In a dark, damp room reeking of mold and despair, Elise Cooper lay motionless on the cold concrete floor, her body bruised and stained with blood. Each breath she drew was shallow, painful. She struggled to push herself up, her limbs trembling from exhaustion and injury.

Suddenly, the heavy door creaked open, and a harsh beam of light flooded the room. Elise squinted, her eyes straining to adjust after days of darkness. Through the haze, a familiar silhouette appeared—elegant, composed, dressed in designer clothes with makeup perfectly in place. It was Olive Cooper—her sister.

Relief surged through Elise. Finally, someone came to save me, she thought. But that fleeting hope was crushed the moment Olive opened her mouth.

“Oh? You're still alive?” Olive said, her voice laced with cruel amusement. “I honestly expected you to be dead by now.”

Elise blinked in disbelief. Did I just imagine that? Her kind, gentle sister couldn’t possibly have said something so heartless.

Olive chuckled at her stunned expression and strode forward. Grabbing a fistful of Elise’s tangled hair, she yanked her head up to force their eyes to meet.

“Don’t call me sister,” she spat coldly. “We were never sisters. You were just a pretty little orphan our parents adopted to be my shadow.”

Elise's heart sank.

“They found you in some rundown orphanage,” Olive continued, her voice dripping with disdain. “You were beautiful, and they thought having a contrast would make me look even better. People would gush over how kind and generous I was to you—how sweet it was of me to share the spotlight with a pitiful girl like you.”

Elise's throat tightened with pain and confusion.

“You really thought your kidnapping was an accident?” Olive scoffed. “I planned it. All of it. It was the perfect way to end your engagement with Trevor.”

At the mention of his name, Elise’s heart gave a jolt. Before she could process anything else, a tall man stepped into the room. Dressed in an immaculate, custom-tailored suit, he looked like he had walked out of a magazine. His eyes, once warm, were now cold and filled with disdain.

Trevor.

“So, she’s still alive,” he sneered. “Good. Now I can tell her to her face—I never loved you, Elise. It’s Olive I’ve always wanted.”

The words hit her like a slap.

Elise tried to hold back her tears, her voice trembling as she whispered, “But Trevor... we’ve been engaged for 18 years. You promised me love, a future together. Please... tell me this is some kind of misunderstanding.”

Trevor scoffed. “Why would I waste my life on an adopted nobody? You're dull. Worthless. Olive is everything you're not—graceful, gentle, perfect.”

He turned away in disgust. “And besides, after what happened to you this past week... who would want to marry someone so filthy?”

“Trevor, don’t say that,” Olive interrupted, her voice suddenly soft and trembling. “She’s still my sister... she’s pitiful.”

She began to cry delicately, dabbing at imaginary tears. “This is all my fault. I never meant for it to go this far. But I truly love Trevor. Please, Elise... give us your blessings.”

Trevor gave Olive a tender kiss on the forehead and left the room without another word, though not before casting one last hateful glare at Elise.

The moment the door shut behind him, Olive's mask fell away. Her gentle expression twisted into a mocking smile. She crouched down, her voice low and venomous.

“Let me make it crystal clear. I paid those men to kidnap you. I told them exactly what to do—violate you, break you, leave you here to rot. And they did it, didn’t they? Just like I ordered.”

Elise began to shake, memories crashing down on her—pleas ignored, mocking laughter, unbearable pain. The beatings. The drugs. The never-ending torment.

“Why...?” Elise choked out through sobs. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

Olive laughed—a sharp, unhinged sound. “You? Nothing. You just had the audacity to exist with that perfect little face. I’ve hated you for as long as I can remember. You were always the foil to my brilliance.”

She grinned. “Remember your wardrobe disaster at my 18th birthday? I tampered with your clothes. Or how Mom always forgot your birthday? That wasn’t forgetfulness—it was deliberate. She bought you revealing outfits on purpose, so people would call you vulgar while I was seen as elegant and modest.”

Elise stared at her in horror.

“Oh, and Trevor?” Olive continued smugly. “He might’ve liked you at first, but I ruined that. Slowly and carefully, I turned him against you. Made him see you as trash. We’ve been together since I was 15. And guess what? I’m already pregnant with his child.”

Elise felt her world collapsing around her. The man she had loved for a decade. The family she had cherished. The sister she had trusted.

All of it—lies. Deception. Hatred.

She had been nothing more than a pawn in a cruel game.

Olive leaned closer to Elise, her lips curled in a cold smile. “Sister,” she said mockingly, “do you know who your real parents are?” Her voice dripped with malicious delight. “Mom and Dad found them just a week ago. That’s right—your real parents. They were planning to use you to get close to them. That’s why I arranged your kidnapping.”

Elise's blood ran cold.

“How could I let you outshine me?” Olive hissed. “You’re the only daughter of the Swansons. They've been searching for you for twenty-four years.”

Elise’s eyes widened in shock.

“You were taken by the Swansons’ nanny,” Olive continued, pacing slowly around her. “She kidnapped you for ransom, but things didn’t go as planned. She lost you while trying to flee. That’s when my parents found you.”

Olive’s heel pressed down onto Elise’s face, forcing it against the cold, dirty floor. She laughed cruelly. “You were meant to be my shadow—always behind me, never in front. How could I possibly allow someone like you, with that pretty face, to reunite with the Swansons?”

Elise’s mind spiraled as she recalled who the Swansons were—one of the four wealthiest families in the entire country. Their power and influence far surpassed the Coopers or even the Gibsons. She remembered reading about the Swansons' tragic loss—their youngest daughter, taken at just a few months old. For decades, they had searched for her without success.

Now, she knew why.

Her adoptive father had tried for years to get in touch with the Swansons, always falling short, always unqualified. Suddenly, memories of her childhood rushed back—cold, sharp, and bitter. The unfairness, the neglect, the cruel beatings for minor mistakes. Her birthdays, always forgotten or brushed aside with excuses about Thanksgiving expenses. “We’ll get you something next month,” they’d say. But they never did.

Her mother dressed her in revealing outfits, always making her look inappropriate, then criticized her for being “too bold.” One year, Elise had simply admired a doll that Olive received as a birthday gift. When Olive burst into tears and accused her of stealing, everyone turned their judgmental gazes on Elise. She’d felt humiliated.

Now it all made sense.

Olive had used her as a stepping stone—swapping exam papers, locking her in her room during finals, and subtly ruining her image in front of others. All her suffering, all her confusion... it had been carefully orchestrated.

A burning resentment lit up in Elise’s chest. Her entire life had been a lie.

If only… if only I had one chance. Just one.

She closed her eyes, silently pleading to any higher power that might listen. Please... let me meet my real parents. Let me live again. Let me take back what was stolen.

As her consciousness began to fade, lightning cracked through the sky. The pendant she’d worn since birth—the one she’d never removed—suddenly began to glow, pulsing with a brilliant red light. The room fell silent.

Elise felt her body go weightless, as if floating through clouds. The pain, the cold—all of it faded away. Then came a sound—a soft beeping, rhythmic and strange. She slowly opened her eyes.

She wasn’t in the dark anymore.

A vast, glowing space surrounded her—white and empty, like the inside of a dream. A mechanical voice echoed all around her.

“Hello, Elise. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her heart pounded. She looked around, but saw no one.

The voice continued, calm and emotionless. “I am the pendant you’ve worn since birth. Your blood and your overwhelming will for revenge have awakened me. I will now send you back in time—to the moment you turned fifteen. You will have the chance to rewrite your destiny.”

Elise stood frozen in disbelief.

“This space will grow along with you,” the voice said. “As your strength and abilities increase, so will the resources available here. When you return, you will receive access to a personal system, an internal computer with internet, and full access to news up until the date of your death.”

“In short, the knowledge of the future will be yours to command.”

And with that, her vision darkened again.

When she opened her eyes once more, a warm breeze brushed her skin. She blinked rapidly and gasped. The familiar room around her had a youthful glow, filled with things she hadn’t seen in years. The posters on the wall, the old wooden desk, the worn-out teddy bear in the corner—it was all just as it had been.

She jumped out of bed, her legs weak but alive. She rushed to the calendar on the wall. The date read: One day before her 15th birthday.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She turned toward the mirror, slowly approaching it. Staring back at her was a face untouched by trauma—flawless, youthful, radiant. Her skin glowed with health, her long black hair cascading past her waist, and her features were delicate yet striking. She was beautiful.

Then, a voice echoed in her mind.

“Connection with host established.”

It was the same mechanical voice as before.

Elise’s fists clenched by her sides. She took one last look in the mirror.

This time, she vowed silently, I will not be anyone’s shadow. I will not be used. I will rise... and they will fall.

---

Elise rose from bed and went about her morning routine, preparing herself to head downstairs for breakfast. Her movements were calm, deliberate—each step down the staircase echoing faintly in the quiet house. As she reached the dining area, she paused at the sight before her.

Seated around the breakfast table were her parents, Abigail and James, and her younger sister, Olive. The three of them were chatting, laughing softly as they enjoyed their morning meal. It was an image straight out of a family portrait—warm, intimate, and complete. A perfect trio.

Elise stood silently for a moment, observing. It wasn’t the first time she'd felt like an outsider in her own home. In fact, it had been this way for as long as she could remember. They never waited for her to join them. They never knocked on her door to wake her up. If she ever questioned it, the answer was always wrapped in a gentle excuse: “You were sleeping so soundly. We didn’t want to disturb you.” But Elise now understood it for what it truly was—indifference disguised as kindness.

She stepped forward and took her place at the dining table, directly across from them. The moment she sat down, the cheerful conversation halted. Abigail and James looked at her, expressions briefly flickering with surprise. It was unusual for her to be up this early, and it clearly caught them off guard.

Olive was the first to break the silence, putting on a gentle, almost saintly smile. “Sister, don’t be upset with Mom and Dad,” she said in her soft, practiced voice. “We were just eating. You seemed to be resting so peacefully—we didn’t want to wake you.”

Elise returned her gaze without emotion, her eyes sharp and cold. They were all so good at pretending—masters at hiding behind masks. Olive, with her angelic smile, was perhaps the most skilled of them all.

Seeing the tension thickening in the air, Abigail quickly called the maid and ordered breakfast to be served for Elise, her voice slightly strained.

Elise didn’t speak a word. She ate quietly, going through the motions without truly tasting anything. The silence between them felt more telling than any argument. Once finished, she stood and left the table without a backward glance, retreating to the solitude of her room.

Inside her sanctuary, she sat for a long moment, lost in thought. Memories from her past life began to stir—some painful, some bittersweet, all vividly clear. She stood up and walked to the mirror, her gaze drawn to the pendant resting against her collarbone.

The necklace was simple yet elegant—a round pendant with a smooth, pearl-like center. For as long as she could remember, the pendant had been pure white, flawless. It had remained unchanged throughout her previous life. But now, something was different.

A deep crimson glow now pulsed in the center of the gem, like a drop of blood suspended in crystal. It was striking, and impossible to ignore.

She remembered the moment of her death. Just before her rebirth, a voice—something like a system—had spoken to her. It had mentioned that the pendant had been activated by her blood. And now, with her return to this life, it had awakened something within her.

Her fingers brushed lightly over the pendant as her thoughts turned dark. She knew what she had to do.

Revenge.

The word sat heavily in her mind. But before she could carry it out, there were things she needed to do. The first step was clear: she had to reunite with her real family—her biological parents, the ones who had never stopped searching for her.

Her memories of them were fragmented but slowly coming together. She recalled their warmth, their voices, their love. Her real mother had once been a renowned fashion designer, admired for her creativity and elegance. Her father was a world-famous artist, celebrated across continents. And she had three older brothers—each accomplished in his own field. The eldest was a doctor, calm and dependable. The second was the CEO of the powerful Swanson Group, cold but fiercely protective. The third, a free-spirited pilot, had always made her laugh.

They were out there, somewhere, and they had never given up on her.

Unlike the Coopers.

In her previous life, Elise had discovered a deep passion for jewelry design, and she had been remarkably talented at it. That knowledge, along with her memories of the future, would be her weapon in this life. She intended to build something of her own—a financial foundation strong enough to support her independence and sever all ties with the Cooper family once and for all.

But escaping would not be enough. She had to become stronger. Smarter. Unshakable. The world had shown her how cruel it could be, and she was determined not to be the same naive girl she once was.

She needed a plan—detailed, strategic, foolproof. The road ahead would not be easy, but Elise was no longer afraid of hardship.

In this life, she would reclaim everything that had been taken from her.

And this time, she would protect herself—no matter the cost.