Selena felt herself being carried. Through the fog of poison, she heard voices.
"Hurry up. Someone might see us," Vivian hissed.
"She's heavier than she looks," Noah complained.
Cold night air hit Selena's skin. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids felt sewn shut.
"Over the railing," Jade directed.
Selena felt herself being lifted. Her body dangled in the air, held only by Noah's shaking hands.
"Just drop her," Vivian commanded. "The water will do the rest."
The hands released. Selena plummeted, her body limp as a rag doll. The wind rushed past her ears. Then—SPLASH!
The cold water shocked her system. For one brief moment, her eyes fluttered open. Above her, three dark figures stared down from the balcony. Then they disappeared.
Water filled her lungs. The poison made it impossible to swim. She sank deeper into the dark pool, her grandmother's garden lights wavering above the surface.
'This is how I die,' she thought as darkness claimed her again.
"Hey! There's something in the water!"
The voice seemed far away, like it was coming from another world.
"Good Lord! It's a person! Help me get her out!"
Rough hands grabbed Selena's arms, pulling her from the water. Her body flopped onto hard concrete.
"She ain't breathing, Frank!"
"Start CPR! I'll call 911!"
"No!" The second voice was urgent. "Look at her clothes. This is the Carter girl. That's trouble we don't need."
"We can't just let her die!"
Pressure on her chest. Once. Twice. Water gushed from Selena's mouth. She coughed violently, her body convulsing.
"She's alive! Thank God!"
Selena's eyes opened to slits. Two blurry faces hovered over her. Men in work clothes. The gardener's assistants?
"Miss Carter? Can you hear me?"
She tried to speak, but only a raspy sound emerged.
"They... poisoned... me..." she managed before another coughing fit took over.
The men exchanged worried glances.
"Who poisoned you, miss?"
"Step... mother... Noah... Jade..." Each name was a dagger in her heart.
"We need to get her to a hospital," the younger man said.
"No!" Selena grabbed his arm with surprising strength. "They'll... find me... kill me..."
The older man—Frank—rubbed his grizzled chin. "I know someone. Old army medic. Very discreet. Lives outside town."
"That's illegal, Frank!"
"So is murder, boy! Help me get her to my truck."
The truck bumped along dark roads. Selena drifted in and out of consciousness. Every breath was agony. Whatever poison they'd given her burned like fire.
"Hang on, miss," Frank said. "Doc Jensen will fix you up."
Trees flashed by the window. They were leaving the city behind.
"They'll... think I'm dead," Selena whispered.
"Maybe that's for the best right now," Frank replied grimly.
The truck turned onto a dirt road, headlights illuminating a small cabin. An old man in a bathrobe stepped onto the porch, squinting.
"Frank? It's 3 AM!"
"Emergency, Doc. Someone tried to kill her."
Doc Jensen's eyes widened when he saw Selena. "Bring her in. Quick."
Inside, they laid her on a table. The doctor checked her pupils with a penlight.
"Poison and nearly drowned. What happened?"
Between gasps, Selena told her story.
"Sounds like some kind of fast-acting sedative," Doc Jensen said, hooking up an IV. "We need to flush it out of your system."
Pain shot through Selena's body. She arched her back, screaming.
"Hold her down!" the doctor ordered.
Frank and his helper grabbed her arms as she thrashed.
"Fight it, miss!" Frank encouraged. "Don't let them win!"
Hours blurred together. Fever. Chills. More pain than Selena thought possible. The doctor worked tirelessly, pushing fluids, administering medicines from his supplies.
Dawn broke. Selena's fever finally broke too.
"She'll live," Doc Jensen announced, wiping his brow.
Frank exhaled in relief. "Thank God."
Selena's eyes opened. The room came into focus. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Don't thank me yet," Doc Jensen said grimly. "Your body's been through hell. Recovery will take time."
"How long?"
"Weeks, maybe months."
Selena's mind raced despite her exhaustion. By now, they'd have discovered her body missing. They'd be searching.
"I need to disappear," she said.
Frank nodded. "I figured as much." He pulled out a newspaper. "Look."
The headline hit her like another plunge into cold water: CARTER HEIRESS MISSING AFTER ENGAGEMENT PARTY. FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED.
"They're pretending to look for me," Selena said bitterly.
"For now," Frank agreed. "Soon they'll 'find evidence' you drowned."
"Why are you helping me?" Selena asked.
Frank's weathered face softened. "I worked for your grandmother for twenty years. She was good to me. And I've watched Vivian and Jade—never trusted them. When I saw what they did to you..."
Selena squeezed his hand weakly. "I don't know how to repay you."
"Stay alive. That's payment enough."
Days passed in the small cabin. Selena grew stronger, though nightmares plagued her sleep. She saw Noah's face as he poured poison down her throat. Heard Vivian's cold laugh as she fell.
Doc Jensen brought news from town. The search for Selena had indeed been called off. A shoe—her shoe—had been found floating in the bay. The authorities concluded she had accidentally drowned after taking too much medication.
"They're holding a memorial service next week," Doc Jensen said.
Selena stared out the window. "Let them bury an empty coffin. Selena Carter is dead."
"What will you do?" Frank asked.
She turned, her eyes harder than they'd ever been. "Become someone new. Someone stronger. And then make them pay."
That night, she stood before a small mirror. With shaking hands, she cut her long blonde hair short. Frank had brought hair dye—dark brown, nothing like her natural color.
As the last blonde strands fell, Selena studied her new reflection. Thinner. Haunted eyes. A stranger looked back at her.
"Goodbye, Selena," she whispered.
A small TV in the corner caught her attention. The news was showing footage from a press conference. Vivian stood at a podium, dabbing tears with a handkerchief.
"My beloved stepdaughter..." Vivian sobbed. "Our family is devastated."
Noah stood beside her, his arm around Jade, both with perfectly practiced grief on their faces.
"We just want closure," Noah said, voice breaking on cue.
Selena's hands curled into fists. The poison hadn't just changed her body. It had burned away her trust, her innocence, her mercy.
Frank found her still staring at the TV hours later.
"I need to leave," she said. "They think they won. Let them keep thinking that."
"Where will you go?"
"Far away. I need to rebuild. Get stronger. Learn how to destroy them."
Frank nodded slowly. "I have a cousin in Singapore. Owns a shipping business. Needs someone smart to help manage things."
"Singapore?" Selena considered. "That's perfect."
"What should I tell him your name is?"
Selena thought for a moment. "Elena. Elena Stone."
As she packed the few belongings Frank had brought her, a small news item flashed across the TV. Rafael Sinclair, CEO of Sinclair Industries, had just acquired a struggling tech company—one that had been owned by the Carter Group.
"Already picking at the bones," Selena muttered.
The camera showed a tall, dark-haired man with piercing eyes and a cold smile. Something about him caught her attention.
"Who is he?" she asked Frank.
"Bad news. Ruthless businessman. Rumors say he's got a vendetta against several families, including the Carters."
Selena stared at the man's face, memorizing it. An enemy of her enemies. Perhaps someday, a useful ally.
Little did she know how their paths would cross—or how this man would complicate her perfect revenge.
As dawn broke, Elena Stone—formerly Selena Carter—stepped into her new life, leaving behind everything but her determination to return someday and make her betrayers pay.
The game wasn't over. It had barely begun.