Chapter 1

Backstage at the awards ceremony, Tiffany Shaw walked onto the stage wearing my ID badge.

My mother pressed down on my bandaged wrist and whispered, "Nancy, Tiffany has a heart problem. It's just an award. Don't make a scene."

Her fingernails pressed hard against my wound through the gauze, and the pain blurred my vision.

In my previous life, she had said the exact same words.

And I had listened.

Then Tiffany took the stage with my algorithm model, and Jason Carter announced his investment in front of the entire audience. Her name was instantly all over the news.

Three months later, the lab equipment malfunctioned. Tiffany altered the logs and pinned the blame on me.

My advisor stayed silent. My parents called me jealous. And Jason called off our engagement.

I jumped from the rooftop of the lab building, the ID badge that Tiffany had taken clipped to my wrist.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back, just ten minutes before the awards ceremony.

*****

My mother kept talking. "Tiffany has always been frail. She's finally come this far. You're her big sister, so don't be so petty."

I didn't argue. Instead, I clipped my backup ID badge onto my chest. With my other hand, I felt for the data chip hidden beneath the bandage, then dialed my lawyer, Ethan Zane.

"Ethan," I said, my voice so steady it was hard to believe I'd just come back from the dead.

"In ten minutes, I need you to revoke all temporary patent authorizations. That includes the demo account, the model API, and the Carter Fund's exclusive trial rights."

There was a brief pause on the other end. "Ms. Shaw, are you sure?" he said. "The Medical Innovation Awards are being broadcast live tonight. If you interrupt it, it's going to look really bad."

I looked up at the live broadcast screen. There, under the spotlight, stood Tiffany in a white dress. My ID badge gleamed on her chest. She was smiling at the camera, her eyes red-rimmed.

The host announced, "Let's give a round of applause to this year's youngest winner, Dr. Tiffany Shaw!"

The audience erupted in applause.

"That's exactly the point," I said into the phone.

Ethan didn't try to dissuade me. "Understood. The revocation will take effect at 7:40 sharp. I'll have a notary public present."

The moment my mother realized I was on the phone with my lawyer, her face changed completely. "Nancy, have you lost your mind? There are so many important guests and investors here tonight. Are you really going to ruin her?"

I looked at my mother. In my previous life, she had reacted the same way. Her first instinct wasn't to ask if I was hurt or why Tiffany had my badge. She was just afraid I'd ruin her precious daughter.

I gently pulled my hand back. The edge of the bandage came loose, and blood began to seep through.

My mother frowned. "It's just a scratch. Spare me the performance."

I lowered my head and pressed the bandage back into place. "It's evidence."

She didn't get it. It didn't matter. From now on, I wouldn't speak to make them understand. I would speak to make them pay the price.

Tiffany began her speech on stage. "This project, from concept to completion, is the result of the entire team's hard work.

"I particularly want to thank my sister, Nancy. Although she recently stepped back from the core work due to stress, I'm still grateful for the assistance she provided."

As she said the word "assistance," a tear rolled down her cheek. Perfect timing. So pretty.

In my previous life, she had done no differently, reducing three years of my late nights, seven rounds of model iterations, and over two hundred animal trials to nothing more than "assistance."

Murmurs of approval rippled through the crowd.

"They are so close."

"I heard Nancy is kind of difficult, and yet Tiffany always defends her. No wonder she won the award."

Two staff members behind me were whispering, their eyes darting to the backup badge on my chest.

My mother, as if she'd found her ammunition, hissed at me, "Did you see that? She's sticking up for you up there. If you have a shred of decency, don't mess things up."

I ignored the accusation and asked, "Why is my badge on her?"

My mother stumbled for a moment, then quickly recovered. "She needed to go on stage. What's the big deal if she borrowed it for a second? You're sisters. Why are you being so petty about this?"

"And I guess she 'borrowed' the project authorization too?"

Just then, my father hurried over from the other end of the room, his face grim.

Jason trailed behind him. He wore a dark gray suit, the cufflinks I had given him for his birthday last year fastened to his cuffs.

He glanced at my bleeding wrist, his brow knitting slightly. Then it was gone, so fast that I almost thought I'd imagined it.

The next moment, his gaze shifted to the backup badge on my chest. "Nancy, don't make a scene. The fund's investment deal is almost finalized.

"Tonight, the organizers, regulatory reviewers, and hospital procurement reps are all watching. If you contradict her on stage, you'll tank the entire project."

"This project has my name on it," I said.

Jason's face darkened. "Do you have to be so childish?"

That stung worse than my mother's nails digging into my wound.

In my previous life, when I was suspended pending investigation, he'd spoken to the media in the same tone.

He had said, "Nancy has been emotionally unstable for quite some time and is no longer fit to work on the medical project. And our engagement ends here."

It had been pouring rain that day. I stood at the back of the crowd and heard a reporter ask, "Mr. Carter, did you know that she had been tampering with the experiment records?"

He gave no answer. His silence was all the confirmation anyone needed.

This time, he thought I'd back down to save our engagement. He was wrong.

I reached up and slipped off the engagement ring. The band caught on my knuckle, leaving a faint white line.

Jason froze.

I dropped the ring into an evidence bag and sealed it. "It'll serve its purpose."

My father finally snapped, "Nancy, what the hell are you trying to do?"

On stage, the host's voice came through the speakers. "And now, Dr. Shaw will walk us through the real-time verification of the core algorithm, the very feature that earned the Minimally Invasive Cerebral Blood Flow Warning System tonight's award."

The lights dimmed, and the screen switched to a login page.

7:39:57 PM.

I watched Tiffany type in her credentials.

7:39:58 PM.

Jason's phone buzzed. He glanced down at the screen, and his expression shifted instantly.

7:39:59 PM.

Tiffany hit Confirm.

7:40:00 PM.

A bright red alert appeared in the center of the screen. [Authorization Revoked. Access Denied.]