The rain fell hard that night.
I sat alone in my apartment, staring at the small USB drive resting on the table.
It looked ordinary harmless even but I could feel it.
This was it.
The truth I had been chasing since the day I woke up in this new life.
My hands trembled as I slid the drive into my laptop.
The screen flickered. A folder appeared.
One single video file.
"EB_FINAL."
I hesitated for a moment, then pressed play.
The video started with static.
Then an image appeared the study room. My study room.
The night of the fire.
I watched myself on the screen.
Emma Blackwood. The old me.
Tired eyes. Red lipstick. A faint smile that looked more like pain.
My voice echoed through the speakers.
"If anyone finds this… it means I didn't make it out."
My heart pounded. I leaned closer, my breath shallow.
"I've learned the truth," I heard myself say. "And it's worse than I imagined."
The video flickered again.
Someone entered the room the camera angle only showed their hand, wearing a gold ring with a black stone.
Adrian's ring.
But the voice that followed wasn't his.
"You shouldn't have looked for answers, Emma."
I froze. That voice cold, calm, filled with control.
Daniel.
My past self turned toward him, defiant.
"You were supposed to protect me, Daniel."
"I did," he said. "By ending it before they could."
"You mean killing me?"
He didn't answer.
The image flickered again the camera shaking, a burst of light and then the screen went black.
I sat frozen, the sound of rain pounding against the windows.
My hands were cold. My heart felt like it had stopped.
Daniel.
He'd been there. He'd known everything.
And he wasn't just a part of it he was the one who lit the fire.
I closed my laptop slowly, my breath shaky.
The man who'd helped me find the truth…
was the same man who'd taken my life.
I stood, trying to steady myself.
It felt like the ground was moving beneath me.
Everything I thought I knew every question, every clue led back to him.
I walked to the mirror and looked at my reflection.
My face was pale, my eyes filled with anger and disbelief.
"Why?" I whispered. "Why bring me back if you were the one who killed me?"
A sudden knock at the door made me jump.
Three slow taps.
Then silence.
I hesitated before walking to the door.
When I opened it no one was there.
Just an envelope on the floor, sealed with black wax.
I picked it up. The same initials burned into the seal.
D.H.
My hands shook as I tore it open.
Inside was a short note written in a familiar, sharp handwriting.
"Now you know, Emma. But the truth isn't finished.
Meet me where it all began. Midnight."
Below the words was a small drawing the outline of a ring with a black stone.
I looked up, the rain still pouring outside.
Every part of me screamed to run, to stay away, but I couldn't.
I needed to end this.
Once and for all.
I closed my fist around the note and whispered,
"You took my life once, Daniel. This time, I take it back."
Then I grabbed my coat and walked out into the storm.