Lina Zhao suddenly gasped.
The sound tore from her throat, raw and desperate, as if she had just broken the surface of a deep, dark ocean. Her body jolted upright, muscles spasming in anticipation of pain that never came.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her hands clawed at the sheets, expecting the stiff, sterile fabric of a hospital gown. Instead, her fingers sank into soft, high-thread-count cotton.
The hospital room was gone.
The smell of antiseptic was gone.
The endless rain was gone.
White ceiling.
Sunlight filtering through sheer curtains.
Familiar bedroom furniture carved from dark mahogany.
Her breathing was chaotic, ragged. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She looked down at her hands. They were smooth. Unblemished. No IV needles. No tremors from weakness.
Her hands shook violently as she grabbed the phone on the bedside table. Her fingers fumbled over the screen before it finally lit up.
The date made her heart stop.
June 18.
Three years earlier.
Exactly one week before the engagement ceremony.
Time seemed to suspend itself. The air in the room grew heavy, thick with the weight of impossibility. She was back. Somehow, against all logic, against the finality of death, she was back.
Slowly…
Her gaze moved to her left hand.
The diamond engagement ring was still there. It caught the sunlight, sparkling with a fire that seemed mocking.
Victor's ring.
The symbol of her death.
The shackle that had bound her to a fate of betrayal and ruin.
In her previous life, she had worn it with pride. She had shown it to every friend, every business partner, believing it was a promise of love. Now, it felt like a weight of lead.
Without hesitation, Lina removed the ring.
It slipped off her finger with a soft sound.
She opened the drawer beside her bed and dropped it into the darkness inside.
Like throwing away garbage.
Like discarding a poison.
Then she laughed softly.
The sound was low, devoid of humor, filled instead with a chilling resolve.
"This time…"
Her eyes were colder than winter ice. The warmth that once defined her was gone, burned away in the hospital bed where she had died alone.
"Victor Han."
"I will destroy you."
Her phone suddenly vibrated against the wooden nightstand, shattering the silence.
A message notification lit up the screen.
Melissa: Cousin, are you ready for the engagement fitting? Victor said he wants you to look beautiful.
Lina stared at the message silently.
Beautiful?
How ironic.
In her past life, they said the same thing.
"Be obedient."
"Smile more."
"Trust Victor."
They had groomed her like a prize heifer, fattening her up for the slaughter. They wanted her compliant. They wanted her blind. They wanted her dead.
All lies.
Her fingers hovered over the screen. In her previous life, she would have replied with excitement. She would have thanked them. She would have hurried to obey.
Now, her fingers moved with deliberate slowness.
Lina: I'm not going.
Send.
The message vanished into the digital ether.
Three seconds later, the phone rang.
Melissa.
Lina answered. She said nothing, waiting for the voice on the other end to break the silence.
"Cousin!" Melissa's voice sounded surprised, but quickly shifted into something sickly sweet. "Did something happen? Why aren't you coming?"
Lina walked toward the mirror across the room.
Her reflection looked different.
Stronger.
Colder.
More alive.
"I don't want to marry Victor Han anymore," Lina said. Her voice was steady, devoid of the hesitation that would have plagued her old self.
Silence stretched across the line.
Then Melissa laughed.
It was a soft, disbelieving sound, like a teacher humoring a rebellious child.
"Cousin, are you joking?"
"No."
Melissa's voice turned serious. The fake sweetness evaporated, replaced by a sharp, metallic edge.
"You know what will happen if you break the engagement, right?"
Lina smiled faintly.
Of course she knew.
Family pressure.
Business retaliation.
Financial blockade.
Her father's mysterious death.
In her past life, those threats had paralyzed her. They had kept her walking toward the cliff edge even when she saw the drop.
But this time was different.
Because Lina already knew the future. She knew where the bodies were buried. She knew which contracts were forged. She knew who was truly loyal.
"I want to ask something," Lina said.
"What is it?" Melissa sounded wary now.
"Victor Han's business rival."
Melissa paused. The silence on the other end was heavy, suspicious.
"…Why are you asking?"
Lina's eyes darkened.
Because in her past life…
There was one man Victor truly feared. One man who operated in the shadows while Victor basked in the light.
Adrian Lu.
The man who stood beside her hospital bed before she died.
The man who said she was a waste.
She remembered his eyes. Sharp. Calculating. Unlike Victor's hollow gaze, Adrian's had held something else. Not pity. Not kindness. But perhaps… recognition.
The memory did not feel completely hostile. It felt like an opportunity.
"Tell me about Adrian Lu," Lina said.
Melissa's breathing changed slightly. She was nervous.
"He is dangerous," Melissa warned, her voice dropping. "He doesn't trust people. And he destroys anyone who tries to use him."
Lina smiled.
It was a predator's smile.
"Perfect."
Because in this life…
She was also someone who could destroy others.
Not with strength.
But with knowledge.
And she was willing to walk into the fire to get what she needed.
After ending the call, Lina changed clothes.
She chose simple attire.
Elegant.
No jewelry.
No unnecessary luxury.
She stripped away the image of the pampered heiress Victor loved to control. She needed to look like someone who meant business.
She walked downstairs.
The Zhao mansion was quiet, but she could feel the eyes of the servants on her.
Servants watched her quietly from the corners of the hallway.
Something felt different.
The young miss who used to smile gently, who asked about their families, who brought them gifts…
Was now walking with the calm confidence of someone who had already survived death.
Her footsteps were silent but firm.
Her head was held high.
The air around her seemed to chill as she passed.
Lina stopped beside the main door.
She looked at the driver waiting by the car.
"Prepare the car."
The driver blinked, surprised by the command. "Where are we going, Miss Zhao?"
Lina's eyes were dark and calm.
"Lu Corporation."
The driver froze.
"B—but Miss, we don't have an appointment—"
Lina interrupted softly.
"I don't need one."
Because in her previous life…
She had learned one truth.
Power does not wait for permission.
Power takes what it is owed.
She stepped out into the morning sunlight.
The wind lifted a strand of her hair, but she did not brush it away.
She got into the car.
As the vehicle pulled away from the mansion, Lina looked out the window.
The world looked the same.
The trees were green.
The sky was blue.
But everything had changed.
She was no longer the victim.
She was the hunter.
And her first stop was the only man dangerous enough to help her burn Victor's world to the ground.
"Drive faster," she said.
The car accelerated, merging into the city traffic.
Towards the tower.
Towards the devil.
Towards her revenge.