Chapter 1

Three years after I died saving my best friend Chloe, I came back to life, only to find myself as the baby growing inside her.

Chloe's baby was declared dead thanks to her adoptive sister, Natalie. Chloe was so crushed that she was ready to end it all by jumping off the building.

I was kicking up a storm and yelling from inside her belly.

I shouted, 'Chloe, don't freak out! I'm back! Just bring me into the world, and I'll help you wreck that scumbag and his side chick!

'You can't die! I racked up a ton of debt in the afterlife just for you, so you gotta help me pay it back!'

Chloe was about to jump off the windowsill when she suddenly froze.

I squirmed around in her belly and blurted out a secret only we knew.

I said, 'Chloe, I couldn't even drive that Lamborghini you gifted me last year. Did you forget I never had a license?

'And that villa with the pool and all those hot guys you sent my way? I sold them too. I seriously blew all my money just to come back for you!'

*****

Chloe was shocked speechless by my thoughts echoing in her mind.

She hung her head, gazed at her belly, and gave a wry, self-deprecating chuckle.

She said, "Sandra, I'm probably missing you so much that I'm starting to imagine things. Hold on, I'm coming for you!"

With that, she moved to climb out the window again.

I yelled, 'Oh my god, Chloe! It's really me! I've come back for you!

'If you die now, I'm totally doomed! Not only will I have to go back and pay off my afterlife debt, but there'll be no one left to give me offerings for the afterlife!'

I shouted frantically in her mind, even making a heart gesture against her belly with my tiny hands.

Chloe's eyes went wide, puffy, and red from all the crying.

"Sandra? Is that really you?" she stammered.

I gave her belly a quick kick from the inside.

I said telepathically, 'You dummy, this isn't a hallucination. It's really me! I'm back for real!'

I continued, 'I busted my ass in the afterlife, took out loans, called in every favor just to come save you, and now you wanna throw it all away?

'What, you want me to lose everything and just hand the victory to that jerk and his homewrecker girlfriend?'

Chloe covered her face and started sobbing uncontrollably.

She said, "Sandra, I really don't want this to happen. But Natalie's already pregnant with Justin's son, so she dared to mess with me.

"The Woodard family only cares about having a boy for an heir. Nobody even cares that I'm having a girl..."

I flashed a sly, triumphant grin. 'That's why I forked over extra cash to get myself reborn as a boy! Chill, just watch me leave them all in the dust!'

Looking at Chloe, her face was pale, her eyes puffy and dull from crying, her hair a tangled mess, and her crumpled pajamas hanging off her. My heart just ached for her.

It hurt so much to see her like this.

She used to be so full of life, so cute and bright. Looked what that jerk and his mistress have done to her.

Those two were seriously the worst!

I said telepathically, 'Chloe, trust me! Just let me be born, and watch how I'll make those two pay for everything they did to you!'

She actually stopped crying because of my silly words.

"Alright, I believe you!" Chloe said.

I replied, 'Alright, go grab something tasty. I'm seriously starving in here!'

Chloe wiped her tears, jumped down from the windowsill, and made her way to the kitchen.

She asked, "How about your favorite roast chicken, baked salmon, and that shrimp scampi? Didn't you always love those?"

My heart just melted. No one ever remembered my favorite foods like she did.

Chloe hopped in a cab and made a beeline for the best restaurant in town, treating herself to a killer meal. Then she swung by my grave to burn some fake money and help pay off my afterlife debt.

When she heard I owed ten billion spectral credits, she sucked in a breath, totally stunned.

"Rebirth in the underworld really costs that much?" she asked.

I just grinned, teasing her. 'That's not all. I cashed in some skill points for extra perks too. Just wait, you'll see soon enough.'

An hour later, after we'd burned through a mountain of ghost money, that jerk Justin stormed over, looking furious.

"Chloe, what the hell is wrong with you? The doctor's been looking everywhere for you. Get your ass back and get that baby out!" he snapped.

When he spotted my tombstone, he froze for a second.

Justin sneered. "Isn't this your little orphan friend who kicked the bucket early?"

He kicked my tombstone with a sneer. "Trying to milk some pity again? Or are you planning to join her six feet under and keep playing sisters?"

Three years ago, Chloe was finally found by the Harrell family, one of the elite families in Loburg's high society, and brought home as their real heiress.

The night before she was supposed to go home, someone tried to kidnap her.

I stepped in and pretended to be her, so the kidnappers took me instead. In the end, they killed me.

After I died, Chloe cried her heart out, devastated, and begged the Harrells to go to the police and fight for justice for me.

But the Harrells just shut her down.

They figured it was best to keep things low-key. After all, I was only an orphan with no background, so it wasn't worth the trouble.

If things blew up, and someone tried to kidnap Chloe again, that would be a real headache.

Chloe couldn't win, so she just buried me with all the respect she could, but she never stopped digging for the truth.

It wasn't until after I died that I found out Chloe's adoptive sister, Natalie, was the one who hired those kidnappers, and Justin knew all about it!

He was so scared the Harrells would figure out Natalie was behind it that he talked them into dropping the investigation.

And he got the nerve to run his mouth at my grave? He deserved to rot in hell!

No, I couldn't let Chloe know the truth just yet.

She was a pregnant woman in a fragile state right now. Any more stress could be dangerous.

I urged her, "Chloe, just go back with him. Let him see for himself if you really need to have an abortion!"