Silvia took a deep breath and with a sudden motion, she ripped the white sheet off Hyera's body.

As her eyes landed on that pale, lifeless face-devoid of any color-her fear was replaced by a strange thrill.

The corners of her lips curled into a wicked grin.

That cold, eerie smile matched Kehlani's perfectly. The resemblance was chilling.

From behind her came Kehlani's impatient voice, sharp and cutting:

"Well? Is she really dead?"

Silvia didn't turn around. She swallowed hard, her throat tight, then slowly reached out a hand to touch Hyera's forehead.

There was still the faintest trace of warmth.

Startled, Silvia flinched-then, without missing a beat, her eyes darkened.

She grabbed a pillow from the adjacent bed and spun around.

Without hesitation, she slammed it down over Hyera's nose and mouth, pressing down with terrifying force.

Her expression twisted into something monstrous-something no one who knew her would recognize.

"Let's see if you're really dead," she hissed, her voice low and venomous. "Or just playing dead. Either way, you're not walking out of this room alive, Hyera."

From beside the bed, Hyera's soul froze.

She looked up at Silvia with wide, tear-filled eyes, disbelief and horror flooding her.

Silvia... was trying to kill her. Again.

Her face crumpled, overwhelmed by disbelief.

'This is my sister?'

The one she had respected and loved?

The one who used to promise they'd grow up together, protect each other?

Her lips quivered. Her voice came out soft and broken.

"Silvia... why? Why are you doing this to me? I'm your sister, aren't I? Silvia... please..."

It felt like her whole world had collapsed.

The betrayal crushed her.

Her chest burned.

Her soul trembled.

She leaned her head against the pillow, unable to fight anymore.

Tears streamed silently down her cheeks, soaking the pillow beneath her. Her eyes were red, her heart completely shattered.

Behind them, Kehlani stood silently with her arms crossed, a sinister smile playing on her lips. She said nothing-only watched.

She wasn't going to let Hyera live another day.

Whether the girl was faking her death or not, it made no difference.

She had to die.

Watching Silvia smother her without hesitation, Kehlani let out a cold, satisfied laugh.

"She's dead. Finally dead. Ha... ha!"

Suddenly, a chill spread through Hyera's entire body.

It was bone-deep, terrifying.

She shivered uncontrollably.

She couldn't believe it-Kehlani, the woman who had once been kinder than her own mother, was happy to see her die.

She turned her head, staring at that face twisted into a grin.

Frozen in place, she could only watch.

"Please..." she choked out, her voice cracking. "I'm begging you... I don't want to die... I haven't even lived yet... I haven't gotten married... there's so much I haven't done..."

Her voice turned desperate.

"If you save me... I'll give you anything you want-anything! Even the 20% shares I hold... they're yours! Just please... let me live..."

She pleaded with everything she had. But no one responded.

Not a word.

Only silence.

Her tears poured freely now, endless and hopeless.

"Hans," Kehlani cooed, casually walking over to the man sitting in stunned silence.

She slipped her arm through his and sat beside him, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

"Now that Hyera's dead... that 20% stake of hers? That's all yours."

A smirk tugged at her lips. "Congratulations. Should we go celebrate?"

Twenty percent of the shares?

Celebrate?

Hyera's soul screamed as the world around her turned pitch-black.

"No. Absolutely not."

Hans's voice cut through the room like a blade.

"Don't forget-she was still my biological daughter. By now, the news must've already leaked that the heiress of the Sherwood Group, Hyera Sherwood, has died. If we go out and celebrate so publicly and get caught by the press, what do you think that'll look like? What will people say about me, Hans Sterling? How would I hold my place in society after that?"

His eyes were razor-sharp, locked on Kehlani. The way he looked at her-cold, cutting-felt like he was stabbing her with a thousand knives.

But Kehlani didn't flinch. She ignored him completely, turned to her daughter, and gave Silvia's thigh a quick pat as her face bloomed into a sickly sweet smile.

"Silvia, you did well this time," she praised, her voice like poisoned honey. "That little tramp Hyera is finally dead. From now on, no one will ever be able to compete with you again. Everything-everything-is yours."

"I've always said it-Hyera never had what it took to compare to me. She was nothing but a parasite. Honestly, she should've died a long time ago."

Silvia picked up a glass of water from the table, tipped her head back, and downed it in one gulp. She let out a cold laugh, her eyes filled with twisted satisfaction.

From where she hovered, unseen, Hyera finally pieced everything together.

She was really dead. Killed in a car accident.

And now... maybe she was just a wandering ghost-alone and forgotten.

'Why? Why would they do this to me? I trusted you... I loved you...'

"You were all I had," Hyera whispered through clenched teeth, even though no one could hear her. "Besides my dad, you were my only family. A stepmother, a sister... Why did you betray me like this? Why show me the truth now-when it's already too late?"

She balled her hands into tight fists, her slender fingers curling with rage and despair. Her bones seemed to stand out beneath her skin.

She stared at the mother and daughter in front of her and screamed with everything she had, though the room remained silent.

No one heard her cries.

No one ever would.

Was it regret she felt?

Was it hatred?

No-more than anything, it was heartbreak.

Kehlani, the woman she once looked up to more than her own mother... the one who'd always treated her with more warmth than even her father... had been the one to stab her in the back.

Hyera lay motionless on the bed, replaying everything-every moment, every smile, every lie.

Kehlani slowly walked up to the bed. She stared down at Hyera with a smirk curling her painted lips.

"There's one more thing you didn't know, Hyera," she said in a low voice, filled with venom. "Your mother's death? That wasn't fate. That was me. I had people take care of her."

Her eyes sparkled with cruel pleasure as she dropped the final bomb.

"And your father?" she continued. "He stood there and watched it all happen. He didn't lift a finger."

Hyera's eyes widened in horror.

Kehlani's voice dropped even lower-cold, deliberate. "And that man who raped you years ago? That wasn't just some random monster."

"It was my son."

Her voice rang out like a death knell.

"But now that you're finally dead," Kehlani said with a satisfied smile, "I don't have to keep secrets anymore. Because you know what they say-the dead keep secrets best."

The words echoed in Hyera's ears, but they felt like explosions going off in her chest.

Her mother's death wasn't an accident?

Her father... let it happen?

That man-the one who ruined her life-was Silvia's brother?

The truth was unbearable.

It all made sense now. The vague memories. The doctor's words. The way her mother could still walk, still talk, still help with her homework just days before she suddenly... died.

And her father-his silence, his avoidance.

It wasn't grief.

It was guilt.

Hyera's whole body went cold. Her spirit trembled.

She turned her head toward the man she still wanted to call "Dad."

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Dad..." she whispered. "I'm your daughter. Your real daughter. You're all I had left. Why...?"

Her voice cracked.

"Why would you do this to me?"

"Why did you do this to Mom?"

"Didn't Mom love you?" Hyera sobbed.

"She gave you everything. Everything she had. The company, the shares, even the deed to the old Sherwood estate-she handed it all over to you without hesitation. Whatever you wanted, she gave. Because she loved you!"

Her voice cracked with grief.

"So why-why did you do this to her? To me? What did we ever do to deserve this?"

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Hyera gripped the edge of the hospital bed with both hands, using all her strength to try and sit up. But no matter how hard she pushed, her body wouldn't budge. She was just as paralyzed as before.

Her face turned red with fury. Her features twisted in pain and rage, her entire being consumed with hatred. Her voice thundered through the quiet hospital room as she screamed:

"Hans Sterling! Kehlani Brooks! Silvia Brooks! Tim Brooks!"

"I swear-I swear I'll make you all pay for what you've done to me and my mom! I'll drag you to hell where you'll suffer for eternity!"

Suddenly, a strange force-like a magnetic pull-gripped her.

It yanked her hard.

She tried to resist. She twisted. She thrashed. But the force was too strong. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free.

Then-darkness.

...

When Hyera opened her eyes again, she was lying in a different hospital bed.

The room wasn't lavish or modern. It looked... old. The medical equipment was basic-no state-of-the-art monitors, not even an oxygen wall. Everything was simple, outdated even.

Where... where am I?

Warm sunlight poured in from the window, spilling across her body like a soft blanket. As it touched her skin, a strange calm came over her. She took a long, deep breath.

Then a sharp pain stabbed through her head.

"Ow... my head," she muttered, clutching her temples. "It hurts... so bad..."

A familiar voice rang out from just outside the room:

"Hyera? Sweetheart, are you okay? Does your head still hurt?"

"That little brat! Who throws a basketball at someone's head? How dare he hit my Hyera? I swear I won't let him get away with it!"

The voice grew louder as it neared, warm and scolding at the same time.

The door opened.

Hanabi Sherwood walked in.

And suddenly, time stopped.

That voice.

That voice...

Wasn't that... her mother's?

But... her mom was dead. She'd died. How could she possibly be here?

Hyera stared, frozen.

Then she leapt off the bed and ran straight into her mother's arms, throwing herself into her embrace. Her hands clutched at her mother's waist like she was afraid she'd disappear again.

"Mom... Mom! Mom!"

She sobbed so hard her body trembled.

Hanabi gently stroked her back, humming a soothing tune like she used to when Hyera was little. Her voice was soft, like a lullaby.

"It's okay, Hyera. Don't be scared. Mommy's here. Mommy's always here. No one's ever going to hurt my little princess again."

'But this doesn't make sense...'

'Mom's dead... Isn't she?'

'How can I be holding her?'

'Wasn't I just... dead in that hospital room?'

'How am I still alive?'

'Why is Mom saying someone hit me with a basketball?'

'What is going on?'

Hyera clutched her mother tighter, confused, trembling, her thoughts spinning in circles.

Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the room. Someone was coming in.

Hyera was still crying into her mother's shoulder when the sound stopped beside her. She slowly opened her swollen eyes and looked up. For a moment, her world froze.

She blinked hard, then rubbed her eyes with both hands as if to confirm she wasn't seeing things.

"...Ken? Ken, is that really you?"

Kenny Stark.

Her boyfriend.

In her past life, they were separated after high school. He had been accepted to a prestigious university in the U.S. thanks to his stellar grades. She, on the other hand, had failed her entrance exam miserably. She'd stayed behind while he flew across the world, and just like that, they drifted apart.

But now...

Could she change it this time?

Hyera exhaled deeply, her heart caught in a strange tangle of disbelief and hope.

Ken chuckled softly as he looked at her stunned expression and shook his head. "What's with that look? I am your official boyfriend, you know. Of course I came to see what happened."

Hanabi smiled warmly and helped Hyera sit up, then busied herself gathering her daughter's things. She knew about Ken and her daughter's relationship-but she had always believed young people should manage their own affairs.

"I'm fine," Hyera said, forcing a small smile. "I just woke up and... my head still hurts a little."

But her voice trembled, betraying the whirlwind of emotions inside her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the wall mirror.

She turned her head.

Slowly, she got up and walked toward it. Her fingers reached up, gently brushing against her face.

Youthful. Clear skin. Soft features untouched by time or trauma.

It wasn't makeup. It wasn't a dream.

This was real.

A wild thought surged through her mind-so intense it made her heart pound.

Suddenly, she bit her finger. Hard.

"Aw!"

The sharp sting shot up her hand, and tears welled in her eyes. But she smiled.

It hurt-and that meant it was real.

She spun around and clutched her mother's arm, her voice panicked. "Mom! Mom... you're thirty-six this year, right?"

Hanabi blinked at her daughter's strange expression and tear-streaked cheeks. "Yes, but... what's with the sudden question? You never remember my birthday, and now this?"

Without answering, Hyera threw her arms around her mother and held her tight, burying her face in her neck.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so, so sorry. I'll remember it forever from now on. I swear."

Hanabi tapped her gently on the forehead, her expression soft and full of love. "Silly girl... What are you apologizing for? I'm not upset. Don't cry anymore, okay? If my little princess cries her eyes red like this, how is she supposed to find her prince?"

She looked around the room, searching for a familiar face-but Ken was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, right," she said, suddenly remembering. "He got a phone call and had to rush out."

But before she could say more, Hyera pulled away and shook her head.

"No, I don't want to find a prince. I just want you, Mom. I want to stay by your side-forever. I don't need anything or anyone else."

Hanabi's eyes softened even more as she hugged her tightly again. "You silly girl..."

But to Hyera, it wasn't silly.

From her mother's words, from everything around her... she had confirmed the truth.

Something so impossible, so unreal, yet undeniably real.

She had been given a second chance.

She had been reborn.

Back to five years ago.

...

Sherwood Family Estate

The sky darkened gradually, thick clouds swallowing the fading daylight. The wind howled outside, and the rain-steady, relentless-lashed against the windows with soft thwack, thwack sounds.

Inside the quiet room, Hyera curled up in her mother's arms, tears still wet on her cheeks. No one knew how long she had cried before exhaustion finally claimed her. Her breathing slowed, her body relaxed, and she drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Hanabi continued to gently pat her back, as if trying to lull away every trace of pain from her daughter's heart.

Hearing movement, Nanny Pia came rushing in with a tray of milk and a slice of cake. Her steps paused at the doorway as her eyes fell on the sleeping girl in Hanabi's arms. She lowered her voice and asked tentatively, "Madam... is Miss Hyera not going to class again today?"

Hanabi gave her a soft, warning glance and raised a finger to her lips. "Shhh," she whispered, signaling Nanny Pia to lower her voice.

Then, with great care, she tucked Hyera beneath the covers.

"It's pouring outside," she said quietly. "How could I let her go out in this weather? What if she catches a cold? She just got discharged from the hospital-I'm not letting my baby girl set foot in there again. Not today. Go tell the driver there's no need to wait by the gate. She's not going to school."

Nanny Pia nodded. "Yes, Madam."

But as she turned to leave, she couldn't help letting out a long sigh. How many days has Miss Hyera skipped school now? she thought. She must've fallen far behind... If she doesn't catch up, she'll be at the bottom of the class again.

Still, what did it matter? The young miss was the heiress to the Sherwood family. The school itself had been built with the old master's donations. Who would dare fail her?

As she stepped out of the room, Nanny Pia caught a glimpse of Hanabi's eyes-red-rimmed and watery. Her heart ached, but she didn't dare linger. She turned away in silence and left.

Sometime in the deep hours of the night, Hyera woke with a start.

She'd had a nightmare-one so vivid it made her break out in a cold sweat. In it, she saw that woman-Kehlani-her so-called stepmother, strangling her real mother with her own hands.

Hyera sat up in bed, breath ragged, and slowly got to her feet. She walked barefoot across the floor and looked out the window.

The old Sherwood estate stood on the outskirts of City B, far from the noise of downtown. Years ago, her grandfather Maverick Sherwood had chosen this peaceful location to recover from an illness, and the place had remained in the family ever since.

The estate itself was a unique blend of Eastern elegance and Western sophistication. Antique vases stood beside sleek marble columns. Oil paintings hung near wooden calligraphy plaques. It was strange-but beautiful.

Outside, the June rain hadn't let up. It continued to fall in steady sheets, soaking the gardens and pattering softly into the flower pot on her windowsill.

Hyera stared out at the dark sky.

So many questions filled her head.

'Should I tell Mom the truth? Should I tell her that Dad already has another woman outside? That Silvia and Tim exist? That everything they built... will eventually be stolen by those two?'

But what proof did she have?

She bit her lip hard.

Even she still couldn't fully believe she had come back from the dead-reborn into her younger self.

'If even I can't understand it... how could Mom possibly believe me?'

She placed her hand flat against the glass, rain thudding gently on the other side.

No... not yet.

There was too much she didn't know. Too much she couldn't explain. If she said something now, would it just sound like a child's nonsense? Would her mother dismiss it... or worse, worry even more?

She had to think.

Had to plan.

This time around... she would be smarter. She would protect her mother. Protect everything that had been taken from her.

But first... she had to figure out what to do next.

***