Chapter 1: Fifteen Floors Blow

The smell of antiseptic tore open Evelyn's senses before her eyes could even focus.

Her chest heaved, pulling in a ragged, burning breath as her eyelids snapped open. White ceiling tiles. The steady, mechanical beep... beep... beep... of a heart monitor filled the room. The sharp, unmistakable stench of a sterile hospital room.

She swallowed hard, her throat raw and scraped dry. Blinking away the blurriness, she slowly turned her head.

The room was completely empty.

No one sat in the visitor’s chair. No flowers adorned the bedside table. Her father wasn't standing by the window. Daniel wasn't hovering with his practiced concern. Sophie and Scarlett were nowhere to be found.

There was only silence.

A heavy, suffocating ache bloomed in the center of her chest. How did I get here? she thought. Was it all a dream?

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut again, desperate to block out the blinding white lights and the moment darkness took over, the memory of her final moments rushed back with terrifying clarity, answering her own question.

It had been her engagement day.

Downstairs in the grand hotel lounge, hundreds of high-society guests were mingling, waiting for her and Daniel to make their official announcement. But Daniel was missing.

Evelyn had hurried up the private upper levels, her heart fluttering with mild worry. She reached the VIP suite door, turned the brass handle, and pushed it open.

"Daniel?"

The words died on her tongue.

Near the floor-to-ceiling balcony window, which stood wide open to let in the evening breeze, two figures were locked in a tight embrace. A man’s hand rested on a woman’s waist, while her arms were wrapped around his neck.

Evelyn recognized the tailored suit instantly. It was Daniel.

And the woman in his arms, wearing the custom silk dress Evelyn had bought her was Sophie. Her stepsister.

Evelyn’s phone slipped from her fingers, thudding softly into the plush carpet. "Sophie?"

They broke apart sharply. Sophie turned, her cheeks flushed, but the shock on her face vanished in a fraction of a second, replaced by a cold, arrogant calm.

"Evie..."

"What is this?" Evelyn’s voice trembled as she rushed forward, pulling Sophie back by her wrist. "What are you doing with my fiancé?"

Sophie yanked her arm free with a sharp, mocking laugh. "Stop dramatizing, Evelyn. Daniel and I are in love."

The words hit like a physical blow. Evelyn stumbled back, turning her panicked gaze to Daniel. "Daniel? Tell her she's wrong. Tell me this is some sick joke."

Daniel adjusted his cuffs, his expression entirely flat. "Let’s not make a scene, Evelyn. It’s over. Sophie and I have been together for months."

"Months?" Evelyn felt the world tilt. "You stood in front of my father! You asked me to marry you! I used my mother’s company to build your firm from the ground up!"

"I never asked you to," Daniel said coldly. "Your money was convenient. But I never loved you."

Before Evelyn could speak, the suite door swung wider, and Scarlett stepped inside. Her stepmother took in the scene without a flicker of surprise, walking straight to Sophie to place a protective hand on her shoulder.

"Scarlett..." Evelyn’s voice cracked. "Did you know about this?"

"Lower your voice," Scarlett snapped. "Guests are downstairs. Stop embarrassing yourself."

"They betrayed me!" Tears spilled down Evelyn’s cheeks. "My sister and my fiancé—"

"He was never yours,” Scarlett said with a sneer. "You only made it this far because of your mother’s name. But your mother is dead. And your father gave control of the family to me years ago. Did you really think Nicholas cared about your little engagement?"

Evelyn froze. "Your father hasn't cared about you since the day he married me," Scarlett spat. "If you go crying to him, he will take Sophie’s side. He always does."

The brutal truth shattered the last remnant of Evelyn's heart. Ever since her mother died, her father had turned into a cold stranger, pushing her into work while showering Scarlett and Sophie with affection. She had bled herself dry trying to earn his approval, only to realize she was completely alone.

Blinding rage snapped inside her.

Evelyn lunged sideways, grabbing a heavy glass tumbler from the side table, and hurled it with all her strength. "You bastards!"

The glass shattered right across Daniel’s forehead. He cursed, stumbling back as blood welled up near his temple.

"Daniel!" Sophie shrieked.

Her face twisted in vicious fury. Sophie charged, grabbing Evelyn by the shoulders and shoving her back with terrifying force. Evelyn’s heel twisted against the edge of the rug, her balance snapping.

As Evelyn stumbled backward toward the open balcony window, Daniel lunged forward to intervene, but his boot caught Evelyn’s leg, tripping her entirely.

With both hands, Sophie drove one final, violent push straight into Evelyn’s chest.

Evelyn fell backward.

Her heels left the floor of the fifteenth-floor suite. Her hands clawed wildly at the heavy curtains, but the fabric ripped straight out of her grip. The warm, luxurious room vanished, and her body tipped out into open air.

Fifteen floors.

"Evelyn!"

The wind shrieked in her ears as the brick wall of the hotel rushed past in a blur of golden lights. The sheer terror of the plunge gave way to a freezing, burning hatred. She had spent her entire life trying to buy love from a distant father, a deceitful fiancé, and a fake sister.

‘If I could live again…’

Directly below, the glowing blue water of the hotel's deep courtyard pool rushed up from the darkness to meet her.

‘I will make every single one of them pay.’

She hit the surface of the pool at terminal speed.

The water slammed into her like a slab of concrete, tearing the air straight out of her lungs, cracking her ribs, and plunging her into absolute, freezing darkness.

Evelyn gasped, her eyes flying open again in the sterile hospital room.

Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Cold sweat covered her neck. The memory was so vivid she could still feel the phantom sensation of freezing water filling her chest.

She was alive. But as she raised a trembling hand to push back her hair, she froze.

The hand hovering before her eyes was tiny, pale, and covered in faint scars. It was not her hand.

Panic setting in, Evelyn looked down at her chest, then turned frantically toward the small wall mirror hanging beside the hospital bathroom door.

Reflected in the glass was not Evelyn Sterling, the dark-haired, elegant twenty-six-year-old CEO.

Looking back at her was a stranger. A frail, pale young woman with delicate features, hollow cheeks, and wide, terrified eyes.

"What..." Evelyn tried to speak, but the voice that came out of her throat was light, raspy, and entirely wrong. "Who... who is this?"

Before she could process the horrifying sight, the air in front of her face shivered.

A translucent, glowing blue light materialised out of thin air, forming a floating screen right before her eyes.

[ SYSTEM INITIALIZING... ]

[ REBOUND PROTOCOL ACTIVATED ]

[ SOUL SYNCHRONIZED: EVELYN STERLING ]

[ CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED A SECOND CHANCE. ]

[ NEW DESIGNATED IDENTITY: ANASTASIA WHITMORE ]

[ CURRENT TIMELINE: TWO YEARS BEFORE YOUR DEATH ]

[ INCOMING SYSTEM PROMPT ]

“This host vessel is vacant, its previous soul was destroyed by betrayal.

Will you claim this body? assume a new identity, and rewrite your destiny to obtain the vengeance you desire?”

[ CLAIM VESSEL ] [ REFUSE ]