Aria's POV
I yanked the door open.
Maya stood there with tears running down her face. Real tears. Her eyes were red and puffy.
"Oh thank god!" She threw her arms around me. "Aria, I was so worried!"
I stood frozen. She was crying. Maya never cried unless she wanted something.
"What's wrong?" I asked, even though I wanted to push her away.
She pulled back, wiping her eyes. "It's about Victor Zhang. He called me this morning. He said terrible things about you."
My stomach dropped. "What things?"
"He said you're going to fail the audition today. That you're not talented enough. That I should stop wasting my time being friends with you." More tears. "Aria, he was so mean! I told him he was wrong. I told him you're amazing!"
Lies. All lies.
In my first life, Maya never told me about Victor. She pretended to be surprised when I failed. She held me while I cried and said, "Don't worry, I'll help you."
But now she was here. Telling me Victor called her. Warning me.
Why? What changed? What was her game?
"You defended me?" I asked slowly.
"Of course!" She grabbed my hands. "You're my best friend, Aria. I'd never let anyone talk about you like that. I just wanted to warn you. Victor is on the judging panel today. He's going to try to make you fail."
I stared at her. She knew. She knew Victor was going to sabotage me.
In my first life, she must have known too. But she never warned me. She let me walk into that audition blind.
So why warn me now?
"Thank you for telling me," I said, pulling my hands away. "I should get ready."
"Wait!" She grabbed my arm. "I have an idea. What if you don't go? What if we tell them you're sick? Then we can audition together next month when Victor isn't judging!"
There it was. The trap.
If I didn't go today, Apex would think I was a coward. They'd never give me another chance. And next month, Maya would audition alone. She'd get signed. I'd be left behind.
"I'm going," I said firmly.
Her face changed. Just for a second. A flash of something cold and angry. Then the sweet smile came back.
"Okay. If you're sure. I just don't want you to get hurt." She hugged me again. "Good luck, bestie. You've got this."
She left, and I locked the door behind her.
My hands were shaking. Not from fear. From rage.
She tried to stop me. Tried to make me quit before I even started.
I walked to my desk and grabbed paper and a pen. My first life was gone, but my memories were crystal clear. I knew exactly who destroyed me. Time to write it down.
THE LIST:
1. Victor Zhang - The predator. Blacklisted me. Destroyed my career. Protected Maya. Made me feel worthless.
2. Maya Lin - The thief. Stole my songs. Stole my boyfriend. Stole my life. Smiled while doing it.
3. Ethan Kim - The traitor. Believed Maya over me. Dumped me. Married my sister. Made every family holiday torture.
4. Mother - Compared me to Luna constantly. Never believed in my music. Chose everyone else over me.
5. Luna - Jealous sister. Married my ex just to hurt me. Acted innocent while twisting the knife.
I stared at the list. Five people. Thirteen years of pain.
Not anymore.
I grabbed another piece of paper and started writing my real plan:
STEP 1: Go to audition. Sing perfectly. Show Victor his bribes won't work.
STEP 2: Never let Maya hear my original songs. Keep my notebook locked. Record nothing on my phone.
STEP 3: Break up with Ethan today. Don't explain. Just end it.
STEP 4: Get evidence. Victor's bribes. Maya's theft. Everything.
STEP 5: Become a star. On my own terms. Without any of them.
My phone buzzed. Another text from Ethan.
Ethan: "Why did you block me? What's wrong? Call me."
I deleted the message. He'd figure it out soon enough.
Then I noticed something. A notebook on my desk. My song notebook. The one with all my original music in it.
In my first life, I left it on the coffee table. Maya "accidentally" spilled coffee on it and offered to help me rewrite the songs from memory. I was so grateful. So stupid.
She had all my songs memorized before I even knew she'd betray me.
I grabbed the notebook and shoved it into my bag. This was coming with me everywhere. Forever.
I checked the time. 12:30 PM. One and a half hours until the audition.
I needed to be smart. Strategic. In my first life, I walked in nervous and unprepared. Victor scared me. The judges intimidated me. I choked.
This time would be different.
I pulled out my phone and searched for "Apex Entertainment CEO." I needed to know who really ran that company. Not Victor. He was just a producer. Someone bigger controlled everything.
The search results loaded.
Damien Cross - CEO, Apex Entertainment. Age 31. Net worth: $2.3 billion.
His photo appeared. Sharp features. Dark hair. Cold grey eyes that looked right through the camera.
He looked dangerous. Powerful. Like someone who could destroy you with one word.
I read more. His parents died in a car crash when he was sixteen. He inherited their small talent agency and built it into an empire. He never attended auditions personally. He let his staff handle everything.
So he didn't know Victor was corrupt. Didn't know auditions were being rigged. Didn't know innocent people were being destroyed.
An idea started forming in my mind. A crazy, dangerous idea.
What if I didn't just expose Victor? What if I went straight to the top?
What if I made Damien Cross himself notice me?
My phone alarm went off. Time to leave for the audition.
I grabbed my bag, my notebook, and headed for the door.
Then I heard it. A sound from outside my apartment. In the hallway.
Footsteps. Someone was walking back and forth. Like they were waiting.
I looked through the peephole.
Maya was still there. Hiding around the corner. Watching my door.
She never left.
She was waiting to see if I'd really go. Waiting to follow me. Waiting for something.
My blood ran cold. This wasn't in my first life. None of this happened before.
What else was different? What else had changed?
I couldn't leave through the front door. She'd follow me.
I grabbed my phone and called a number I'd memorized from my old life but never thought I'd use again.
Someone answered on the first ring.
"Hello?"
"I need help," I whispered. "Someone's stalking me. I need to get to Apex Entertainment without being followed. Can you help?"
Silence. Then: "Who is this?"
I took a deep breath. This was crazy. This person didn't know me yet. We wouldn't meet until three years from now in my first life.
But I was out of options.
"My name is Aria Chen. You don't know me, but I know you. And I know you help people who have nowhere else to turn."
"How did you get this number?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is I have information about Victor Zhang. About bribes and corruption at Apex Entertainment. But I need to get to that audition alive to prove it."
Another pause. Longer this time.
"Stay where you are. I'll be there in ten minutes."
The line went dead.
I sat on my floor, heart racing.
I just called Damien Cross's personal number.
The number he gave me three years from now when I was dying in a hospital and he visited by chance.
The number from a conversation that never happened yet.
And somehow, he answered.