Just then, a shadow flickered past and vanished into the darkness.

But Samantha didn’t seem to notice at all. She casually led us to the door of the luxury suite like nothing happened. As soon as she unlocked it, Bernard stepped inside and couldn’t help but exclaim,

“Damn, even abandoned, this place puts budget hotels to shame. Five-star quality for sure!”

Samantha beamed with pride.

“Of course! Back then, a night here would’ve cost at least seven or eight grand. Without me, do you think you’d ever get the chance to stay in a room like this?”

Her words sent a chill down my spine. Suddenly, something clicked.

Last time, I had been too terrified to take a proper look at the suite. But now, as I scanned the room, everything felt hauntingly familiar. The layout, the wallpaper, even the view—it all matched the crime scene from a serial murder case a few years ago. The news had been censored heavily, but I still remembered it.

The man who killed me in my previous life—he wasn’t just a murderer. He was the serial killer from the headlines.

And the murder? It happened during the Labor Day holidays.

I felt the blood drain from my face. Had Samantha known this all along? Did she deliberately bring me to this exact room?

And Bernard… in my last life, I opened the door after hearing his voice. Could it be… he knew the killer

Had they planned this together?

My scalp prickled with fear. I had never imagined that the two people I trusted the most were the ones who had wanted me dead.

At that moment, Samantha gently pushed Bernard and me toward the suite.

“What are you two dawdling for? Go on, get in!”

The memories came rushing back in full force. Instinct kicked in.

I stepped back and snapped,

“This suite is disgusting! It’s pitch black inside—not even a working light. You two can stay if you want, but I’m not spending the night here.”

Without waiting for their reactions, I grabbed my luggage and stormed downstairs, ignoring the shift in Samantha’s expression.

I told myself—if I can get out of this hotel, I won’t end up with my throat slashed. Not this time.

But just as I stepped outside, Bernard chased after me and grabbed my arm. His breathing was heavy, his tone coaxing.

“Don’t be mad, baby. I know you’re afraid of the dark, so I brought a flashlight for you.”

He smiled, but something about it felt off—too slick, too rehearsed.

“You even sleep with your eyes open. Tell me, what are you planning, huh?”

I was about to brush him off with a half-hearted excuse about dim lighting… but then he pulled out a heavy-duty tactical flashlight. When he flicked it on, the whole area lit up like it was broad daylight.

My heart sank. He wasn’t just trying to comfort me. He was making sure I had no reason to leave.

He wanted me back in that suite.

But I wasn’t that naive girl from my past life anymore.

I clutched my stomach and put on a pitiful face.

“Okay, I’ll go back. But I’m starving. I’ll grab something to eat at the convenience store across the street.”

I handed him my luggage with a sweet smile.

“You go on ahead and wait. I actually prepared a surprise for you tonight.”

Before he could react, I bolted across the street, ducked into the store, and immediately crouched in a corner to watch him.

Bernard stood by the hotel entrance, frowning. A moment later, he lowered his head and made a phone call. His voice was low, but I didn’t need to hear the words to understand.

He was talking to Samantha. Plotting.

My heart twisted with a bitter ache.

The man I loved… the best friend I trusted for over ten years… both of them conspiring to kill me. Last time, I’d been too shaken to notice the signs. But this time, I wasn’t going down so easily.

I bought a few random snacks, then slipped out the back door of the store.

Hotels were fully booked for the holiday, so I found a nearby bathhouse to stay in for the night.

Just when I was about to catch my breath, a notification from the couple app linked to Bernard suddenly popped up:

"Your lover is getting closer... 1.8 kilometers... 1.2 kilometers... 500 meters..."

My heart skipped a beat.

As the distance shrank rapidly, panic surged through me.

Then, I noticed him.

At the end of the corridor, a tall, burly man in a black baseball cap was peering into each room, one by one.

That face—I would never forget it. Not even in my nightmares.

The serial killer.

What was he doing here?

My body froze, but only for a second. Instinct kicked in.

As he neared, I grabbed a face mask from a nearby tray, slapped it on, hunched my back, and slipped into the women's bathroom.

I dared him to follow me in there.

But a more chilling question rose: How did they find me? Had someone planted a tracker on my phone?

Thinking fast, I called over a staff member and lied, saying my phone had fallen into water. I asked them to take it for repair—and borrowed a spare.

I logged into the couple app again.

But the dot that was Bernard wasn’t retreating with my phone—it was getting closer.

Much closer.

My skin prickled. The distance was shrinking fast.

Ninety-nine meters. Eighty.

He wasn’t tracking my phone. He was tracking me.

Was there... something inside me?

I couldn't stay here.

Wearing only the bath center's robe, I scrambled to get dressed and slipped out the back.

I hailed a taxi and headed to the busiest shopping mall I could think of. Maybe I could lose them in the crowd.

But Bernard’s location followed. And the man in the baseball cap was there too—still hunting.

I ran from floor to floor. Food court. Arcade. Restroom hallway. No use.

Then I felt it—a sharp, throbbing pain in the side of my jaw.

My newly filled tooth.

My stomach sank. Of course.

A hidden tracker... inside my dental filling?

I glanced down at my coat. That wasn’t mine either. Was this all arranged?

My mind clicked into place.

Without wasting a second, I made a call using the spare phone, then told the driver to take me back—to the convenience store.

As soon as I crossed the street and entered the hotel lobby, my phone buzzed.

A voice call from the couple app.

Bernard’s voice cooed, “Baby, what took you so long? I couldn’t reach you. I almost fell asleep waiting.”

I let out a dry laugh.

He had chased me across half the city with a murderer at his side, and now he was playing the worried boyfriend?

I knew what awaited me inside that abandoned hotel.

And I still walked in.

Step by step, I approached the luxury suite.

While strolling down the corridor, I messaged him:

“The convenience store didn’t have the oden I like. I went to the mall. I also grabbed some food for you and Samantha.”

Just as I reached the suite door, I spotted something cold glinting in the distance.

The blade.

The same one that slit my throat in my past life.

But this time, I was no longer the same Cherie.

From inside, I heard Samantha’s voice—sharp, giddy with triumph.

“That bitch Cherie is finally going to die. All these years of pretending will finally pay off. I’m better than her—always have been. Why did I have to play second to her in everything?”

She laughed darkly.

“I should thank my dear brother. If I hadn’t tricked him into coming, I wouldn’t have such an easy, bloodless way to get rid of her.”

“Darling, didn’t you say she had high-value accident insurance? Once that bitch dies, we can cash in and honeymoon in the Maldives!”

My blood ran cold.

All this time after my rebirth, I thought the murderer was somehow connected to Bernard. I never imagined… he was actually Samantha’s brother.

Suddenly, it all made sense. That sense of familiarity—I hadn’t seen him on the news, but in a family photo Samantha posted to her Moments five years ago. I even remembered her crying to me back then, claiming her brother tried to marry her off to an old cripple in their village for a bride price.

And now, here he was. A glint of cold steel slashed through the air toward my throat.

"Little bitch, you’re surprisingly slippery,” Evan growled, fruit knife flashing as he lunged. My heart seized, but I forced myself to speak, my voice low and desperate.

“Evan, look closely! Do you even know who I am?”