Chapter 1

I died at sixty, in a quiet Louisiana town, holding a piece of paper that told me my entire life was a lie.

For forty years, I was Amelia Dubois, devoted wife to Senator Julian Vance. I ran his local office, raised our twins, and smiled for the cameras. I thought we had a life together.

But in that dusty safe deposit box, I found the truth. A prenuptial agreement. Not with me, but with a woman in D.C. A trust fund for their children.

I was never his wife. My children were never his legal heirs.

I was just the hometown girl, the convenient cover story. The shock hit me hard. A stroke, the doctors said.

As my life faded, my spirit drifted. I floated all the way to Washington D.C. I saw him there, in his grand house, with his real family. His high-society wife, his "official" children.

He took a call. His face barely changed.

"Amelia Dubois? Yes, I heard. An unfortunate loose end. Make sure the local arrangements are handled quietly."

A loose end.

Forty years of my life, dismissed in a single breath. Rage burned through me, a fire so hot it felt like it could tear the world apart. A golden light surrounded me, warm and immense. A voice, not of this world, echoed in my soul.

The injustice is noted. You will have a chance to correct it.

Then, nothing.

Until I woke up.

The cheap hotel sheets were tangled around my legs, sticky and disgusting. The smell of stale champagne and Julian' s cologne filled the air.

He was beside me, sleeping soundly, a smug smile on his face even in slumber.

I was twenty. And I was back at the beginning of my ruin.