In the heart of a dense forest, a wrecked car sits as a silent witness to tragedy. Nearby, a lone figure lies on the ground, the shadows claiming her. This figure is Selena West, a business tycoon and socialite, teetering on the precipice of mortality.
As Selena grapples with the cold grip of impending death, her thoughts become a tempest. The sensations of coldness, dampness on her back, slipping consciousness, and fading sight encapsulate her final moments. Fragmented memories of her recent ordeal surface—of being kidnapped by Reuben, her trusted bodyguard turned betrayer. Drugged and weakened, she futilely fought against him, the struggle culminating in a desperate attempt to seize the steering wheel. The result: a catastrophic fall off a cliff, Selena hurled away by the impact.
In this dire juncture, as Selena confronts her own mortality, her yearning intensifies. She wishes for a final glimpse of her sister and fiancé, a chance to bid them a heartfelt farewell. In the midst of her contemplations, a glimmer of hope emerges—a sound of footsteps approaching. An anticipation lights up Selena's eyes, but the arrival is far from salvation.
"Oh, how the mighty has fallen," sneers a voice, once sweet and familiar, now dripping with disdain. It belongs to Beverly, Selena's sister, standing beside her fallen form. Beverly's words are as chilling as the forest breeze. The sisterly bond that once held warmth and affection is now tainted with coldness and a palpable hatred.
"Before you have your hopes up, let me tell you this. I am not here to save you; I am just here to see you die," declares Beverly, her words a dagger in the forest's silence.
Selena is thrust into disbelief. Beverly, her last living relative, speaks of death with an unfamiliar cruelty. The siblings, orphaned at a young age, had clung to each other through life's trials, Selena assuming the role of protector and caregiver for Beverly. Yet, the forest echoes with a sister's unexpected scorn, leaving Selena to grapple with the stark reality that even blood ties can unravel in the face of betrayal.
"Sister, before you die, I want you to know, that I hate you so much from the bottom of my heart," Beverly's words cut through the forest air, leaving Selena in disbelief. As her blurry eyes widen, she questions herself, wondering if she failed as a sister.
Throughout their lives, Selena had been a pillar of support for Beverly, playing the roles of both big sister and mother since their mother's passing. Selena can't fathom why Beverly harbors such intense hatred when all she did was provide and care for her sister's needs.
Attempting to comprehend the situation, Beverly unveils her resentment. "I have to wake up every day and face people constantly comparing you with me. Don’t you know how many times you slapped me with your perfection while making me look like a fool in front of other people? You always had to be the prettier one, the smarter one. Everybody praises you. Do you know how you made me feel? You always made me feel inferior and insecure. Do you think that doting on me would make you a great sister? Do you think spoiling me will make me happy? I don’t need your pity. The only thing that can make me happy is your death."
Beverly's anger surfaces, and Selena is left contemplating her sister's ingratitude. The tension is broken by a deep voice emanating from behind Beverly. "Beverly, that's enough," a voice Selena recognizes, belonging to her fiancé, Michael.
“Darling, I am just saying goodbye to my sister,” Beverly said sweetly.
“Don’t waste your time talking to a dead person. Say your final goodbye, then wait for me in the car. I’ll finish this up,” Michael's cold command echoed through the forest.
Beverly nodded and crouched beside Selena.
“Goodbye, sister. May you leave in peace. Don’t worry; I will take care of our family’s fortune and your fiancé. I promise to keep your legacy by taking all of your identities. Thanks for paving the way for me,” she added, revealing the sinister plot that unfolded.
Selena couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her sister and her fiancé, Michael, had conspired against her. The people she trusted most in the world were the ones who had stabbed her in the back.
Summoning her last reserves of strength, she managed to utter a few words.
“Michael… why?”
“Why? Because you’re too difficult to control compared to your sister.”
“What did I ever do to you?”
“You did not do anything to me. However, I cannot say the same about your mother.”
“My mother?”
“I will take everything from you, just as your mother took everything away from me.”
“What do you mean?”
Confused and desperate for answers, Selena grappled with the revelation. As far as she could remember, her mother and Michael’s mother were best friends. What could her mother have done wrong?
“I would love to tell you; too bad your life won’t be long enough to know the whole story… Goodbye Selena, this will be the end for you.”
As Michael's steps faded away, silence enveloped Selena. She couldn't comprehend how the two most important people in her life had betrayed her. Unable to grasp Michael's cryptic words, she wished for more time, for the truth, regretting her unconditional trust in them.
As silence envelops Selena, she wishes for retribution upon a falling star. The overwhelming realization of betrayal, the yearning for answers, and the desire for justice accompany her into unconsciousness, leaving the forest shrouded in darkness and secrets.
“I wish I was able to see their ugly hearts…
I wish I was not stupid enough to be fooled by them…
I wish…
I wish…
I wish for retribution...”
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In the midst of the enveloping darkness, a sense of confusion gripped Selena's consciousness. Had she survived? The certainty of her demise lingered in her thoughts.
“Tell me, what exactly happened?” A cold, imposing voice from an old man disrupted the silence, echoing through the room.
“Old Master Hayes, please forgive us. We were on our way to City Hall; somebody hit our car and helped the young miss to escape. She drove away with a car, and during the chase, she went straight to the unfinished bridge, and the car she was using fell.”
Silence once again descended, creating an atmosphere in the room where the temperature seemed to drop gradually.
“We called for a search party, and we found her after an hour. However, on our way to the hospital, her heart disease was triggered and was in urgent need of a heart transplant. Luckily for the young miss, there was an accident nearby, and the victim did not survive, hence, there was a heart available for her. During the surgery, the doctor said she momentarily died but was resuscitated after a short while. It seems like luck was on the young miss’s side.”
Unable to open her eyes, Selena remained a silent observer, processing the snippets of conversation around her.
What are they talking about? Escaping? Car chase? Heart disease? Did I die? Are they really talking about me?
“When will she regain her consciousness?” the old man inquired.
“The doctor said the operation was a success, but it’s up to her when she will wake up.”
“Make sure to tell them to give all the care she needs. She must survive. She is the only one suitable to be my grandson’s wife. As per the matchmaker, she is her only match so she can’t die.”
Struggling to open her eyes, Selena was met with an unbearable wave of headaches that compelled her to cry out in pain. Memories flooded her mind, but they were memories she did not recognize.
“Ahh! Make it stop! Make the pain go away!” She shouted in desperation, attempting to alleviate the agony by clutching her hair.
Startled, the people around her called for the doctor as Selena succumbed to exhaustion, slipping into unconsciousness once again.
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The next time she awoke, darkness had already draped the outside world. Trying to collect her thoughts, she engaged in an internal dialogue.
“It seemed like I really died, and somehow got into a different body. How is this possible?
I am inhabiting the body of a certain ‘Katherine Presley’ and I am currently in Southshire… This place, this is where I was supposed to have died.
But if I am in Katherine’s body, does it mean that she is in my body?”
Reaching for the remote, she turned on the television, seeking answers. As if responding to her internal musings, the news delivered an unsettling revelation:
“Socialite and business tycoon, Selena West, found dead at Southshire. Organs donated by her family to carry on her memory.”
The remote slipped from her hand, producing a thud that resonated in the room. The weight of realization bore down on her, causing her head to spin uncontrollably, and before she could comprehend the gravity of her circumstances, she succumbed to unconsciousness once again.