Elena's pulse raced as she sat before the mirror. The reflection staring back wasn't the broken, hollow-eyed woman who had died in despair.
It was the face of her younger self—radiant, untouched, full of the beauty she once squandered.
She traced her cheek with trembling fingers, her lips curving into a chilling smile.
"So, fate has given me a second life… How foolish I was before. This time, I'll bury them with the same cruelty they gave me."
A knock disturbed her thoughts.
"Miss Elena," a maid whispered nervously, "the Old Madam requests your presence in the dining hall."
Elena's eyes darkened. That cursed dining hall—where she had once been disgraced, her reputation shredded by her stepmother's poisoned words and Clara's crocodile tears.
A
Not this time.
---
The dining hall shimmered with chandeliers, golden cutlery, and polished marble floors. At the long table sat her enemies, all draped in elegance.
Lady Vivienne—the picture of grace, her venomous tongue hidden behind a motherly smile.
Clara—the stepsister who played innocent yet stabbed Elena's back with every chance she got.
Old Madam Lancaster—the family matriarch, sharp-eyed and unyielding, who once condemned Elena as worthless.
"Elena, you're late," Lady Vivienne said sweetly, though her words stung like a whip.
In her past life, Elena would have bowed her head.
Now, she raised her chin and let a soft, icy laugh escape.
"My apologies. I was reflecting on how best to live up to the Lancaster name."
Clara snickered, covering her mouth. "Live up to it? Sister, you can't even keep up with a simple schedule. You'll never change."
The table chuckled with her.
Elena's gaze snapped to Clara—cold, sharp, unflinching. For the first time, Clara froze, her laughter dying in her throat.
"I agree," Elena said smoothly, her voice carrying across the table. "I'll never change. Not into a snake that poisons its own blood, at least."
The air froze. Forks clattered against porcelain. Lady Vivienne's smile stiffened, and Old Madam's eyes widened in shock.
Clara's face turned scarlet, her lips trembling. "Y–You—"
Elena leaned back gracefully in her chair, her expression calm, almost amused.
"But don't worry, sister. You'll soon learn… I've changed enough to make you regret every breath you take."
The silence was deafening.
And as Clara clenched her fists beneath the table, Elena's cold smile deepened.
This is just the beginning. Tomorrow, I'll make my first move… and none of you will see it coming.