In my past life, my brother Andre emptied our estate of guards for a camping trip with his "soulmate" Scarlett. A vengeful rival broke in that night. My pregnant sister-in-law Sophia died shielding me. My 3-year-old nephew Leo lost his hands trying to save me. I frantically called Andre, forcing him to abandon Scarlett and return. Scarlett’s final text before vanishing read: "Your sister and wife wanted me dead. Now they have their wish." Andre coldly deleted it. Father stripped Andre of power, but weeks later, Andre cornered me: "You called me back. You killed Scarlett. Now join her in hell!" He murdered me. I awoke to the sound of men breaking down our gate—back at the beginning. 1 The splintering crash of wood yanked me back to the present. With a surge of adrenaline, I grabbed my pregnant sister-in-law, Sophia, and my three-year-old nephew, Leo, and dragged them into the study’s hidden panic room. "Charlotte, what are you doing?" Sophia asked, her voice trembling slightly. "The estate is crawling with security. We don't need to hide in here." "Yeah, Aunt Charlotte," Leo piped in, his small hand clutching his mother's. "Grandpa said this room is only for a real emergency." They stared at me, confusion and fear blooming in their eyes. They had no idea. They didn't know that Andre, for the sake of his precious Scarlett, had left us utterly defenseless. "Sophia," I said, my voice low and urgent. "Andre took all of them. Every single guard. It's just the three of us in this house." I threw my entire weight against the heavy steel cabinets flanking the panic room door, shoving them in front of it. The screech of metal against the polished floor was a scream in the quiet room, a sound that would surely lead our attackers right to us. Sophia froze, her face pale with disbelief. It was unthinkable. Andre, always so careful, so responsible, pulling a stunt this reckless? The Monroes were the wealthiest family in Crestwood; our security was legendary. An empty estate was a death sentence. But the raw terror in my eyes must have convinced her. "Then call him! Call Andre and tell him to get back here now!" she pleaded, one hand protectively on her swollen belly, the other gripping Leo’s. Her whole body was shaking. But I didn't call my brother. Instead, I dialed 911. I gave the dispatcher our address and a clipped, frantic summary of the situation, begging them to hurry. I had zero faith that Andre would drop everything to save us. In my last life, by the time he’d returned, Sophia had bled out on the floor, taking her unborn child with her, and Leo was maimed for life. Hanging up, I felt a fresh wave of dread. A storm was raging outside. The nearest police station was a thirty-minute drive away, even without the torrential rain. I couldn't imagine how I was going to prevent history from repeating its bloody course before they arrived. Soon, we heard them. Footsteps and gruff voices, searching the main floor. I instinctively clamped a hand over Leo's mouth, my own breath catching in my throat. Just then, Sophia’s phone lit up. She had managed to get Andre on the line. "Andre, you have to come back! There are intruders in the house!" she cried, her voice cracking with tears. His response was a condescending chuckle. "Babe, come on, stop with the drama. I know the pregnancy hormones are making you paranoid, but I'm with Scarlett tonight. Just go to bed, okay?" Sophia’s voice rose to a near-scream. "I'm not being paranoid! They're real! Andre, please, come home, or they're going to kill me and the baby!" His tone turned to ice. "I know you're possessive, Sophia, but this is a new low. I already promised Scarlett this would be our last night together. After today, I'm done. What more do you want?" he snapped. "And tell Charlotte, if she doesn't want a repeat of last time's little tragedy, she should stay the hell out of my business." His words hit me like a physical blow. My heart didn't just drop; it plummeted into an icy abyss. He remembered. Andre was reborn, just like me. But why didn't he believe me? He’d seen what happened last time. He saw Sophia’s mutilated body, saw what they did to Leo. How could he be so cold, so detached, now that he had a chance to change it? Was it all because of Scarlett's whisper in his ear? Your sister and your wife are in this together. 2 The footsteps stopped right outside, in the study. A moment later, a violent crash shook the reinforced door. The steel cabinets we’d braced against it rattled violently. We watched in horror as a hole was smashed through the thick wood. Through the splintered opening, an eye appeared, followed by a twisted grin. "Well, well. Look what we have in here." I shoved Sophia and Leo behind me, backing away slowly. One by one, they crawled through the hole. The leader kicked the cabinets aside with a deafening clang, throwing the panic room door wide open. "Did you really think a little hidey-hole would save you?" he sneered. "We were paid to send a message, and we're not stupid." He leveled a chilling gaze at us. "Don't blame us. Blame Andre Monroe for pissing off the wrong people." My body trembled uncontrollably as I watched the cold light glint off the blade of the knife in his hand. His predatory eyes landed on Sophia. "I recognize her. That's Monroe's wife," he said, a sick smile spreading across his face. "Always wondered what it'd be like with a pregnant one..." Sophia glared at them, her fury overriding her fear as she shielded Leo. "Stay away from us!" Fighting back my own terror, I turned to her and whispered, "There's another switch, behind that vase. When I give the signal, you open it and run. Get to the Hamiltons' place next door. Find Ethan. Tell him to come save me." The man with the knife was getting closer. We were out of room to retreat. I’d already died a horrible death once. This time, I would not let them suffer the same fate. "Charlotte, I can't leave you here alone!" I dug my nails into her arm, desperate to make her understand. "You have the baby! And Leo is only three!" I pleaded. "Listen to me. You run. I'll hold them off. As long as you can get to Ethan, we still have a chance!" Just as the man lunged, Sophia did the unthinkable. She flipped the hidden switch with one hand and shoved Leo into my arms with the other. Then she threw herself at the intruders' legs, clinging to them with all her might. "Go, Charlotte! Take Leo and run!" Her voice was a heartbreaking cry of sacrifice and love. "Sophia!" In the final second before the secret door sealed shut, I saw one of the men grab Sophia by the throat and slam her to the floor. In that instant, my world shattered all over again. "Run, Charlotte! Get help!" 3 A bone-deep chill washed over me, but the instinct to survive was stronger. Staying would mean all three of us would die. Clasping Leo tightly, I bolted through the secret passage that led outside. Once out, I didn't dare stop. I just ran, a desperate, mindless sprint into the rain-swept darkness. I slipped on the wet gravel and fell hard. My knee tore open, a flap of skin peeling back in a mess of blood and torn flesh. Gritting my teeth against the searing pain, I pushed myself up and kept running, limping heavily toward the Hamilton estate. When I reached their wrought-iron gates, I hammered on the intercom, pounding on the bars with my free hand. "Ethan! Ethan, please, help my sister-in-law!" "Ethan! Help us!" The lock clicked open. Ethan, dressed in a casual sweatsuit, appeared at the door. His brow furrowed as he took in my disheveled, bloody state. But he didn't rush to help me as I’d expected. Instead, he looked down at me with cold disapproval. "Seriously? You're going this far just to put on a show for your brother? You even dragged poor Leo into it." His voice dripped with contempt, as if I were nothing more than an actress in a cheap melodrama, scheming to help my sister-in-law win back her husband's attention. "Ethan, I'm not acting! Sophia is still back there, and she's pregnant!" I cried, my voice raw. "There are men in our house! Please, just grab some of your security and come with me!" He glanced at my injuries with a look of detached amusement, shaking his head. "I might have actually believed you if Andre hadn't called me. He warned me that you and Sophia were jealous he was taking Scarlett camping and that you'd pull some crazy stunt to ruin it." Panic clawed at my throat. "Don't listen to him, it's real! It's the people he put out of business a few months ago, the ones from that big corporate takeover! They're here for revenge!" I fumbled for my phone, showing him my call log. "I'm not lying, I even called 911! I'm just so afraid they won't get there in time. Please, Ethan, you have to help her!" He remained unmoved, letting out an impatient sigh. "Filing a false police report is a felony, Charlotte. Your sister-in-law is really crossing a line with this jealousy game. And you... I know you two are close, but how could you go along with something like this?" "Ethan! We are not lying! This is real!" I screamed, tears of frustration and terror streaming down my face. But my desperation had no effect on him. He looked at me with disgust and turned to go back inside. I lunged forward and grabbed his arm. "Ethan, I'm begging you. She's pregnant. Just... just as a favor to me, please, just go and see for yourself!" My voice broke. "She's going to die!" He looked down at me, his face an unreadable mask. "Charlotte," he said, his voice flat. "Your brother explicitly told me not to get involved in your family's drama." His words were like a steel spike through my heart. Before Scarlett appeared, Ethan and I had been inseparable. We were childhood friends, practically engaged. But her arrival changed everything. Andre became distant, and so did Ethan. Both of them were utterly captivated by her, doing one foolish thing after another. Ethan once tried to force a girl at his company to change her name just because she was also named Scarlett. Andre’s obsession was worse. He’d driven a competitor to bankruptcy, taking a massive loss, all because Scarlett claimed the company's CEO had looked at her the wrong way. That was the man whose thugs were in my house right now. I clutched Leo, who was now limp in my arms, and pleaded. "Ethan, please. Just go look. If you go, I promise... I will never bother you again." 4 Ethan froze. For years, my greatest wish had been to marry him. Even after Scarlett drove a wedge between us, I had never given up on him. Now, hearing those words from me... he knew I wasn't bluffing. Even his housekeeper, watching from the doorway, looked concerned. "Mr. Hamilton, maybe you should go. Miss Monroe would never joke about something like this." He hesitated. Seeing my chance, I pressed my advantage, my voice thick with desperation. "Please, Ethan. Save Sophia. I'm begging you." Finally, a flicker of compassion crossed his face. "Alright," he sighed. "I'll go check." He turned to me, his voice hardening. "But I'm warning you, Charlotte. If I find out this is all some elaborate act, you and your sister-in-law will pay a steep price." A sliver of hope ignited in my chest. He was finally listening. But just as he was gathering a few of his security guards, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, then at me, and hit the speakerphone button. Andre's annoyed voice filled the air. "Is Charlotte over there? Don't listen to a word she says. Some guy just called me from Sophia's phone, trying to blackmail me for fifty million dollars or he'd kill my wife and kid. Can you believe the nerve? Women and their jealousy games... they'll do anything for attention." The world tilted on its axis. I felt like I was free-falling, my mind a complete blank. I couldn't believe it. Andre, the brother who had once promised to protect me forever, the husband who had sworn eternal love to Sophia, was now treating our lives like a joke. All for a woman he barely knew. Anger and betrayal surged through me. I snatched the phone. "Andre, are you even human?!" I shrieked into the receiver. "Are you going to wait until we're all dead before you believe us? Have you forgotten what you saw last time?!" He just scoffed. "Oh, please. You just want Dad to hand the company over to you. You're a daughter, Charlotte. You'll marry out of the family eventually. What do you need all that for anyway? Besides, I called the chauffeur. He said everything at the house is fine." "Last time," he said, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper, "I made the mistake of trusting you, and it got Scarlett killed. I'm not falling for that again." 5 His accusations left me speechless. The chauffeur he’d spoken to had taken a leave of absence three days ago; he was hundreds of miles away. Before I could explain, the line went dead. Ethan, who had just agreed to help, now stared at me with pure disgust. "So it really was all a performance," he said, his voice laced with ice. He gestured to his guards. "Get them out of here. Throw her out. And get rid of this little bastard she brought with her." Despite the pain radiating through my body, I hugged Leo, who had thankfully passed out, even tighter. "Don't you dare touch me!" I snarled, my voice shaking with rage. "When my father gets back, he will ruin you!" The guards hesitated, taken aback by my ferocity. Ethan just laughed, a cruel, ugly sound. Then he kicked me. Hard. The blow landed squarely in my chest, sending me and Leo tumbling down the stone steps. I managed to twist my body so he landed on top of me, cushioned from the impact. "Threatening me?" he sneered. "Let's see who your father helps when he finds out about this pathetic little scheme of yours." I scrambled backward, horrified. The Ethan before me was a stranger, his face twisted with a coldness I’d never seen. As I tried to get away, he kicked me again. This time, the toe of his expensive leather shoe caught me under the chin, splitting the skin. "This is what liars get," he hissed. "You're a Monroe, for God's sake. Act like it. Instead, you're playing these pathetic little house games." He looked down his nose at me. "You're just as small-minded as your sister-in-law. Neither of you could ever compare to Scarlett." Tears of pain and humiliation streamed down my face, but he didn't seem to notice or care. Just then, my phone, which had fallen from my pocket, lit up on the steps. He picked it up, a mocking smile on his face. "What's this? Your partner-in-crime calling to tell you the gig is up?" He answered it, putting it on speaker again. But it wasn't Sophia. A calm, professional voice came through the speaker. "Is this Ms. Charlotte Monroe? This is Sergeant Miller with the Crestwood PD. We've secured the situation at your residence." There was a pause. "The intruders have fled. Your sister-in-law... she's in bad shape. We need to get her to the hospital immediately. Can you meet us there to sign the consent forms?"
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