I woke up on my wedding day, the morning sun streaming into my opulent Charleston bedroom. But the taste of asphalt and blood was still in my mouth, memories of screeching tires and a crushing impact vivid in my mind. My stepfather' s perfect plan: a staged hit-and-run, his neat solution to inherit my mother' s fortune. Because I had died. Now I was back, alive, staring at the date-my wedding day, the day he had me killed. A wave of phantom pain, of broken bones and crushed hope, washed over me. Then I saw her: my stepsister, Brielle, in my custom wedding dress, admiring herself in the mirror. The sight was a physical blow, a reminder of the humiliation and betrayal I endured in my first life as they drugged me and locked me away. He walked in, Senator Richard Thorne, playing the concerned father, but his eyes were cold and full of the disappointment I' d known my whole life. He gaslighted me, painting me as hysterical, just as he did before, controlling everything. "Your mother is gone," he hissed, "And I control you. Don\'t you ever forget that." I was trapped, again, the crushing weight of powerlessness threatening to suffocate me. Rage, so profound it burned, replaced the despair. Why did I have to relive this nightmare, this perfect setup for my destruction? But something was different this time. The naive girl died on that dark road; I was what was left. If he wanted to control the Vance family, there would be no Vance family left to control, not the way he expected. I found my mother' s hidden failsafe: an encrypted flash drive, her "in case of Richard" file. It held years of meticulous corruption, a dossier so damning it would send him to federal prison for life. With a grim smile and a single click of the send button, I launched the nuclear option, sending it to the FBI, SEC, and every major news outlet. The game had changed, and they didn' t even know they were playing.
I woke up on my wedding day, the morning sun streaming into my opulent Charleston bedroom.
But the taste of asphalt and blood was still in my mouth, memories of screeching tires and a crushing impact vivid in my mind.
My stepfather' s perfect plan: a staged hit-and-run, his neat solution to inherit my mother' s fortune.
Because I had died.
Now I was back, alive, staring at the date-my wedding day, the day he had me killed.
A wave of phantom pain, of broken bones and crushed hope, washed over me.
Then I saw her: my stepsister, Brielle, in my custom wedding dress, admiring herself in the mirror.
The sight was a physical blow, a reminder of the humiliation and betrayal I endured in my first life as they drugged me and locked me away.
He walked in, Senator Richard Thorne, playing the concerned father, but his eyes were cold and full of the disappointment I' d known my whole life.
He gaslighted me, painting me as hysterical, just as he did before, controlling everything.
"Your mother is gone," he hissed, "And I control you. Don\'t you ever forget that."
I was trapped, again, the crushing weight of powerlessness threatening to suffocate me.
Rage, so profound it burned, replaced the despair.
Why did I have to relive this nightmare, this perfect setup for my destruction?
But something was different this time.
The naive girl died on that dark road; I was what was left.
If he wanted to control the Vance family, there would be no Vance family left to control, not the way he expected.
I found my mother' s hidden failsafe: an encrypted flash drive, her "in case of Richard" file.
It held years of meticulous corruption, a dossier so damning it would send him to federal prison for life.
With a grim smile and a single click of the send button, I launched the nuclear option, sending it to the FBI, SEC, and every major news outlet.
The game had changed, and they didn' t even know they were playing.
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