Chapter 1
To look after his adopted daughter Jane, who was battling depression, my dad ditched my mom—despite her serious heart condition—and hopped a plane to another country with her.
Once they were gone, Jane's scuzzy ex-boyfriend showed up at our place, trying to extort money from Mom.
The stress sent her into a heart attack, and she landed in the ICU, barely hanging on.
In a panic, I blew up Dad's phone, pleading with him to come back since he was the only one who could do her surgery.
After dozens of desperate calls, he dragged himself back home the next day, clearly annoyed.
The surgery went okay, but then Dad got a call from overseas.
Jane had found out he left and lost it, demanding to come back.
On her way to the airport, she got into a car crash and died instantly.
My dad, usually cool as ice, completely unraveled and took it all out on Mom, blaming her for everything.
The shock was too much for her, and she passed away the next day, heartbroken.
When I went to confront him, he lost it again and pushed me off the rooftop.、
As I fell, his vicious words seared into me. "Chloe, every time I see your face, just like your mom's, it makes me sick.
"Jane was the one who should've been my daughter! Your mom screwed everything up by stealing me from the love of my life.
"If you hadn't hounded me to come back, Jane would still be here. You and your mom killed her—you both deserve this!"
I shut my eyes, consumed by rage and pain.
When I opened them, I was back to that awful day—February 20th, 6:30 p.m.
"Mom!" I gasped, still shaken from the memory of falling to my death.
Brushing off the lingering ache in my body, I broke out in a cold sweat and shot to my feet.
In my previous life, this was when Mom ran into those thugs on her way back from the grocery store.
I hadn't realized anything was wrong until she didn't come home by 8 or 9, and her phone kept going to voicemail. Frantic, I'd gone looking for her.
"Not this time. Hold on, Mom!" I didn't even grab a jacket—just tore out the door like a bat out of hell.
I was going to save her this time. I sprinted like a madwoman to the spot where it all went down.
"No… I swear, she's gone! She's out of the country!" Mom's voice was shaky, pleading.
Then I heard her scream.
I rounded the corner and saw her—five or six lowlifes circling her, swinging sticks and landing hits.
"Get the hell off her! Leave my mom alone, you dirtbags!" I yelled, my vision going red.
I snatched a rock from the ground and hurled it at one of them.
"Who's this chick? You're dead meat!" The thugs turned their sights on me.
"Stop right there! Don't move!" Just as they started toward me, the neighborhood security guards came charging in.
Thank God I'd screamed my head off for help when I passed their booth—it got their attention.
Without that, I'd have been done for against these creeps.
The guards stormed in with shields and batons, and the thugs muttered curses, scattering like rats.
I didn't give them another thought. I bolted to Mom's side to check her injurie
She was in better shape than old life, but I was still too late.
Her face was pale, almost gray, her hand clutching her chest in pain, trying to speak but unable to get the words out.
My heart twisted, and tears poured down my face.
The memory of her dying in my old life was still crystal clear—the worst despair I'd ever felt.
I scrambled through her pockets, found her nitro pills, and slipped one under her tongue.
"Hang in there, Mom! The ambulance is on its way!" I said.
I'd called 911 while running, terrified I'd be too late again. By some stroke of luck, it paid off.
The paramedics got there fast, and I rode with Mom to the hospital.
Her heart attack was bad—really bad. The pills only bought enough time to get her to the ER.
The doctors didn't waste a second, rushing her into the emergency room.
"Chloe, where's your dad? We need him here. Your mom's in bad shape, and her surgery can't wait," said Dr. Ruby Archer.
Ruby was one of Dad's longtime colleagues who knew Mom's condition inside and out, stepping out of the ER.
My throat tightened, and I choked up. "Dr. Archer… he's overseas with my adopted sister."
Her eyes went wide, like she couldn't believe it. "What? He took time off to take that girl abroad?"