My older sister Seraphina had always been the center of attention in New York's Upper East Side. Everyone worshiped her, protected her.

At the Montgomery charity gala, my father asked we to choose our future husband in front of every powerful family in New York.

Seraphina smiled and generously let me choose first.

But this time, I said no.

In my past life, I truly thought she cared about me.

I followed her suggestion and married Declan Thorne, a man whose immune system had failed after a car crash. He had been confined to a wheelchair for years, and people whispered that he was worthless.

I surrendered my place in the family and became his nurse, his support, the only thing keeping him from complete loneliness. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never reach his heart.

Then, at Seraphina’s gender reveal party, Declan stood up from his wheelchair in front of everyone.

"Brielle,I felt nothing for you. You were just a way for me to get closer to Sera."

The silence lasted only a second before the room turned on me.

Every whisper, every stare, every hidden laugh made me feel like the biggest fool in New York.

That night, I rushed out of the party and drove away before anyone could see me break down.

On the bridge, my hands shook so badly that the car spun out of control and crashed through the railing.

I made ninety-nine calls before the river swallowed the car completely, and every single one went unanswered.

Three days later, they found me trapped beneath the water, already suffocated in the wreckage.

Then I opened my eyes, and I was back at the gala where my father had planned to announce our engagements. This time, I picked no one.

My older sister Seraphina had always been the center of attention in New York's Upper East Side. Everyone worshiped her, protected her.

At the Montgomery charity gala, my father asked we to choose our future husband in front of every powerful family in New York.

Seraphina smiled and generously let me choose first.

But this time, I said no.

In my past life, I truly thought she cared about me.

I followed her suggestion and married Declan Thorne, a man whose immune system had failed after a car crash. He had been confined to a wheelchair for years, and people whispered that he was worthless.

I surrendered my place in the family and became his nurse, his support, the only thing keeping him from complete loneliness. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never reach his heart.

Then, at Seraphina’s gender reveal party, Declan stood up from his wheelchair in front of everyone.

"Brielle,I felt nothing for you. You were just a way for me to get closer to Sera."

The silence lasted only a second before the room turned on me.

Every whisper, every stare, every hidden laugh made me feel like the biggest fool in New York.

That night, I rushed out of the party and drove away before anyone could see me break down.

On the bridge, my hands shook so badly that the car spun out of control and crashed through the railing.

I made ninety-nine calls before the river swallowed the car completely, and every single one went unanswered.

Three days later, they found me trapped beneath the water, already suffocated in the wreckage.

Then I opened my eyes, and I was back at the gala where my father had planned to announce our engagements.

This time, I picked no one.

...

“Why do not you go first, Brielle?” Seraphina put on a sickly sweet smile and played the part of the devoted older sister, just as she had in her last life. “You were always so delicate. You need someone strong behind you.”

She made sure to look around when she said “delicate” so that everyone caught her fake concern. But her eyes gave her away. She kept staring at Matteo Ashford, the heir to the Ashford fortune, with a longing she could not hide. People in high society had whispered for years that the two of them were sneaking around behind everyone’s back.

My father was never going to give Matteo to anyone but her.

In my previous life, I picked Declan Thorne to keep her happy. I thought I was taking the high road. Instead, I walked straight into a nightmare.

I still remembered how it felt at the end of that life. Declan had stood on a stage and told a room full of people that he had never loved me. I had stood in the crowd like a pathetic fool.

After the party ended, Seraphina came up to me with tears in her eyes and spoke in a voice soft as a whisper. “Do not be sad, little sister. He was only upset.”

Her tears caught the light and sparkled like cut glass.

Right then, I finally understood what she really was.

So when my father asked me which man I wanted, I smiled. “Since Sera is being so generous, I will take Matteo.”

“What?” The smile dropped off Seraphina’s face. Her eyes welled up instantly, and her voice shook. “Brielle, you know how I feel about him.”

From his wheelchair, Declan jerked his head up. His fingers dug into the armrests until the skin over his knuckles went white.

Then my father’s hand came across my face so hard that people nearby gasped. Someone started whispering. Someone else stared like they were watching a show.

“Matteo comes from the Ashford family,” my father said, keeping his voice low but making sure each word cut. “Do you honestly think someone like you deserves him? You know he wants your sister, and still you reach for her man. Do you want to destroy this family?”

Blood ran from the corner of my mouth, warm and tasting like metal. But I did not touch my face. I did not move back. I just looked him in the eye and smiled.

“You already made up your mind for everyone. So who exactly is this ‘let me choose’ performance for? The reporters? Or the people you do business with?”

Seraphina blinked fast. She stepped closer, grabbed my father’s arm, and let her voice break at just the right moment. “Brielle, do not speak to Dad that way. He only worries about you. He is scared that no one will ever marry you.”

Her voice carried just enough for the nearby tables to hear. Someone nodded along. Someone let out a sigh. Someone mumbled that the older daughter was so kind and thoughtful.

I watched her put on her little show and did not waste my breath calling her out.

While the rest of us argued, Declan pushed off the armrests and rose from his wheelchair. The whole room went quiet. This was the man who had spent three years in that chair, the man everyone said would never leave it. Now he stood in front of everyone without a single shake in his legs.

“Mr. Montgomery,” he said, sounding as steady as someone who had never been sick a day in his life, “let me make you a business offer. I know your Florida real estate project is sinking. I will cover the loss. All I ask in return is Sera.”

People started murmuring again. Someone let out a sharp breath. Someone else started counting in their head how much money that really was.

I kept my eyes on Declan, unable to believe what I was seeing. The man who had pretended to be broken for so long chose this exact moment to stand up. Not to help me. Not because it was the right thing to do. To take my sister away from me.

He noticed me staring. For a single second, guilt passed through his eyes. Then he looked away, exactly like he had done in the life before. My heart stopped for a beat.

He had come back too. So even after he stood in front of a crowd and humiliated me in my past life, he was ready to do the same thing all over again.

The second my father heard “cover the loss,” his anger dried up. His eyes took on a look I recognized immediately. Greed. Calculation. He had spent years trying to marry his daughters into powerful families. He would never pass up a chance like this. The Thorne family was much stronger than the Ashfords. For them to even want Seraphina was already more than he could have hoped for.

“Fine,” my father said without stopping to think. “If Declan wants Sera that badly, then Brielle, you will marry Matteo.”

Matteo shot to his feet, his chair scraping hard against the floor.

“You think I would ever marry you?” His voice cut through the room, loud enough for everyone to hear. “You are nothing. The only reason anyone even lets you breathe the same air as us is because Sera is too kind to throw you out. Stay in your lane, you pathetic bastard. Do not ever embarrass this family by pretending you belong here.”

The look on my father's face went from bad to worse.

“What exactly are you trying to say, Matteo?” He kept his voice low. “Our families have known each other for years. So my daughter is not good enough for you?”

Matteo fixed his cufflinks. “Mr. Montgomery, I do not want your younger daughter. Not at all.”

Seraphina turned to me with red eyes and trembling lips, playing the heartbroken sister. But I caught the tiny smile at the corner of her mouth. She walked to Matteo and touched his arm. “Matteo, my sister risked her life to save you. Even if you do not care for her, show her some respect.”

If she had not mentioned it, I might have forgotten. When we were ten, Matteo dragged me to an old fountain in Central Park. Kidnappers grabbed us. I made noise to draw them away so he could escape, but once he got away, they caught me and threw me into the Hudson River. I spent nearly twenty minutes in the freezing water. My bones have never been the same.

Matteo looked at Seraphina, and his whole face softened. “I will never forget that day. If you had not noticed we were missing, I would have died. Sera, you saved me.” Then he turned and glared at me. “If you had not used 'I saved you' to control me all these years, I would have married Sera long ago.”

A satisfied smile flashed across Seraphina's face before she pressed against Matteo's chest.

I let my voice turn cold. “Since my dear sister loves Matteo but cannot let go of Declan, why not marry both of them?”

Seraphina's face turned red. “If they both married me, who would even want you?”

“What if I do not want either of them?” I stood up slowly.

Both men looked at me. I avoided Declan's gaze. I did not want anything to do with someone who had let me die.

My father squeezed his glass. “You were born into this house, so you live by its rules. Marriage is your only value. Do not talk to me about choices.”

I did not back down. “The Miami project has been losing money for three months. I will go there and fix it.”

In my past life, my father took the trust fund my mother left me, and all of it ended up in Seraphina's pocket. When things got bad, I asked her for fifty thousand dollars. She laughed and transferred thirty thousand with a note that said her sister loved her. I learned my lesson, and I refused to make the same mistake again.

With Matteo's father mediating, Alistair finally agreed to let me go. The family office in Miami barely noticed me. To them, I was just Sera's shadow. But I let my work speak. Within two months, I closed a commercial real estate deal that had been stalled for half a year. For the first time, the older men looked at me with something like respect.

My father, who had practically forgotten me, called out of nowhere. “Your mother’s memorial day is coming up,” he said. “Are you planning to stay away from that too?”

I had already bought my ticket.

At the cemetery, I knelt in front of my mother's headstone. Seraphina was waiting. She greeted me with a soft smile, but jealousy sat plainly behind it.

“People are saying you got those deals by sleeping with the right people,” she said with a sigh. “A decent woman should not mix with those kinds of men. You have made Dad look bad.”

Then her eyes moved to Declan. “All your hard work was just a trick to get a man's attention. Dad has already found you a new fiancé. Starting tomorrow, Miami is mine.”

I stayed kneeling, my voice calm. “You cannot even read a due diligence report. Do not try to take what is mine.”

Seraphina's eyes reddened. “I am only trying to help you. I know you have always been jealous of me.”

I stood up and turned to leave. Declan grabbed my arm. “Apologize to Sera.”

I peeled his fingers off one by one. “I do not need your act at my mother's grave.” I walked out of the cemetery.

That night, before I could leave for Miami, Matteo and Declan blocked me.

“Sera lost fifty million dollars to the wrong people,” Matteo said, his voice shaking with rage. “She saw how well you were doing in Miami and could not stand it. She wanted to prove she could do it too, so she rushed into a deal she did not understand. Now they have her locked in some warehouse.” He grabbed my coat. “They asked for you by name. You are coming with me.”

Declan looked at me with guilt in his eyes, but he said nothing.

On the way to the warehouse, Declan sighed. “I figured it out. You came back too.”

I laughed without humor. “So what if I did? Are you suddenly going to take my side now?”

“I am sorry,” he murmured.

I shook my head. “That is all you can say?”

He caught my wrist, drew me in, and kissed me before I could turn away. “This is the last time. We will get Sera out. After this, we will get married, and I will spend the rest of my life paying for what I did to you.”

“Can you not see that she is putting on a show?” I asked.

He looked away. “I do not know.”

But his expression said otherwise.

Everyone knew exactly what she was doing. But I was still the one pushed into the fire.

The warehouse sat at the end of a cracked road, far from any streetlights. The air smelled of rust and damp concrete. Graffiti stained the walls, and the only light came from a single bulb hanging from a frayed wire.

This was not a place for negotiation. This was where people came to disappear.

Inside, Seraphina sat on a metal folding chair in the middle of the empty floor. Her wrists were bound to the armrests with zip ties. Her makeup had run down her face in dark streaks, and her expensive dress was torn at the shoulder.

She looked nothing like the perfect sister from the gala.

Two towering men stood behind her.

Matteo ran to her. “Sera, are you all right?”

One of the men stepped forward and shoved him back. “Stay where you are.”

A third man emerged from the shadows. He wore a stained leather jacket and carried a crowbar loosely in one hand. “Mr. Thorne. Mr. Ashford.You took your time.”

Declan ground his teeth. “What do you want?”

“The question is not what I want.” The man tapped the crowbar against his palm. “Your sister-in-law borrowed fifty million. She signed papers. She promised to pay.” He looked at Seraphina and chuckled. “She does not have fifty million. So now we have a problem.”

“We will get the money,” Declan said.

“Of course you will.” The man grinned. “But someone stays until then. If you fail to bring the money on time, we'll find another use for the hostage.”

Matteo shot me a look, and something behind his eyes shifted. “Brielle is a Montgomery too. Why can she not stay instead?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Declan’s voice came out low and angry.

Matteo gave him a cold smile. “If Brielle had not stolen the spotlight in Miami, Sera never would have rushed off to prove herself. Sera did nothing wrong. It is only fair that Brielle stays.”

The man with the crowbar nodded slowly. “I like the way you think, Mr. Ashford.” He looked at me. “So? What do you say, little Montgomery?”

Declan’s face twisted with rage. “No. Absolutely not.”

At that exact moment, Seraphina started crying.

“Declan, please. Do not leave me here. I cannot stay another minute in this place.”

She turned her head just enough to look at me over her shoulder. Her eyes were wet, but there was no fear in them. Only triumph. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Declan’s hands opened and closed at his sides. He turned to me, his voice dropping low. “Brielle, you do not want anything bad to happen to your sister. Just stay here. I will get the money and come back for you.”

I stared at him and let out a bitter laugh. “You want to leave me here. In this place. So she can walk out.”

I saw the guilt fighting inside him.

“I will come back,I swear it.”

Matteo stepped closer. “What is the problem? You just have to wait here. Sera has been waiting all night. Why should you be any different?”

I grabbed hold of Declan’s wrist. “Are you really going to stand there and let me die again? Just like that night on the bridge when you did not answer my calls?”

He started to reach for me.

Then Seraphina threw herself forward, straining against the zip ties. “Declan, I am so scared. Please, just take me home.” Her voice cracked perfectly, wet and desperate. But from over his shoulder, she looked at me with eyes that were completely dry.

Every bit of hesitation in Declan’s face disappeared. He took Seraphina’s hand as the men cut the zip ties.

“I am sorry,But you will be all right. I will come back for you.”

The door slammed shut behind them.

Then the engine started, and the sound of the car disappeared into the night.

The warehouse went quiet. The men in cheap jackets stepped back and unbuttoned their jackets. The one with the crowbar set it down and pulled out a phone instead.

“Miss Montgomery,” he said, his tone completely different now. Respectful. “You performed even better than we expected.”

I sat down on the metal chair Seraphina had just left. The two men who had been standing behind her moved to the door and stood guard.

“The money will be transferred within three days,Montgomery assets in Miami as collateral. Through my personal account.”

The man nodded once. “It has been a pleasure making arrangements with you.”

I took off the ring that had monitored my heartbeat and tracked my location for years.

The man took it from me, dropped it to the floor, and crushed it under his boot.

The tracking chip snapped. The pulse monitor went dark.

“No signal. No heartbeat,” he said. “Everyone will believe you died during this negotiation.”Then he looked at me and gave a small bow.

“Miss Montgomery, congratulations on your new life.”