Her Rebirth.

"...As projected in our Q2 reports, the southeast division saw a 12% increase in logistics efficiency after the implementation of the automated tracking system," Director Lin explained, gesturing toward the presentation slide behind him. "However, the west sector still faces delays due to incomplete infrastructure upgrades. Our suggestion is to temporarily reallocate resources from the central branch to support the expansion—"

Kai sat at the head of the long table, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, quietly focused until his phone buzzed. He glanced down, and his cold expression softened a bit; it was a message from her.

Director Lin continued, oblivious. "—With the potential partnership from the Chang Group, we could accelerate the rollout. Their AI-based inventory system would improve turnaround times by at least 8%, minimizing losses from mismanaged storage. Furthermore—"

Kai’s eyes flicked back to the message, and the rest of Lin’s voice began to blur into static.

"—Projected ROI for this adjustment is approximately 17% over the next fiscal quarter. I’ll have the detailed breakdown forwarded by this afternoon."

"I’m going to meet Lilac. Here’s the address and my location. Just in case."

His brows furrowed into a small frown.

Lilac.

That name alone soured his mood. He remembered vividly how persistent she’d been a recent nuisance, sending flowers, writing messages, bypassing Amelia’s blocks. When he’d finally had enough and decided to handle her, Amelia had stopped him.

"She’s not worth the mess, Kai. Let her waste her time. Don’t dirty your hands," she had said.

So he didn’t. But that didn’t mean he let it slide. At some point, he intercepted the flowers, redirected deliveries. He even met Lilac once, cornering her with a warning that should’ve made any sane person tremble. But she just laughed in his face.

That pissed him off.

His fingers flew across the screen.

"All right. Take care, butterfly."

A slight smile tugged at his lips when he saw she’d sent her live location. He didn’t need it, her ring was already a tracker, though she didn’t know that. Still, it warmed him in a way he didn’t like admitting: she thought to share it.

"Wen," he muttered, and Secretary Wen, who was standing quietly by him, leaned in.

"Make sure the team I assigned to follow her is in place," he whispered.

Secretary Wen nodded instantly. "Yes, sir."

"And Lilac... Are you sure she’s been quiet lately?"

The team he had placed to watch her had been giving him updates daily, and suspiciously enough, they always claimed she was not engaging in any suspicious activity. None at all.

Secretary Wen took a look at his tablet. "From all recent reports, she’s shown no suspicious activity. No contact with anyone shady. Her movements have been normal."

Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Though it was a relief to know she had nothing suspicious planned, still—

Why do I have this feeling that something is wrong?

---

Despite the shabby exterior, the apartment inside was surprisingly well-kept. It was clean and cozy, with soft cushions on the couch and a wall filled with various artworks. Amelia, though still wary, found herself relaxing just a little.

"This is where I lived when I was younger," Lilac said with a fond smile, motioning around.

Amelia nodded silently, standing with arms folded. "Why did you ask me to come here, Lilac?"

Lilac turned to her, eyes filled with a hopeful gleam. "Amelia... I know I’ve been a nuisance. And you probably hate me. But just this once... can you indulge me? Let me pretend we really were sisters. That we... got along. I know it’s delusional, but just for today."

Amelia hesitated, a retort on the tip of her tongue but it faded. Then she sat down with a sigh. "Alright. Just for today."

Lilac’s eyes shimmered with gratitude. "Thank you, sister." Her voice cracked slightly on the last word. "Would you like something to drink? Or snacks?"

"No, thank you," Amelia said politely, sitting down on the couch.

A calm quiet settled between them. For a while, it was just the faint ticking of a wall clock.

"How’s college?" Amelia asked eventually. "And if you’re leaving the country, are you planning to continue it?"

Lilac gave a small smile. "Yeah. I’m transferring to a school there. It’ll be different... but maybe a fresh start will help me figure things out."

Amelia nodded. For once, Lilac wasn’t being strange or manipulative, just... human.

"I’ll probably make new friends along the way. Can’t say I won’t be sad leaving here, but at the same time, I am also excited."

The silence that followed was no longer awkward. For a fleeting moment, Amelia thought, If things had been different... if there had been no manipulation, if we didn’t have the past we had... maybe we really could have been sisters.

But what’s been done was done.

Still...

"You know what?" Amelia said suddenly, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Those snacks you offered... I’m craving macarons now."

Lilac’s face brightened up like a child’s. "Really? There’s a pastry shop just across the street! Their macarons are so good, I’ll go grab them, it won’t take more than ten minutes!"

She stood up, practically bouncing toward the door.

"I’ll be quick!" she chirped, then disappeared outside.

Amelia chuckled softly under her breath, shaking her head. That girl...

The apartment became quiet. Amelia, growing bored, rose from the couch and wandered idly, mainly admiring the art pieces and portraits on the wall. The portraits gave an eerie and macabre feeling. Somehow, they were placed as if leading to a door.

It did lead to a door. She stopped in front of it.

Beside the door was a particular portrait. The portrait was larger than the others and framed in a tarnished silver that looked almost ceremonial. It depicted a woman: she was smiling gently, sunlight casting a glow on her hair. But something was wrong. Her eyes had been altered—painted over in vivid crimson, giving the illusion of bleeding. Around the edges of the portrait, smeared fingerprints in dried red ink, or perhaps something else, formed a frame of their own. Scrawled at the bottom in a looping, obsessive hand were the words:

Even God made angels jealous of you.

A strange sensation prickled along her spine. The air felt heavier here. Her eyes flicked to the knob of the door, wondering if there were more portraits behind it, as they seemed to pull her in. She knew she shouldn’t, she knew it was better not to snoop but she was curious.

Why did the portraits seem to lead to this door, anyway?

She turned the knob, and the door creaked open.

Her eyes dilated in fear, and her breath stopped at once, frozen in place.

The walls were covered with photos of her—there were dozens, no, hundreds. All of her. From childhood. Teen years. Last year. Last month. All taken without her knowledge. They were pinned, taped, collaged over the walls. Some were circled in red. Others had hearts drawn around her face. Notes were written beside them in delicate handwriting. "Beautiful." "Mine." "Sister." "Perfect." "I love you." "I love you so much." "You are mine." "Why can’t you be mine?"

The room was like a shrine dedicated only to her.

Amelia’s legs weakened, and she took a step back in sheer terror at what she had just seen.

Then she heard a voice whisper in her ear in a loving manner—

"You weren’t supposed to see this, sister..."

Before Amelia could react, something struck the back of her head.

And then... darkness.