The message kept replaying in my head as I sat in the car, engine off.
"Someone who owes you a life."
The words felt heavy, strange, and familiarlike a whisper from a dream I couldn't fully remember.
I stared at my phone screen, debating whether to reply again. Before I could, another message came.
"Come to Willow Street. The old café. Midnight."
My chest tightened. Willow Street. That place hadn't existed in my new lifebut I remembered it from the old one.
It was where I'd once met the man who betrayed me.
I didn't know if this was a trap or a chance for answers. But I couldn't ignore it. Not now.
By midnight, the café looked deserted. The glass windows were dusty, the sign half broken. The air smelled of rain and rust.
I pushed open the door slowly. The bell above it gave a faint, tired ring.
Inside, one lamp was still on. A man sat in the corner, his face hidden under a hood.
When he looked up, my breath caught.
It was Liam Cartermy best friend in my past life. The one who'd died trying to save me.
"Liam…" My voice trembled. "How is this possible?"
He smiled faintly, tiredly. "You remember me."
"I—how? You died that night. I saw—"
"I almost did," he said. "The fire didn't take me completely. Someone saved me."
I stepped closer, every heartbeat louder than the last. "Then where have you been all this time?"
"Hiding," he said simply. "Because the people who wanted you dead… they wanted me too."
The room felt smaller suddenly, the walls closing in.
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.
He looked at me for a long time before answering. "Emma, that fire wasn't an accident. And Adrian—he wasn't just there. He was part of it."
I swallowed hard. "You're lying."
"I wish I were," he said. "Adrian was promised something in returnpower, money, freedom. He didn't know you'd be inside that night."
I shook my head, my voice breaking. "No. He saved me once in this life. He couldn't have—"
"He's not the same man anymore," Liam said. "Neither are you."
The clock ticked in the corner. Each sound felt like thunder.
I sat down, my knees weak. "Why tell me this now?"
"Because Clara is moving again," he said. "She's looking for you. She has something—something that belongs to you."
"What is it?"
Liam hesitated. "A letter. From your past self."
I froze. "That's impossible."
He shook his head. "No, Emma. You wrote it the night you died. It's addressed to… yourself."
For a long moment, I couldn't breathe.
A letter from the woman I used to be.
"Where is it?" I whispered.
"She keeps it locked in her office," Liam said. "Hidden behind a portrait. But you have to be carefulClara's not working alone anymore."
My pulse quickened. "You mean Adrian?"
Liam's expression darkened. "He's in deeper than you think. He may be protecting you now, but if she pushes the right buttons…"
I leaned forward. "Then I'll find that letter before she does."
Liam grabbed my hand gently. "Emma, promise me something. When you read it, don't let it destroy you."
"I've already been destroyed once," I said softly. "I survived that. I'll survive this, too."
He nodded slowly. "You sound just like her."
I smiled faintly. "That's because I am her."
When I stepped outside, the rain had stopped. The air felt cleaner somehowsharper, like the world was waiting for what came next.
My phone buzzed again. This time it wasn't Liam.
It was Adrian.
"Where are you?"
I stared at the message, my heart racing.
I didn't reply.
Instead, I whispered to the night, "You'll get your answer soon."
Because this time, I wasn't running anymore.
I was hunting.