All Chapters of I Died Once to Become Her Nightmare: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The wind over Blackridge Manor moved differently at night.Not loud. Not violent. Just persistent—like something breathing through broken teeth.It slipped through the iron gates, across the long driveway, and into the gardens where roses grew in controlled symmetry, as if even nature had been trained to obey. The estate looked untouched. Perfect. Almost sacred.But perfection was often just evidence of careful cleaning.Elena Virelli stood at the edge of those gates without moving.Her coat was dark, her posture steady, her face half-hidden beneath a hood that did nothing to soften the sharpness in her gaze. She looked like someone who had walked a long distance without ever asking permission from the world to exist again.To anyone watching, she would have seemed like a stranger.And that was the point.Because Elena Virelli was supposed to be dead.Three days ago, her name had been spoken in hushed tones in luxury halls and corporate offices. A tragic death, they said. Sudden illne

The photograph still felt warm in Elena’s hand.That was the first thing she noticed that didn’t make sense.The paper didn’t retain heat. Not like skin. Not like memory. And yet her fingers registered a faint, impossible warmth, as if the image had been handled only moments ago.Or as if it had never been allowed to cool.She set it down carefully on the desk without breaking eye contact with it for too long.Behind her, Adrian remained still.Waiting.Not anxious. Not restless.Waiting like someone who already knew the outcome of a test but still needed to watch it be taken.Elena didn’t turn around immediately.Instead, she looked at the rest of the desk.Files. Neatly stacked. Labeled. Organized with the precision of someone who didn’t tolerate chaos—not even emotional chaos.At the center was the envelope.Unmarked.Sealed.That mattered.Unmarked things were never unimportant. They were usually just classified in a way that didn’t allow names to exist.Elena reached for it.Adri

The lights went out.Elena did not scream.She stood perfectly still in the darkness, listening.One second.Two.Three.Then the emergency lights flickered on.Adrian was no longer standing beside the window.Elena's eyes immediately moved toward the door.Empty.Her fingers tightened around the edge of the desk."Adrian?"No answer.She looked at the screen.The broken-circle symbol was still there.Except now, it was moving.Three thin lines rotated slowly around one another, forming a pattern that made Elena's stomach tighten.She hadn't touched the system.Neither had Adrian.So why was it active?A soft sound came from behind her.Click.Elena turned.The hidden bookshelf had opened again.But Adrian wasn't standing there.A man stepped out of the passage.He was tall, dressed completely in black, with dark hair and a calm expression that gave away nothing.Elena immediately reached for the letter opener on the desk.The man noticed.He smiled faintly."Still suspicious."Elena

Seven knocks.Elena counted every one.The last knock was followed by silence so complete that she could hear her own breathing.Her eyes remained fixed on Adrian."She's my mother?"Adrian didn't answer.Elena's chest tightened.She stepped toward him."Adrian."He looked at her, but there was something different in his eyes now.Guilt.Real guilt.Not the carefully controlled expression she had seen from him all night."Tell me the truth."He swallowed."Yes."The word barely left his mouth.Elena felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath her."My mother died when I was six.""I know.""Everyone told me she died in an accident.""That's what they wanted you to believe."Elena stared at him."Who wanted me to believe that?"Adrian looked toward Marcus.Marcus shook his head."Don't."Elena turned to him."Don't what?""Don't ask questions you aren't ready to hear the answers to."A bitter laugh escaped her."That's all anyone has said to me since I came back."She wiped the tears