Marcus POV
I abandon the car in traffic and run.
Aria runs beside me, both of us sprinting through city streets like our lives depend on it. Because someone's life DOES depend on it—my mother's.
"How far?" Aria gasps.
"Six blocks!"
My lungs burn. My legs scream. But I keep running.
My mother's small house appears ahead. The lights are on. Through the window, I see movement—multiple people inside.
I'm too late.
"Marcus, wait—" Aria grabs my arm. "The message said Rebecca has a recording device. If you burst in there angry, you'll play right into her trap."
She's right. I force myself to breathe. To think.
"Then what do we do?"
Aria pulls out her phone. "We record them first."
Smart. So smart.
We creep to the side window. Aria holds up her phone, camera ready. I peer through the gap in the curtains.
My mother sits on her worn couch, face pale with fear. Rebecca stands over her, all fake tears and trembling voice. Linda, Rebecca's mother, paces like a shark.
"Mrs. Chen, your son destroyed my daughter's life!" Linda's voice is sharp. "False accusations! Ruining her reputation! We could sue you for everything!"
"I don't understand." My mother's voice shakes. "Marcus is a good boy. He wouldn't—"
"Wouldn't lie? Wouldn't manipulate?" Rebecca sobs dramatically. "He tried to force himself on me! When I rejected him, he framed me for crimes I didn't commit!"
Rage explodes in my chest. I start toward the door.
Aria's hand clamps on my wrist. "Wait," she whispers. "Let them finish. We need evidence."
Every second feels like torture. But I wait.
Linda moves closer to my mother, voice dropping to something dangerous. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to call Marcus right now. Tell him to drop all charges. Admit he lied. Or we'll destroy you both. I have friends in powerful places, Mrs. Chen. Friends who can make your life very difficult."
"I won't." My mother's voice is quiet but firm. "My son doesn't lie. If he says your daughter is dangerous, then she's dangerous. I trust him."
Pride swells in my chest. My mother—who died disappointed in me in my first life—is defending me now.
"Wrong answer." Linda pulls out her phone. "One call and I'll have building inspectors here tomorrow. Health code violations. Property seizures. You'll lose this house."
My mother goes pale. This house is all she has. Her entire life savings went into it.
"You can't—"
"I can. I will. Unless Marcus drops the charges in the next hour." Linda smiles coldly. "Your choice."
I can't wait anymore. I burst through the door.
"Get away from my mother!"
Rebecca's tears vanish instantly. Her hand moves to her pocket—the recording device.
But Aria's already filming. And she's smart—she holds the phone openly, making sure everyone sees it.
"Already recording," Aria announces calmly. "We heard everything. The threats. The blackmail. Mrs. Zhang, you just admitted on camera to planning property seizures and abuse of power."
Linda's face goes white. Then red. "You—"
"Have evidence." I move to stand between them and my mother. "And if anything happens to my mom—anything at all—this video goes to every news station in the city. You threatened an elderly woman with a heart condition. Let's see how your 'powerful friends' feel about that."
"This is entrapment!" Rebecca shrieks. "You were waiting outside! You planned this!"
"We planned to protect my mother from criminals. That's not entrapment. That's common sense." I help my mother stand. She's shaking. "Mom, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, baby." But her voice trembles. "These women—they said terrible things—"
"They're leaving now." I turn to Linda and Rebecca. "Get out. And if you come near my mother again, I'm filing restraining orders."
"You'll regret this," Linda hisses. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
"A bully and her spoiled daughter? Yeah, I know exactly who you are."
They storm out, Rebecca shooting me a look of pure hatred.
The door slams.
My mother collapses onto the couch. I kneel beside her, taking her hand. It's ice cold.
"Mom, I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to—"
"Shh." She touches my face gently. "You stood up to bad people. That makes me proud. But Marcus, what's going on? Why are these women targeting you?"
How do I explain? Your son died in another life and came back to fix everything, starting with avoiding the woman who destroyed him?
"It's complicated. But I promise, I'm handling it. This won't happen again."
Aria kneels on my mother's other side. "Mrs. Chen, I'm Aria. Marcus's friend. We'll make sure you're safe."
My mother studies Aria with sharp eyes. "Friend? Or something more?"
"Mom!" My face burns.
"What? I'm old, not blind. You never brought a girl home before." She smiles at Aria. "You're very pretty, dear. And smart—that recording idea was clever."
Aria's cheeks turn pink. "Thank you."
My phone buzzes. I check it reluctantly.
Unknown number: "You chose your mother over the meeting. Professor Zhao just gave the research position to another student—Kevin Zhang. Yes, Rebecca's boyfriend. He'll use those connections to build a $20 million company. You just lost that future. But you gained something else: your mother's trust. And proof of Linda's crimes. Sometimes the right choice costs everything. Was it worth it?"
I look at my mother's face. At her gentle smile. At the trust in her eyes.
"Yes," I whisper. "It was worth it."
Another text: "Good answer. But Marcus—Kevin will become your competitor now. In 5 years, his company will try to destroy yours. You just created your own rival. Every choice has consequences. Remember that."
The message deletes.
Aria reads over my shoulder, her face troubled. "We made an enemy."
"We made lots of enemies today." I help my mother to her bedroom. "But we also made the right choices. That's what matters."
After my mother falls asleep, Aria and I sit in the small kitchen. She's unusually quiet.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Everything." She laughs bitterly. "We're living in a world where mysterious strangers predict the future, where our choices create enemies five years from now, where we can't trust anything. Marcus, what if we're just pieces in someone else's game?"
"We probably are." I can't lie to her. "But what choice do we have? Go back to normal life and let Rebecca destroy us?"
"No. But maybe we're trading one trap for another."
Before I can respond, both phones buzz.
"Aria's right. You ARE pieces in my game. But here's the thing: I'm teaching you how to play your own games. How to think ten steps ahead. How to turn enemies into opportunities. Linda threatened your mother—so now you have blackmail material on HER. Kevin got the research position—so now you know your future rival and can prepare. Everything is a lesson. Learn fast. Day 8 complete. 92 days remaining."
92 days. The countdown is moving faster than I thought.
My phone buzzes again: "Tomorrow morning, 6 AM. Campus announcement board. There will be a flyer for an investment club meeting. David will be there. So will Kevin. And a third person—someone who will become either your greatest ally or your worst enemy. How you treat this person will determine everything. Their name is James Park. Remember it."
"James Park," I whisper. The name rings a bell from my first life, but I can't place it.
Aria's phone lights up: "Aria, YOU will be tested tomorrow. Not Marcus. The scholarship committee wants to meet you in person at 9 AM. But Rebecca's mother has planted a spy in that committee—someone who will try to revoke your scholarship with false accusations. You'll have to defend yourself alone. Marcus can't help you. This is YOUR battle. Win it, and you prove you're strong enough for what's coming. Lose it, and you lose everything."
Aria's face goes pale. "Alone? I have to fight alone?"
"You can do it," I say firmly. "You're brilliant. Stronger than you think."
"But what if I'm not?" Her voice cracks. "What if I fail?"
I take her hands. "Then I'll catch you. That's what partners do."
She tries to smile, but fear clouds her eyes.
We leave my mother's house at midnight. The mysterious car is gone—probably repossessed by whoever loaned it. We take the bus back to the apartment.
Inside, exhaustion hits us both.
"Get some sleep," I tell Aria. "Tomorrow's going to be brutal."
"For both of us." She pauses at her bedroom door. "Marcus? What if the mysterious messenger is lying? What if there is no James Park? What if this is all just... manipulation?"
"Then we figure it out together."
She nods and closes her door.
I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. Tomorrow, Aria faces her test alone. I meet James Park. And somehow, both events will shape our futures.
But one question keeps me awake:
Who IS the mysterious messenger? And what do they really want?
At 2 AM, my phone lights up one final time.
A photo appears. No message. Just a photo.
It's me. Forty-five-year-old me. Lying dead on that kitchen floor.
But in the corner of the photo, barely visible—
A hand holding a phone. Taking the picture.
Someone was THERE when I died.
Someone watched me die.
Someone took a photo.
And now that same someone is controlling my second chance.
The photo deletes.
But the terror stays.