Chapter 1

My brother took the estate's entire security detail just to go stargazing with his first love.

Taking advantage of the empty house, a business rival sent armed men to break in. My brother's pregnant wife and their three-year-old son fought desperately to protect me.

I called my brother over and over, begging for help. He hesitated for a long time before finally leaving Chloe behind to rush back.

We survived, but Chloe sent one last text message before vanishing completely:

"I know your sister and your wife both want me dead. Now, they have their wish."

My brother coldly deleted the text and told me not to overthink it.

Afterward, our father stripped him of his executive roles as punishment.

But after the company's annual gala, my brother brutally tortured and killed me.

His expression was venomous, his voice stripped of all warmth.

"Chloe died because you forced me to come back. Go to hell and apologize to her."

When I opened my eyes again, the deafening sound of attackers battering the estate doors echoed through the halls.

The violent crashing against the door ripped me from my chaotic memories and slammed me back into reality.

I grabbed a heavily pregnant Natalie and my three-year-old nephew, Leo, dragging them into the study's panic room.

"Claire, what are you doing?" Natalie gasped, clutching her belly. "Doesn't the estate have a full security detail? We don't need to hide in here."

Leo looked up, his small hands gripping the hem of Natalie's shirt.

"Grandpa said we shouldn't tell anyone about the safe room unless it's an emergency."

Neither of them understood what was happening. They stared at me, panic slowly bleeding into their eyes.

They didn't know yet. To go camping with Chloe, my brother had taken every single private guard from the property.

"Natalie, Adrian took everyone. It's just the three of us."

I shoved my weight against the heavy metal cabinets, dragging them across the floor to barricade the door.

The metal shrieked against the hardwood. The men outside would definitely follow that sound straight to the study.

Natalie stared at me, paralyzed. She couldn't process that her usually cautious husband would do something so reckless.

The Mercer family had deep roots in the New York metropolitan area. Estate security was always the family's top priority. How could the entire manor be left without a single guard?

But looking at my pale face, she had no choice but to accept the nightmare.

"Call Adrian! Tell him to get back here!"

Natalie rested one hand on her swollen belly and held Leo with the other, her entire body trembling visibly.

I didn't call my brother. I dialed 911.

I gave the dispatcher our address, told them armed men had broken in, and begged them to hurry.

I didn't believe for a second that Adrian would rush back to save us.

In my previous life, by the time he finally showed up, Natalie had suffered severe trauma and lost the baby, and Leo's hands had been severed.

Dropping the phone, I listened to the howling wind and the relentless pounding outside. My heart lodged in my throat.

The Greenwich Police Department was a thirty-minute drive from the estate.

I had to stop history from repeating itself before they arrived.

Heavy footsteps echoed outside, searching the rooms.

I instinctively clamped a hand over Leo's mouth, forcing my own breathing to a shallow whisper.

Beside me, Natalie dialed Adrian's number.

"Adrian, come back! There are armed men in the house!"

Her voice broke into a sob.

A scoff came through the speaker.

"Drop it, Natalie. I know the pregnancy makes you paranoid, but I'm with Chloe tonight. Just go to sleep."

Natalie practically screamed into the receiver.

"I'm not being paranoid! Men broke in! If you don't come back, your son and I are going to die!"

Adrian's tone turned ice-cold.

"I know you're possessive, which is why I already promised Chloe I'd end things with her after tonight. What more do you want?"

"And tell Claire that if she doesn't want to end up like last time, she needs to stay out of my business with Chloe."

My stomach plummeted.

I wasn't the only one who had been reborn. My brother remembered too!

But why did he think we were lying?

In our last life, he saw exactly how those men brutalized Natalie. He knew she lost the baby. He knew Leo's hands were amputated because he tried to protect me.

Why was he even colder this time around?

Was it just because of Chloe's parting words—that his sister and his wife teamed up and wanted her dead?