Guilty Before Sunrise

In my previous life, no one had come to the house at this time.

So why this time…?

"Is this the residence of Tamsin Wallace?"

The police were at the door, and I recognized every single one of the officers' faces. They were exactly the same as in my past life.

But they were supposed to come tomorrow. Why had they arrived early?

I clung to a sliver of hope. Maybe after being reborn, everything had changed. Maybe the murders hadn’t even happened this time.

The moment Detective Micah Reed spoke, every illusion I had was shattered.

"Tamsin Wallace, you are a suspect in a major homicide case. We need you to come with us for questioning."

My parents froze for a second, as if they thought they had misheard. When Detective Reed repeated himself, panic set in immediately.

"There must be some mistake! Our daughter has always been a good kid. She wouldn’t even hurt a bug…"

"She just finished her exams. She’s one of the top students at her school."

My mind raced. The timeline had moved up. The cameras hadn’t been turned back on in time. I still had no alibi.

Everything was going to play out exactly like it did in my last life. Then, what was the point of being reborn?

"You should really take a closer look at her. I’ve thought something was off about her for a long time. She's always sneaking around, messing with who knows what!"

At Grandma’s words, the officers’ expressions turned even more severe, as if they were ready to cuff me on the spot.

"Mom, what are you talking about?!" Mom’s voice broke as tears streamed down her face. "She’s your granddaughter. How can you accuse her like this?!"

Grandma let out a cold, mocking chuckle. "So what if she’s my granddaughter? Does that mean she can break the law?!"

Dad managed to hold onto a shred of composure. "You’re police officers. You need evidence. If you can’t provide solid proof, I will sue you!"

Detective Reed remained calm. "The evidence is conclusive. DNA recovered from the scene is a high-probability match to Tamsin Wallace. And security footage captured her face."

My parents looked like they had been struck by lightning.

Officer Everett Cole, who handled technical forensics, placed a laptop in front of them. The short video clip, which was just a few minutes long, was enough to drain the color from their faces.

Even though the time of the crime had shifted earlier, the person in the footage was still me.

In the video, it even looked like I had done it on purpose, even standing directly in front of the camera long enough for a clear shot of my face.

DNA evidence. A clear facial recording.

There was no way to deny it.

My parents slowly turned to look at me. Their eyes were filled with disappointment and pain.

"The victims were your classmates: Tyrell Pierce, Elian Whitley, and Brandon Maddox. According to our investigation, in this year’s citywide rankings, you placed just behind them."

The three deceased, along with me, had taken turns ranking first in the entire school. We were all well-known top students.

Every year, Ravenshire awarded the top scorer a generous prize. Everyone wanted that money and recognition. Even if we never said it out loud, we had been competing behind the scenes all along.

The evidence was overwhelming. There was no way my parents could doubt the police now.

"Tammy… how could you turn into this…" Mom pointed at me, her hand trembling as she staggered back a few steps. All my life, she had seen me as her pride, and now, she looked at me like I was something monstrous.

"Tamsin, how did your mother and I end up raising a demon like you? How could you do this to us?!" Dad’s eyes were bloodshot.

I shook my head helplessly, just like in my last life.

"I told you long ago, raising a girl is useless! All the money we spent on her should’ve gone to your uncle’s sons!" Grandma beat her chest in frustration.

What do I do?

No one believed me. And the cameras at home still couldn’t prove my alibi.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the trash can.

Maybe… just maybe… I still had a way out.