Then you’ll have to earn them one by one, Mr. Black.”

He smirked. “Game on.”