The cold metal cuffs bit into Rhea Lin's wrists as the courtroom doors slammed shut behind her, the echo reverberating in her chest like a final nail in her coffin.
"Guilty," the judge's voice echoed, each word dripping with finality. "Five years for embezzlement."
Gasps rippled through the gallery. Cameras flashed. The assistant of Kairo Alden—the elusive tech billionaire—had just been branded a thief, a criminal.
The words didn't register. It all felt distant, like watching her own life unfold through a glass pane, unable to reach her. Rhea's hands trembled—not from fear—but from pure, unadulterated fury.
She turned, eyes scanning the crowd, as if searching for something, for someone, who might explain the absurdity of this nightmare.
And there he was.
Kairo Alden. Untouchable. His icy eyes met hers across the room, devoid of any trace of emotion. The same man she had served loyally for seven years. The same man who, with his chilling precision, had testified against her.
The man who had taken everything.
Her chest tightened. Betrayal. It was a sharp, gnawing ache that threatened to swallow her whole. He had been her mentor. Her friend. The man who once praised her for her brilliance, the man whose success she had helped build. And now? Now, he stood there, silent, watching as she was dragged away in disgrace. The betrayal burned, hotter than the cuffs around her wrists.
Beside him stood her boyfriend, his arm wrapped protectively around her best friend—her best friend—who smiled like a stranger. Rhea's heart stuttered in disbelief. Had they known? Had they all known?
It had all been a lie.
Every smile, every late night they'd spent together. Every promise, every moment of trust, had been a carefully constructed illusion. And she had been the fool to believe it.
The guards were pulling her away now, their rough hands gripping her arms, forcing her to stumble forward. Her gaze remained fixed on the couple, unable to tear her eyes away. The faces that had once been her entire world were now strangers, their betrayal too raw to comprehend.
As they led her toward the back of the courtroom, she forced a bitter smile onto her lips. A smile that didn't reach her eyes. They had taken everything from her—her reputation, her freedom, her life.
But that wasn't the end.
The harsh clang of the prison cell door slamming shut was the only sound that greeted Rhea when she was finally thrown into the cold, sterile room. She collapsed onto the bed, her mind spinning. What had she done to deserve this? She had worked tirelessly, given everything to make Alden Enterprises the powerhouse it was. And this? This was how they repaid her. With a betrayal that cut deeper than any punishment the court could impose.
Her hands were shaking, but it wasn't from the cold. It was the anger. The crushing weight of it.
But in the silence of her cell, there was something else. A growing sense of… heaviness. It pressed against her chest, constricting her breath, until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rhea gasped, clutching at her chest. Blood. She coughed, and the metallic taste of it filled her mouth. Her heartbeat thudded painfully in her ears. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Her vision blurred, a swirling darkness creeping into the edges of her sight.
And then, there was nothing.
The pain vanished. The darkness consumed her.
No sound. No warning. Just an emptiness so complete, she thought she might never surface again.
But then—
Light.
"Rhea! Hey! Earth to Rhea—are you zoning out on your first day again?"
The voice was familiar. Too familiar. She blinked rapidly, her heart hammering in her chest. Her hands—her hands were unmarked. No cuffs. No scars. No reminders of the life that had been stolen from her.
She looked around. The office. The desk in front of her, the stack of papers, the familiar hum of the air conditioner—it all felt like a cruel joke.
It was all too familiar.
But it couldn't be real.
Rhea's gaze dropped to the planner on her desk, open to a date that made her stomach flip: Monday, August 21st. The date she had… the date she had been fired five years ago. The day everything had ended.
Her breath hitched in her throat. This couldn't be happening.
Her eyes locked with the cheerful face of the woman standing in front of her. Her coworker, the one who used to be her friend, stared at her with an expectant smile. "You good?"
Rhea shook her head, as if doing so might make the reality of it all disappear. Her pulse raced. She looked down at herself again, her clothing, the fresh makeup, the way her body felt so… young. So unscathed.
"No," she whispered. "This isn't real."
But as the world around her hummed with the familiar sounds of her old life—her old office—she felt the undeniable truth settle in her chest. She was… back. She was back in time, five years ago, before everything had gone wrong.
The weight of the realization hit her like a punch to the gut. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't hallucinating.
She was alive.
Her heart raced as she sat frozen, her thoughts spiraling.
But why?
Why had she come back?
She stood slowly, her hands gripping the edge of the desk as she tried to steady herself. This wasn't a second chance. This wasn't fate handing her a clean slate. No—this was a warning. A reminder that nothing had changed. Nothing would change unless she took control.
She would not be fooled again.
Not by Kairo Alden. Not by anyone.
This time, she would make sure her revenge was sweet.