Chapter 85

I saw a younger Heather Carter standing by the river near our old house, muttering something about reincarnation. Before I could make out the words, a cold wind blew through, and the scene shifted. Next thing I knew, I was back in that rundown house, five years old, asleep in bed. When the wind died down, Heather suddenly appeared at my bedside. While I was still out cold, she grabbed my throat with her scarlet-painted nails, her face twisted in fury. "Why wasn't it you who died? You're a jinx—you killed him and ruined my whole life. Just die already!" My tiny face turned red and blue as I cried my lungs out. There was pure confusion in my teary eyes, like I couldn’t understand why Mom was doing this to me. And Grandma? She just stood there like a statue, expressionless, not moving a muscle. That helpless, suffocating feeling came flooding back... … “Ah!” I bolted upright, drenched in sweat, clutching my neck out of instinct, gasping hard. Was it because of what Heather said that I sta