Chapter 2
Yvette opened the door and saw me dragging my suitcase behind me. She didn't say a word, just stepped aside so I could come in.
She poured me a mug of water, sat down across from me, and waited quietly for me to start talking.
"I ran away from home," I said.
"And then?" she asked.
"That's it," I replied.
"Seriously?" her eyes widened. "Is Elena up to her usual tricks again?"
"It's not her fault," I said, taking a sip of water. "Honestly, I was just clueless before."
Yvette was quiet for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Glad you realize it now."
She got up, grabbed a blanket from her bedroom, and tossed it onto the couch. "You can crash here tonight. Tomorrow, I'll help you find a place."
"Thanks," I said.
"Don't mention it. Just remember you owe me. Big time," she teased.
I couldn't help but laugh.
That night, I slept like a log.
No musty smell from the storage room, no late-night music blaring from Elena's room upstairs, it was pure, sweet silence.
The next morning, Yvette left for work. I sat on her couch and started planning.
Before I died in my previous life, I vaguely remembered a few things.
Like, three months from now, the Ellington Group would be thrown into crisis because of a failed investment.
Or, six months later, Elena's true identity would be exposed—she wasn't some abandoned orphan, but a mole sent by the Ellington family's competitors.
And a year after that, my mom would be overwhelmed by guilt and shock, sinking into deep depression.
But in my previous life, I didn't do a thing.
Because by then, I was already dead.
But this time, things were different.
I fired up my laptop and checked the Ellington Group's stock price and recent announcements.
Sure enough, that Starlight Tech investment project was already in motion.
In the past life, the Ellington family lost nearly 70 million dollars on that deal and almost went bankrupt.
If I could stop that investment before it's too late...
No, why should I stop it?
That was their Ellington family problem. What did that have to do with me?
I shut my laptop and went out apartment hunting.
Yvette had already lined up a few real estate agents for me, and by the afternoon, I'd signed the lease for a cozy one-bedroom apartment.
The rent was affordable, the place wasn't huge, but the sunlight streamed in all day.
There was sunlight.
I stood on the balcony, watching the street below.
My phone rang.
It was Mom.
I didn't answer.
She called three more times, but I let them all go unanswered.
Then she sent me a text. [Maya, are you done causing trouble? Elena cried all night. Can't you grow up a little? Come home right now.]
I replied with a single word. [No.]
Then I blocked her number.
Right after, Ethan's call came through.
I blocked his number.
Then Dad called.
I blocked him too.
The family group chat was blowing up again, so I just left the group.
The world finally went silent.
I spent three days in my new apartment, sticking to my medication and resting on schedule.
Honestly, with end-stage cirrhosis, without a suitable donor, I'd be lucky to make it another six months.
But there was one thing I did know.
Before I died last time, I overheard a nurse mention that there was a volunteer donor who matched me, but for various reasons, the transplant never went through.
I remembered a few details about that volunteer.
I searched through every organ donation database I could find, and finally, on an obscure charity website, I found a message posted three months ago.
[I'm Type O blood and willing to donate part of my liver to someone in need. Contact: XXXXX.]
I called the number.
A middle-aged woman picked up, her voice soft. "Hello, who is this?"
"Hi, I'm Maya Ellington. I saw your post online. I'm in the late stages of cirrhosis and looking for a liver donor... Is it okay if we talk?"
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"Hang on, sweetie. I'll let my daughter talk to you," she said.
After a moment, a bright young voice came on. "Hi, I'm the volunteer's daughter. My mom had undergone a liver resection the previous year and wasn't fully recovered. The doctors don't recommend she donate again. But..."
She paused. "We know a doctor whose hospital has access to international liver donors. I can help you look into it."
My eyes started to well up. "Thanks... really, thank you."
"Don't mention it. When my mom was sick, someone helped us too," she replied.
After the call, I just sat on the couch and cried my eyes out for ages.
It wasn't because I was touched.
It was because I suddenly remembered something.
In my previous life, after I died, not a single person from the Ellington family ever came to pay their respects at my grave.
Mom didn't even shed a tear at my funeral.
All she said was, "If I'd known she was this sick, I wouldn't have bothered bringing her back. Guess all that effort was just wasted."*****
*****
A week later, the hospital called me.
The international donor program confirmed that there was a volunteer from abroad who matched me.
The surgery was set for a month from now, and I needed to get my body into peak condition:
Every day, I took my meds right on schedule, kept my meals simple and healthy, and squeezed in some gentle exercise.
The days passed in a calm so unfamiliar it almost felt strange.
In my last life, I spent twenty-five years without ever knowing a single peaceful day.
When I was a kid, my foster parents beat me, screamed at me, burned me with their cigarettes, and locked me in the basement.
At twelve, my birth parents brought me home. I really thought things would finally turn around.
But Elena ended up taking my place in everything.
They said Elena had been with them three years longer than me, so they already treated her like their own daughter.
"You're our biological child, Elena isn't. You've got blood ties to fall back on, she doesn't. So you need to give in to her." Those were Mom's exact words.
I put up with it for thirteen years.
In the end, I even lost my life over it.
This time around, I was done giving in.
My phone went off again.
It was a message from Yvette. [Maya, did you see the news?]
She shot me a link.
I opened it, and my eyes widened in shock.
The Ellington Group was holding a press conference.
Dad was up on stage, with Elena standing right beside him.
His face was grim. "We're holding this press conference to clarify that my daughter, Maya Ellington, has long struggled with mental health and recently ran away. Our family is searching for her and hopes she returns soon."
He let out a sigh. "At the same time, I'm announcing that the Ellington Group is officially appointing Elena as our new vice president, in charge of the Starlight Tech project."
A reporter asked, "What's going on with Miss Ellington's mental state?"
Dad shook his head. "She was abducted as a kid and went through hell with her foster parents, left with some pretty deep emotional scars. We've always tried to help her out, but she just won't get help."
He looked straight at the camera. "Come home, Maya. Whatever you did, we forgive you."
Elena was standing next to him, her eyes red, and she was sniffling. "Maya, I'm not mad at you for what happened anymore. Please come back, okay? We really miss you..."
I stared at the screen and let out a cold, mocking laugh.
What a performance.
They're turning me into some mentally unstable nutcase, while Elena gets to play the saintly victim.
From now on, whatever I said, no one was gonna buy it.
Yvette messaged me again. [These people are seriously messed up! Want me to help you post a statement?]
I typed back. [No. Let them keep up their little act.]
[Are you really just going to take this lying down?] she asked.
[I'm not taking it. But not yet,] I replied.
In my last life, the Ellington Group had already been brought to its knees by the Starlight Tech project before I died.
This time around, if they want to hand the whole thing over to Elena, let her wreck it for all I care.
By the time she destroied the Ellington Group beyond saving, even if they begged me for help, it would be way too late.
I turned off my phone and went out for a run.
The sun was shining, the air was crisp and clean.
It felt so good to be alive.