Iris
In my last life, I died three days after Layla Vale became a "savior."
Even as she injected concentrated wolfsbane into my IV, she practiced her funeral face in front of a photograph of Seraphina Blackwood.
"Once she's dead, I'll be remembered as her savior. Adrian will fall for me sooner or later. Rowan, why did you have to call the police and ruin everything?"
I tried to pull the needle out, but my wrist was pinned to the bed.
The Vales reminded me that they had taken me in from an orphanage, paid my tuition, and given me a home. So writing Layla's fraudulent interview copy, covering up the wolf-luring resin, and finally dying in her place were all debts I owed her.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back two hours before the charity night run began.
Layla kicked her white boots over to my feet and ordered me to crouch down and tie the laces, then write the interview copy for her "heroic rescue." She had no idea that two hours later, she would deliberately release maddened wolves to play the hero on camera and leave Alpha Adrian Blackwood's wife critically injured.
In my last life, I worked myself to the bone covering every crack in her plan, only for her to kill me to keep me quiet.
This time, I warned her: "The east emergency door isn't locked. Something is going to happen tonight."
Layla sent the order to the team chat, impatient. "We go as planned. Nobody changes anything."
I saved a screenshot, started recording, and for the first time did not clean up after her.
Later, her arrow wounded Seraphina. I pulled the child to safety, triggered the alarm, and staunched Seraphina's bleeding. When Adrian arrived, he gave Layla only one look.
Yet she told me, her cheeks flushed, "Did you see that? He's fallen for me."
I looked at the wolf-luring resin that hadn't been wiped clean off her glove, and I smiled.
She had no idea Adrian wasn't looking at a woman he desired.
He was watching the woman who had hurt his wife.