CHAPTER 1: BETRAYAL, BLOOD & REBIRTH

Rain battered the tall windows of the Hart mansion, the relentless rhythm of droplets echoing through the quiet halls like a mournful song. Lightning flashed across the sky, briefly illuminating the sprawling estate before darkness swallowed it again.

Sylvie stood silently in the shadowed hallway outside the living room.

Her bare feet felt cold against the polished marble floor, but she barely noticed. Her thin fingers pressed against the wall for balance as voices drifted toward her through the slightly open door.

Her heart was pounding.

She hadn’t meant to listen.

She had only come downstairs to get a glass of water before bed. But when she passed the living room, she heard laughter—sharp and cruel.

Something about it made her stop.

Something felt… wrong.

So she stayed.

Hidden in the darkness.

Listening.

“Honestly,” Margaret said with a light laugh, the sound cold and amused. Sylvie could hear the faint swirl of wine inside a crystal glass. “Your father never suspected a thing.”

Sylvie frowned slightly.

Suspected what?

Then Vanessa spoke.

Her stepsister’s sweet voice carried a smug satisfaction that made Sylvie uneasy.

“Of course he didn’t, Mother. Your poison worked perfectly. Everyone believed Aunt Amelia died from illness.”

Sylvie’s world stopped.

Poison.

The word struck her like lightning.

Her entire body froze as if the air had suddenly turned to ice.

Poison?

Her heart thudded violently in her chest.

Maybe she misunderstood.

Maybe she heard wrong.

But then Margaret laughed again.

“You’d be surprised how easily people believe what they want to believe,” Margaret said casually. “And your father was more than willing to move on.”

Sylvie’s breath caught painfully in her throat.

Her mind began spinning.

Her mother.

Amelia Hart.

The gentle woman who had died five years ago after a sudden illness.

The doctors said her body had simply grown weak.

Everyone believed it.

Sylvie believed it.

Her fingers trembled against the wall.

“She was always weak anyway,” Vanessa sneered. “Honestly, that woman didn’t deserve Father.”

Something inside Sylvie shattered.

Her mother hadn’t died from illness.

They killed her.

The realization crashed into Sylvie like a tidal wave.

Her mother—the woman who used to tuck her into bed every night, who brushed her hair while humming soft lullabies, who loved planting roses in the garden.

The woman who loved her father with all her heart.

Margaret and Vanessa had taken her life.

And now they laughed about it like it meant nothing.

Sylvie felt something break inside her chest.

Her breathing became ragged.

A burning rage slowly filled her veins, replacing the shock.

Her vision blurred.

Her mother deserved justice.

Her mother deserved revenge.

Without realizing it, Sylvie slowly turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Each step felt heavy, like her body was moving through water.

Her thoughts were chaotic.

Her hands trembled.

When she reached the counter, her eyes landed on something.

A knife.

The metal blade gleamed faintly under the kitchen light.

Sylvie stared at it for several seconds.

Then her fingers slowly wrapped around the handle.

The cold steel sent a chill through her palm.

But the fire inside her chest burned even hotter.

Tonight…

Someone would pay.

Sylvie walked back toward the living room.

The moment she stepped through the doorway, Margaret and Vanessa turned in surprise.

Margaret’s wine glass paused halfway to her lips.

Vanessa blinked.

“Sylvie?” Vanessa said sweetly, tilting her head.

But Sylvie didn’t answer.

Her eyes were red with fury.

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“You killed her.”

Margaret’s expression darkened instantly.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Sylvie raised the knife.

“You murdered my mother!”

Vanessa’s eyes widened slightly.

But the shock quickly faded into irritation.

Before Sylvie could move—

A strong hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Stop!”

Sylvie turned in shock.

Her father stood behind her.

For a brief moment, hope flickered in her chest.

Father had come.

He would protect her.

He would punish them.

But the moment she looked into his face—

Her hope died.

There was no anger in his eyes.

No shock.

Only guilt.

Sylvie’s voice cracked.

“You knew…”

Her father didn’t answer.

Instead, he lowered his gaze.

That simple action shattered what remained of her heart.

The truth was clear.

He had known all along.

Her father—the man she loved and trusted—had allowed her mother’s murderers to live comfortably under the same roof.

Sylvie felt like the world was collapsing around her.

Then a voice spoke behind her.

“Well… this is awkward.”

Sylvie turned.

Daniel walked into the room.

Her boyfriend.

The one person she believed would always stand by her side.

But he wasn’t alone.

Vanessa walked over and wrapped her arms around him possessively.

Sylvie’s heart stopped beating.

“Daniel…?” she whispered.

He sighed as if annoyed.

“Sylvie, stop making a scene.”

Vanessa smirked.

“Did you really think he loved you?”

Sylvie’s grip on the knife loosened.

Daniel didn’t deny it.

Instead, he pulled Vanessa closer.

“We’ve been together for months,” he said coldly.

Sylvie felt like the air had been ripped from her lungs.

Her lover.

Her family.

Everyone had betrayed her.

Vanessa laughed cruelly.

“You’re pathetic, Sylvie. No one ever loved you.”

Silence filled the room.

Then Sylvie laughed.

A broken, hollow laugh.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her life had been nothing but a lie.

“If there is another life…” she whispered weakly.

Her grip tightened around the knife again.

“I will make all of you pay.”

Before anyone could react—

She plunged the blade into her chest.

Gasps filled the room.

Blood spread across her dress like dark blooming roses.

Her knees gave out beneath her.

The world began fading.

Her final whisper echoed softly.

“In my next life… I will avenge my mother.”

Darkness swallowed everything.

But death…

Was not the end.

Warmth touched Sylvie’s skin.

A faint scent of roses filled the air.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

A white ceiling greeted her.

She stared at it, confused.

Then the memories came rushing back.

Blood.

Betrayal.

The knife.

The laughter.

Sylvie suddenly sat up.

Her hands flew to her chest.

No wound.

No blood.

Only smooth skin beneath her trembling fingers.

“What…?”

Her breathing became uneven.

She looked around the room.

It was her bedroom.

The same bedroom she had lived in years ago inside the Hart mansion.

Her eyes widened.

“This can’t be…”

She rushed toward the mirror.

The girl staring back at her looked younger.

Her face was softer.

Her eyes still held innocence.

Sylvie’s hands began shaking.

This was her.

But it was five years ago.

She remembered this day clearly.

It was the day before Vanessa introduced Daniel to the family as Sylvie’s boyfriend.

The beginning of every betrayal.

“I’m… alive?”

Slowly the realization settled in.

She had returned.

She had been reborn.

Memories from her previous life burned in her mind like scars.

Her stepmother’s lies.

Her father’s silence.

Her sister’s cruelty.

Daniel’s betrayal.

Sylvie stared at her reflection.

The girl who once begged for love was gone.

In her place stood someone colder.

Stronger.

Her lips slowly curled into a faint smile.

“Vanessa…”

Her voice was calm.

But her eyes were filled with ice.

“Daniel…”

Her fists clenched.

“This time…”

“I will destroy all of you.”

Suddenly a strange warmth spread through her body.

A faint silver light flickered in her eyes.

Sylvie frowned.

“What was that…?”

She didn’t know yet.

But something inside her had awakened.

Something powerful.

Something blessed by the Moon Goddess.

Across the city…

Inside the towering headquarters of Knight Corporation.

A tall man sat behind a massive desk reviewing documents.

The air around him felt cold and oppressive.

Employees nearby were too afraid to even breathe loudly.

He was known by many titles.

Billionaire.

Business tyrant.

The most feared man in the city.

But his true identity was far more dangerous.

Alpha Alexander Knight.

Leader of the Midnight Fang Pack.

Suddenly his silver eyes snapped open.

His wolf stirred violently inside him.

His hand tightened against the desk.

Something had changed.

Something important.

A sweet, intoxicating scent filled the air.

His wolf growled possessively.

Mine.

Alexander slowly stood.

The temperature in the office seemed to drop instantly.

A dark smile appeared on his lips.

“I found you…”

His voice was low and dangerous.

“My mate.”