Seraphine Vale's POV
I dropped the phone like it burned me.
Kade Thorne. The call just ended but his voice still echoed in my head. "Be very careful who you trust."
In my first life, I thought he was the enemy. I thought he blocked my opportunities, sabotaged my career, hated me for no reason. I spent years blaming him while Morgana whispered poison in my ear.
But standing here in my twenty-two-year-old body with thirty-eight years of memories, I finally understood the truth.
He tried to save me. And I was too stupid to listen.
My hands shook as I picked up my phone again. I opened my photos—the ones that transferred from my dead life to this one. There, buried in a folder marked "Evidence," was a photo I took six years into my first timeline.
Kade Thorne at a charity event. In the background, barely visible, Morgana Hax was cornering a teenage trainee against a wall. The girl looked terrified.
I zoomed in on Kade's face. He was staring right at Morgana with pure murder in his eyes.
"You knew," I whispered. "You always knew what she was."
My chest tightened. How many times had he tried to warn people? How many artists had he tried to protect while everyone called him cold and heartless?
A text message popped up. Unknown number.
"Think about what I said. And Seraphine? Don't sing the ballad tomorrow. Sing YOUR song. The one you're afraid of. Trust me."
My breath caught. How did he know I planned to sing something different? How did he know I even HAD a secret song?
Unless... unless in my first timeline, he heard about it somehow. Maybe I told someone who told someone. Maybe my fear was that obvious.
I texted back: "Why do you care?"
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
"Because sixteen years ago, my mother died broken and poor. The industry destroyed her. I built Obsidian Records to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. Especially not to someone who actually has what it takes."
Sixteen years ago. I did the math. That would be... right now. In this timeline, his mother just died.
God. He was mourning and still taking time to warn a stranger.
My throat burned. In my first life, I never knew his story. Morgana told me he was ruthless because he enjoyed hurting people. Another lie in a mountain of lies.
Before I could respond, another text came:
"One more thing. The girl you're friends with—Echo Winters. She has an 'audition' with Cassius Vex next week. Don't let her go alone."
My blood turned to ice.
Next week. In my first timeline, Echo went to that "audition" and came back different. Quieter. Broken. She never told me what happened but I knew. I knew and I did nothing.
Two years later, she killed herself.
I texted back with trembling fingers: "How do you know about Echo?"
"I know everything that happens in this industry. The good and the evil. Especially the evil. Save your friend, Seraphine. Before it's too late."
The conversation ended. I stared at my phone, mind racing.
Kade Thorne wasn't my enemy. He was the only person in the entire industry who actually cared about protecting artists. And somehow, impossibly, he was trying to help me before I even started.
But how much did he know? Could he sense something was different about me? Did he suspect I'd somehow lived this before?
I jumped as my apartment door suddenly rattled. Someone was trying to open it.
"Sera! Open up! I know you're home!"
Echo's voice. My heart stopped.
Echo. Alive. Young. Not dead yet.
I ran to the door and yanked it open. There she stood—black hair with purple streaks, dark makeup, ripped jeans, that crooked smile I'd missed every single day for fourteen years.
"Finally!" She pushed past me into the apartment. "Did you see the news? Cassius Vex is looking for new talent! He wants to meet with me next week! Can you believe it? Cassius freaking Vex!"
She was so excited. So hopeful. She had no idea what was coming.
I wanted to grab her and scream the truth. But how could I explain? "Hey, I died and came back from the future, and by the way, that famous producer is going to assault you"?
She'd think I was crazy.
"Sera? You okay? You look like you saw a ghost."
"I..." My voice cracked. "Echo, maybe that's not a good idea."
"What? Meeting with Cassius?" She laughed. "Are you kidding? This is the break I've been waiting for! He produced three platinum albums last year. He could make me famous!"
"Please." I grabbed her hands. They were warm. Real. Alive. "Just... don't go alone. Take someone with you. Take me."
Echo's smile faded. She studied my face with those sharp eyes that always saw too much. "What's going on? Did you hear something about him?"
Yes. I heard him assault you in a recording you sent me before you died. I heard you crying. I heard him threaten you.
But I couldn't say that.
"Just a feeling," I lied. "The industry is dangerous. Especially for girls like us."
"Girls like us?" Echo pulled her hands away, and I saw the flash of hurt in her eyes. "You mean girls without connections? Girls from nowhere? Girls who have to fight for every scrap?"
"That's not what I—"
"We can't be scared forever, Sera." Her voice got hard. "I'm twenty-two years old and I'm tired of singing in coffee shops for tips. Cassius Vex wants to meet ME. Not some rich kid with famous parents. ME. I'm going."
"Echo—"
"Are you coming to my showcase tonight or not?" She changed the subject abruptly. "I'm performing that new song I wrote. I need my best friend there."
Tonight. I remembered this. In my first timeline, I went and it was amazing. Echo sang a song about breaking free from chains, and everyone loved it.
It was one of the last happy memories before everything fell apart.
"Of course I'm coming," I said softly.
"Good." Echo's smile returned but didn't reach her eyes. "And stop being weird. You're freaking me out."
She left, and I stood there feeling helpless. I had one week to figure out how to protect her without sounding insane.
My phone buzzed. Another text from Kade Thorne:
"She won't listen to warnings. Girls like her never do—they're too hungry for success. You need proof. Real proof. I can help you get it."
I texted back immediately: "How?"
"Meet me tonight. After your friend's showcase. I'll text you the address. Come alone. If you want to save her, you'll need to trust someone eventually. Might as well start with the devil you don't know."
A location pinned to the message. An address in downtown LA. A warehouse district.
Every instinct from my first life screamed TRAP. Don't go to a warehouse alone with a powerful man you barely know. That's how girls disappear.
But this wasn't my first life. And Kade Thorne wasn't the enemy I thought he was.
Still... meeting a stranger in a warehouse? At night? Alone?
Another text: "I know you're scared. I know you don't trust anyone. Smart. But I also know you're different somehow. Your eyes are wrong. Too old. Too knowing. So whatever happened to make you this way... I'm betting you're desperate enough to take a risk."
My blood froze.
He KNEW. Somehow, he knew something was different about me.
Before I could process that, my apartment door burst open again. But this time, it wasn't Echo.
Morgana Hax stood in my doorway, dripping expensive perfume and fake sympathy.
"Seraphine, darling! You weren't answering my calls." Her red lips curved into a smile that made my skin crawl. "We really must talk about tomorrow. I have such plans for you."
She stepped inside without being invited. Just like she did in my first life. Taking up space. Taking control. Taking everything.
I'd spent sixteen years being afraid of this woman.
Not anymore.
"Get out," I said quietly.
Morgana blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I said get out of my apartment. Now."
Her smile sharpened into something ugly. "Sweetheart, I don't think you understand how this works. I'm offering you a chance—"
"To sign a slave contract? To give you seventy percent of my earnings? To let you steal my songs?" I stepped closer. "I know exactly what you're offering, Morgana. And I'd rather die."
Her face went pale. Then red. "You little—"
"Leave. Or I call the cops and tell them you're trespassing."
For a long moment, we stared at each other. Her eyes were full of shock and rage. Mine were full of sixteen years of hatred.
Finally, she smiled. But this smile was different. Dangerous.
"You'll regret this," she whispered. "I'll make sure of it. No one rejects me and succeeds in this industry. No one."
She left, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.
I stood there, breathing hard, waiting for fear to hit.
It didn't come. Instead, I felt... powerful.
My phone buzzed one more time. Kade:
"I'm guessing Morgana just left your apartment. She works fast when she smells talent. Tonight's meeting is more important than ever. She'll come after you hard now. You just made a very dangerous enemy."
I texted back: "Good. I'm collecting them."
Three dots. Then:
"Who ARE you, Seraphine Vale?"
I looked at my reflection in the black phone screen. Young face. Old soul. Dead woman walking in a living body.
"Someone who already died once," I typed. "I'm not afraid of anything anymore."
I hit send, then looked at the warehouse address.
Tonight, I'd meet with Kade Thorne. Tomorrow, I'd destroy everything at that audition.
But right now? Right now I needed to figure out how to save my best friend from a monster.
And how to stop Morgana from whatever revenge she was already planning.
My phone rang. Unknown number. Again.
I answered. "What?"
Heavy breathing. Then a voice I didn't recognize—male, distorted, like he was using a voice changer:
"Seraphine Vale. We know what you have. We know about the files. Delete everything or your friend Echo dies."
The call ended.
My hands went numb.
Someone knew. Someone knew I had evidence from the future.
And they were willing to kill to keep their secrets buried.