Stolen Youth, Reclaimed Destiny

single, ugly sound. Then came the shoving, the sharp pain, and the sudden, chilling cold. I died on a dirty city stree

ntique smartwatch. It wasn't sleek or modern like the tech I designed, but heavy and ornate

rling," she had said, her voice

watch changed everything. The moment she clasped it around my wrist, a strange coldness seeped into my skin. In the weeks that followed, my life draine

was stealing my youth, and she wasn't subtle about it. Once the transformation was complete, she locked me in the attic of her grand house, telling t

gling influencer who always seemed to carry a cloud of resentment around her. She found me was

to you?" she whispered, her phone

public square. She had been live-streaming my escape, feeding her followers a twisted story she had concocted online for weeks. She told them I was a fraud who had stolen from Eleanor, a

y closed in, their faces contorted with rage. Bethany watched from a distance, her phone held high, a small, triumphant

em. I saw Eleanor and Bethany toasting with champagne in Eleanor's living room. Bethany's

ed," Eleanor said,

" Bethany replied, her

rse apart. They had taken everything from me, my youth, my career, my life, and they celebrate

then, I

ng, humming with the familiar energy of my 25-year-old self. Sunlight streamed through my bedroom window

cond chance. And I knew exactly what I was going to do. Downstairs, I could hear Eleanor hummi

ethany. I would watch as she and Eleanor, two predators bound by vanity and greed, tore each oth