I watched my sister, Eliana Meyer, die before my eyes, stabbed by gangsters who were supposedly trying to save me. At least, that was what everyone believed. In the aftermath of her death, my mother, Grace Meyer, made an unthinkable suggestion that I should marry Eliana’s widower, Caleb Grant, to ensure her seven-year-old daughter Zoey would be properly cared for. Under Caleb’s roof, I endured countless humiliations and brushes with death, all to protect my young niece. Yet the truth, when it finally emerged, was far more twisted than I could have imagined. Eliana hadn’t died at all. She was very much alive, flaunting her new life on the arm of a wealthy man. “Madelyn, I must thank you,” she said with a smirk, “for enduring that sadist on my behalf. Not only did you raise my troubled daughter, but you’ve also left me quite a generous inheritance—tens of millions of dollars.” Even young Zoey, whom I’d sacrificed everything to protect, turned against me. She joined Eliana in spreading vicious rumors that I had murdered Caleb. The cyberbullying that followed was relentless. But fate, it seemed, had other plans. I was reborn and found myself thrust back in time to the moment when Grace first suggested I marry Caleb. ***** “Eliana is gone, and Zoey is only seven!” The words pierced through my consciousness. “That poor child could end up dead at the hands of some cruel stepmother before she even has a chance to grow up!” My stomach churned with phantom pain as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. The scene before me was awash in white. Mourners with bowed heads, their quiet sobs filling the air. Grace clutched at my legs, her wails echoing through the funeral hall. The familiar voice brought me back to full awareness. I was reborn! Noticing my lack of reaction, Grace struck me across the face. “Madelyn Meyer, you heartless bastard!” She rose to her feet, her eyes blazing with fury. “Your sister died saving your life, and you can’t even shed a single tear? How can you be so cold?” I touched my stinging cheek and met her gaze with steel in my voice. “Eliana didn’t die saving me. Those criminals were after her.” In my previous life, I’d discovered that Eliana had somehow managed to clear a massive debt overnight. Before I could uncover the source of her sudden wealth, she was “killed” in what appeared to be an act of heroic sacrifice to save me. Grief had blinded me to the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death. Grace suggested that I marry Caleb to repay his years of kindness to our family and to ensure Zoey wouldn’t suffer at the hands of a stepmother. Caleb threatened to demand repayment of all the money he’d given our family if I refused. Grace couldn’t come up with so much money. With my father long dead, Grace had worked multiple jobs just to raise me and Eliana up. In the end, I had no choice but to agree. Only after the marriage did I discover Caleb was a sadist who took pleasure in torture. I endured his brutality to shield Zoey, never knowing that she stood outside the door during my ordeals, laughing at my screams. I raised Zoey with great difficulty, and Caleb died. But it turned out to be a complete scam. This time would be different. I wouldn’t be manipulated into paying Eliana’s debts or sacrificing myself. Grace’s face contorted with rage at my defiance. “You must have caused Eliana’s death! Why else would those men spare you? “You must have been involved with them somehow and them to kill your sister! My poor daughter couldn’t even rest in peace because of you!” The gathered mourners began to whisper, their accusations growing bolder with each passing moment. I’d never understood Grace’s blatant favoritism toward Eliana throughout our childhood. Though we were twins, she’d chosen to send Eliana to community college while denying me the chance to attend a prestigious university. It wasn’t until my dying moments in my previous life that I’d learned the truth: Eliana and I weren’t true twins at all. She was the product of Grace’s affair with her first love, and everything had been orchestrated to pave the way for Eliana’s happiness. “Since Eliana died in your place, you should marry Caleb,” Grace declared.
The statement shocked the assembled mourners into silence, though none dared speak in my defense. This was, after all, Eliana’s funeral. I let out a bitter laugh. “Mom, Eliana is dead. Why should I marry her husband?” Grace’s grief vanished instantly, replaced by an unsettling smile. “You can care for Zoey, and you’ll finally have someone to marry. Isn’t that perfect?” Perfect? It was perfect only for Eliana’s schemes and Caleb. Before I could respond, a male voice cut through the tension. Caleb appeared, dressed inappropriately bright for a funeral, striding purposefully toward us. “Your mother is right,” he said. “Now that Eliana is gone, it makes sense for you to marry me, Madelyn. As Zoey’s aunt, you must care about her welfare more than anyone else would.” He pushed Zoey in front of me. I saw something in the seven-year-old’s expression that chilled me to the bone. There was a darkness there that no child should possess. Zoey had always been troubled. Eliana had dismissed her behavior as a sign of exceptional character, claiming she was “different” from other children and destined for greatness. But I remembered how she’d progressed from tearing classmates’ dresses to deliberately blinding another child with a pencil. As Zoey grew older, I increasingly felt that something was wrong. Grace had always excused Zoey’s violence as the natural response of a motherless child. When Caleb had turned his perverted attention toward Zoey, I’d stepped in to protect her, becoming the target of his sadistic impulses instead. I’d worked myself to exhaustion to keep her in school, enduring Caleb’s torture to protect her. Yet she’d responded by treating me like a servant and joining in the abuse. She’d justified it by saying I deserved it for “killing” her mother. I endured it silently out of guilt. When Eliana came back, Zoey brushed me off without a second thought, eagerly spreading lies about me murdering Caleb for his inheritance. Eliana had long been aware of Zoey’s violent tendencies. To escape from the sadistic father-daughter duo, she faked her own death and left me to deal with all the fallout. Now, facing Grace and Caleb’s calculated manipulation, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The sudden sound startled everyone present. “Does this mean you’ll marry Caleb?” Grace asked, overjoyed. “No,” I replied, still chuckling. “I’m just happy for Eliana.” Confused faces turned toward me. “Her body’s barely cold,” I continued, “and here you are, already trying to pass off her husband and daughter. I wonder if she’d be angry enough to rise from the dead if she knew.” Grace’s face drained of color. “What are you talking about? Eliana is dead! Her body is cold!” Ignoring her protests, I stepped forward and lifted the coffin lid. A gasp escaped my lips as I peered inside. “Where’s Eliana? Could she really have risen from the dead?”
The crowd surged forward, their faces contorting in shock as they peered into the empty coffin. The very idea that Eliana could somehow have returned to life left them dumbfounded. I knew better. Grace’s devotion to Eliana would never have allowed her to suffer in a coffin any longer than necessary. In my previous life, she’d rushed to hold the funeral the very day after Eliana’s death. Even then, I’d harbored doubts about Eliana’s sudden “murder.” The attackers hadn’t demanded money or shown any other criminal intent. Why kill her? But whenever I tried to investigate, Grace had shut me down, insisting we let Eliana “rest in peace” as quickly as possible. After Caleb and I held the wedding, Grace prevented us from obtaining a marriage certificate, claiming it would dishonor Eliana’s memory if I officially took her place as Caleb’s wife. I’d found it suspicious, but Zoey’s tears had eventually worn down my defenses. Only later did I realize the truth. They needed to preserve Eliana’s legal status as Caleb’s wife so she could inherit his property. Panic flashed across Grace’s face as she watched her carefully constructed lies begin to unravel. “I… I deliberately arranged for an empty coffin,” she stammered, scrambling for an excuse. “I was worried that too much wailing would disturb Eliana’s spirit.” The mourners’ expressions darkened. They’d come out of respect, only to be accused of being too noisy in their grief. Caleb wasn’t buying it. He seized Grace by her collar, his face contorted with rage. “You scheming witch! Is my wife dead or not? “Is this all some elaborate performance you cooked up with that bitch? I’ve poured money into your family for years, and all I got was a daughter! Even if that woman is dead, Madelyn owes me a son!” Grace trembled under his grip, managing only to promise him an answer within a few days. Though clearly unsatisfied, Caleb released her with a curt nod. Before he left, he turned his lustful gaze on me, warning Grace to keep me in good condition and avoid causing him any further trouble. As Caleb’s footsteps faded, Grace raised her hand to strike me. Then, she caught herself, remembering Caleb’s warning. Her eyes burned with barely contained fury. I caught her suspended hand, forcing tears into my eyes. “Mom, Eliana didn’t really die, did she?” Grace sneered, “Oh, now you remember I’m your mother? Is this how you repay everything I’ve done for you?” The hatred in her gaze intensified. But I only responded with a knowing smile. Caleb had left Zoey behind at the funeral, and Grace seized the opportunity to push her into my care. Despite my reluctance, Zoey’s tears and pleas to stay with me played on my guilt. Still, I took her home. Zoey was quite smart and knew who was nice to her. Unfortunately, in my previous life, I treated her wholeheartedly, yet she ended up turning on me cruelly. I set her up in the guest room. That night, I fell into an uneasy sleep, only to be jolted awake by a flash of light. A small figure stood in the darkness, practicing stabbing motions with a kitchen knife. Cold sweat trickled down my spine until I recognized Zoey’s silhouette. Relieved, I switched on the light. “Why aren’t you in bed?” I asked. But Zoey just smiled and asked, “Aunt Madelyn, are you trying to take Dad away?” The question confused me. But memories of my previous life’s ending steeled my resolve to avoid entanglement with this family. I shook my head in denial and ushered her back to her room. As I locked my door, her parting words echoed in my mind, “Aunt Madelyn, my mother finally ran away. Are you going to be my new mother now?” My hands trembled on the lock. Zoey had known everything all along. In my previous life, all my sacrifices and kindness had meant nothing to her. I forced myself to sleep, pushing away the thoughts. The next morning brought Eliana’s scheduled cremation. Grace stood beside the stretcher, performing her grief with theatrical sobs. The mourners, still stinging from yesterday’s rebuke, maintained a stony silence. Seeing her audience unresponsive, Grace stopped crying. She motioned for the funeral home staff to wheel away the body. “Wait,” I called out, extending my hand. “Let me see Eliana one last time.” Grace glared at me. “What do you want?” “We’re twins,” I said, sobbing. “Something tells me she’s come back to us.” “What nonsense!” Grace’s hand rose to strike me again, but Caleb caught her wrist. Her fear of him was instant, and she manifested in an awkward laugh. With Caleb’s backing, the other mourners found their voices, encouraging me to look. Without hesitation, I pulled back the cloth covering the corpse. The face beneath was caked with powder, features completely obscured. “This isn’t Eliana at all!” I shouted. I snatched up the identification tag lying. Grace lunged for it, but as she tried to grab it from me, she lost her balance and fell. I fixed the funeral home staff member with a stare, demanding, “Where is Eliana’s real body? She died in an accident. If her body is missing, you’re complicit in covering up a murder.” The threat had its intended effect. The long-haired woman posing as staff began to tremble. I’d noticed as soon as I arrived that she clearly wasn’t a genuine funeral home employee. Under pressure, she led us to another room. There lay Eliana, her eyelashes quivering slightly. She’d obviously just positioned herself there. I allowed myself a satisfied smile. After all, her body would be cremated soon. Grace opened her mouth to protest. But Caleb cut her off coldly, “Since Eliana was my wife, I want to witness her cremation personally. No one leaves until this is done.” Grace’s behavior after Eliana’s death had raised Caleb’s suspicion. He suspected this might be Eliana’s act to escape him, and he wouldn’t believe she was truly dead until he saw her body reduced to ashes with his own eyes. Zoey clung to Caleb’s clothes, a knowing smile playing across her face. The mourners watched with poorly concealed curiosity. Caleb pinned Grace to the ground as the long-haired woman began wheeling Eliana toward the crematorium. As the stretcher approached the flames, I noticed Eliana’s fingers twitch in response to the heat. “Wait!” I cried out. “Look at her hand! It’s moving! It might be a final reflex!” I quickly pulled the stretcher back. Observing Grace’s oddly calm expression, I knew their plan: Eliana would pretend to regain consciousness from the heat, claiming some sort of shock-induced coma. But I wouldn’t let that happen. I threw myself over Eliana’s body, sobbing dramatically, “Eliana, have you come back to see us? I knew you couldn’t bear to leave us like this!” As I clutched at her clothes, I made sure to dig my fingers into her flesh where no one could see. Her body tensed, and her brows furrowed slightly in pain. “Look!” I exclaimed. “She’s responding to me! If we keep talking to her, she might come back!” The others ignored my outburst, assuming I was simply overwhelmed by grief. I wiped my tears and began reminiscing about our childhood. “Remember when we were little? We used to compete to see who could hold their breath longer underwater. “You taught me a special trick, pinching the nose tight, like this.” I demonstrated by clamping her nose shut, curious to see how long she could maintain her act. “Oh, Eliana, you’re doing so well now,” I continued through my tears. “Why haven’t you woken up yet?” As her face began turning red, I increased the pressure. Finally, Eliana couldn’t take it anymore. She sat bolt upright, slapping my hand away and gasping for air. “Eliana, you really are alive!” I exclaimed in mock surprise.
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