Burden of Blood

My sister-in-law, Maeve Cohen, floored my luxury car and blew past traffic at about 125 mph, killing a family of three.

She pretended to be me and acted as if nothing could touch her.

"Those idiots walked into my path! It's not my fault they got hit!" she snapped. "I'm the Lincoln Enterprise heiress. Even if I ran, who would dare catch me?"

In my last life, Maeve said her husband wasn't home and she needed a car to visit her parents, so she borrowed mine.

She ended up racing down the road, plowing into a family crossing the street, and driving back over them to make sure they were dead.

The couple had just bought a house. The baby was only a month old.

When the victims' family demanded an explanation, she hid behind my reputation and spat venom.

"They're just three worthless people! I'm the Lincoln Enterprise heiress; why should I explain myself? Tell them to come to me for funeral expenses!"

The grieving family couldn't take it and came to my in-laws' place. "Three worthless people, huh? Today, we'll end you so you can apologize to them in person!"

My husband had died the year before. With no one to protect me, the victims' family turned on me, and I was stabbed to death.

The valuable wedding gifts my family had given to me became Maeve's overnight.

My family tried to appeal for me, but trolls who hated the rich maliciously reported tax problems about my father's company.

My father was driven to exhaustion. One night, he fell asleep at the wheel, and the car plunged off a cliff, killing him.

Only after I died did I discover it had all been Maeve's plan to ruin us out of spite.

Then I opened my eyes. I was back on the day Maeve took my car and ran into those people.

I was stabbed so many times that I lost count. Right before I blacked out, I heard my sister-in-law, Maeve Cohen, laugh manically at me.

"Honestly, I'm not any worse than you in looks or education. Why did you get to marry the handsome, rich brother? He's long gone, and after you’re dead, all you have will be mine!"

I died unwillingly under her triumphant laughter.

Maybe fate took pity on how unfair everything was. I was given one more chance.

I was reborn to the day the victims' family first came to our house.

As I stood outside the airport, I heard the cab drivers calling for fares. The noise buzzed around my head, and a fierce excitement rose inside me.

I held my phone, waiting for Maeve's call. Sure enough, she called three seconds later.

"Lydia! What do I do? Someone scraped my car while it was parked!"

In my last life, she had said the same thing.

My brother-in-law, Richard Cohen, worked at a construction site, and they were struggling because Maeve had no income. So, I didn't make her pay for the repair.

"Do we need to compensate the other party? Since the car's mine, I'll cover it," I had said.

I said the exact same line this time.

"Yes, since you're not here, I can't report it to insurance… It'll be… a few thousand. You won't mind, right? When will you be home?"

"Of course not. I'll be home soon. I'll transfer the money to you."

"Wait—" she spoke, but I hung up before she could finish.

Last time, she had me send the money straight to the victims, and that became my admission of responsibility.

She was checking when I'd arrive because the victims' family was already on their way to my in-laws. She needed to know whether I'd get there in time.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn't the same naive Lydia Cohen anymore.

If she wanted to play games, I'd play better.

I had been slaughtered at my in-laws' house in my last life, and my father died without an intact body. I was going to make her pay, one thing at a time.