Rejected by My Best Friend Alpha

My life was finally mending after the nightmare that shattered everything.

I was rebuilding my academic career, my family was recovering, and my fiancé, David, and I were slowly piecing our lives back together.

Then, a text message flashed across my phone, sending a shot of ice through my veins: a seemingly innocent invitation from my old friend, Kate, to a university exhibit preview.

My stomach clenched, remembering the chilling déjà vu.

Last time, that exact invitation led to a priceless historical artifact appearing in my bag, my academic dreams dissolving into dust.

It cost my parents their retirement savings, tarnished David’s promising career, and culminated with me bleeding out, left for dead in a desolate parking lot by a deranged fanatic.

I knew this was the trap again, meticulously set.