Chapter 1 "The Dead Came Back"

Inside the small, windowless room with a brick-walled, I looked at the handcuffs around my wrist then at the door steel in front which is equip with locks and bolts.

The place is cold, and each breath slipped from my dried lips feels like there’s a frosting of white that blankets me; air thicken with the stench of my own breath. My skin is cold and clammy, my hands and feet numb with the damp, like I’ve been wrapped wet sheets for days.

My heart beats, but I taste no oxygen, as if this place is sterile.  My lifeless eyes roamed around the jail cell where I spent countless nights crying.

‘Today will be my last day being here.’

Soon, I’ll be sentence to death for the crime I did not do.

Hatred,  regrets and pity for myself; these are what I felt while reminiscing for the things I sacrificed, using my while life as everyone’s shield.

I did not hurt anyone.

I served Fabroa family with all my heart.

So why?

Why do I have to die for the crime I did not do?

“Because no one believes me. No one,” sarcastic faint laughs slipped from my lips.

Everyone knows how much I love grandpa. But no one believed that I did not kill him.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

No matter how much I tried to forget, Zion’s image keeps appearing inside my head.

I clearly remembered his sharp gaze while crying and his piercing words that can cut my heart like swords. He looked at me as if the heaven and earth betrayed him, and that he can kill me with his own hands.

Zion is the only hope I have to get out from this wrong accusation.

Because he knows I love him, and there’s no way I can kill the people he cherishes.

Faint sobs slipped from my lips. Getting drowned at the sorrow, I heard the cell’s door opened with clang.

My muscle trembled and the sweats on my forehead thickened.

‘They said I still have two hours left! Why this quick?!’

Feared that they will bring me out to die, I opened my eyes in tremor. However, it isn’t the police officer whom I saw, but a great friend of mine instead. I fetched in relief. Next, I realized how meaningful her visit today can be.

‘Right! She can be my only hope! She can help me!’

“Reese! Reese!”

I crawled towards her and quickly grabbed her hands  as I went on my knees. The hard and rough floor scraped my skin, but I did not care anymore. All pain numb against the fear of dying.

“Help me! Please help me!” I begged. “It wasn’t me who killed the chairman! You know how much I love grandpa! How can I kill the person who I treated like my own parent? Please, Reese, I’m begging you. I can’t die like this! Please, please…”

Despite my eager plea, Reese calmly looked down at me. Then she said, “Nadia Wyatt.”

I stared at my friend’s eyes, wondering why she suddenly brought that name just now.

“My name is Nadia Wyatt. Not Reese.”

Nadia Wyatt; the missing daughter of the billionaire Mr. Astell Wyatt, who owns the Wyatt corporation.

Reese worked as Fabroa family’s maid before. That was the reason why she and I became friends, since I am also working as secretary of Chairman Sorren Fabroa, the one who raised and feed me.

But when Reese was found by Mr. Astell as his missing daughter, Nadia, Reese’s life drastically changed; from maid to the only heir of a big corporation.

She received not only that title.

As Nadia Wyatt, Reese will soon marry the heir of Fantell firm, Zion Fabroa, the man whom I loved more than anyone else.

Despite of my feelings, I did not hold any contempt. It hurt me so much but I supported them and gave my blessing to my friend, given that she had no choice but to accept the arranged marriage.

Therefore, if there will be someone who can help me in this situation, then it can be Reese. She must be the answer the heaven gave me.

She’s rich and influential. Maybe, she came here right now to save me.

“Nadia! Nadia! You will help me, right? Right?!” I exclaimed at the top of the lungs, so desperate to live.

Reese let go of my hands which made my palms colder. What came next made me flinched.

She laughed.

After I begged her to help me live, she laughed?

“Nadia,” she whispered. “It is so funny to hear this name from the real owner.”

‘Real owner? What does it mean?’

“I didn’t come here to save you. There’s no way to change your sentence. You’re aware of that.”

I know.

I know that but…

But still…

“T-Then, did you come here to see me before I die?” I asked.

Our gaze met. The smile on her lips vanished and soon turned into a sly grin.

Goosebumps appeared on my skin as I watched her gaze filled with disgust. She does not look like the angel sent from above, but rather a demon who crawled up from hell.

Slowly, Reese knelt down to match my gaze. She brought her hand on my handcuffs and caressed them as if she treasures it so much.

My eyes looked at her hands which are fondling mine.

This is not the touch of a friend who’s sharing the same sorrow with me.

It is not.

When I looked at her face again, I saw the evil in her smirk.

“I know that you did not kill sir Sorren,” she said. “But you need to disappear, Harriet. For my happiness, the real heir must die.”

She put her lips near to my ear and whispered.

“You will die for me, right? Since you are my friend, Nadia Wyatt.”

My world seemed stopped its axis.

I looked at the woman who called me Nadia.

“You are the true Nadia Wyatt, Harriet,” she said that stole my breath. “But don’t worry. As soon as you disappear, I will do my best to portray your position. We’re friends after all.”

Harshly letting go of my hands, Reese stood up. The hemline of her red skirt fluttered, as well as her long black curly hair.

When the little wind brushed on my skin, I had hard time processing everything I just heard. It was as if something clogged inside my brain, I was loss for words.

“Ahhh, one more thing,” Reese added as she looked back.

I looked at her again as the tears kept on rolling down from my eyes.

“Zion and I will get married next month. You love him, right? But as your impostor, I will try my best to love him as much as you did. So you can sleep well… forever.”

She turned around and left the cold jail without even looking back, as if there’s no hint of guilt could be seen inside her heart.

My whole body heated with high temperature. Madness filled me; angry for those who abandoned and stabbed my back, to those who stepped on my life, and to my friend who stole my name and my love.

 But I can’t do anything. I have no choice but to keep my vengeance with me and bring it beneath the surface.

After crying so much, there’s no doubt why I felt all numb as I took the seat on the electric chair where I will be sentence to death.

I was tied around the electric chair, waiting for the last second of my life.

‘This is the end. After this, the pain, sadness and anger will be over.’

If I have one last wish before I die, then it is for those people who hurt me to redeem their sins.

I closed my eyes as the machine began for the torture.

As the bolt reached my bolt, a pain sheet through me with a terrible intensity, as if a sharp-toothed creature ate me from the inside.

“Ahhh!”

It sent ripples of pain through my shoulder, back and neck. Ten seconds passed, then twenty and thirty, and finally the pain started to pull back like the tide going out.

It left my fingers first, then slowly worked its way up to my arms.

‘This is the end. I will die.’

At my last breath, a smile creep out of my lips along with tears flowing down from my closed eyes.

My heart stopped.

‘Things should end right now.’

So why?

Why do I feel like I am still alive?

I slowly opened my eyes while feeling the beating of my heart.

The first thing I saw is the familiar ceiling of my room, not the dark cold place where I received my death sentence.

‘Am I dreaming?’

But I am so sure I died just a moment ago.

Blinking swiftly, I sat up from the bed while looking at my healthy flesh. The pain before felt like my whole body was smashed into pieces but now, it looks so fine.

I lifted my head and looked around.

‘This is my room in Fabroa’s mansion.’

So why am I here? Why?!

I stood up. Barefooted, I walked in front of the mirror. There, I saw my reflection; my lively eyes, my red lips, pale skin and flinching fingers.

‘I’m alive.’

“How did this happen? How did I survive that…?”

‘Tok tok!’

I tilted my head towards the direction of the door where I heard the knock. Soon when it opened, my eyes went round. It is Reese!

It’s not been that long since she visited me in the jail cell, but here she is, smiling widely at me while wearing her maid uniform.

“Harriet,” she called me in lovely tone. “Sir Sorren said that he would like you to join them for breakfast! And you know what, sir Zion is also here! So make sure you’ll dress prettily. Okay?!”

When I heard everything she said, I had a guess on the possible crazy things that happened.

‘It seems like I went back to the past.’

‘I came back from death to get what actually is mine.’