Chapter 3

3

The accusations started instantly.

The bystanders began whispering as if I really had killed the girl.

But they were just spectators who hadn't lifted a finger.

Even now, not a single one of them had called 911.

I let out a cold laugh.

"The child was dead long ago. You all heard her say it. Why are you pinning this on me?"

Brenda's aggressive energy vanished the moment I spoke.

She looked down, appearing slightly guilty.

In the middle of the crowd, the girl performing CPR stopped.

She curled into a ball on the ground, trembling.

She probably realized that after twenty minutes of compressions, there was no hope.

Brenda seemed to realize her plan was shifting.

She crawled over to Skylar and hugged the small, cold body tightly.

Then, she grabbed the student's shirt and started raining blows on her.

The student didn't even try to dodge.

She just kept whispering that she was sorry.

It wasn't her fault at all.

But she was currently drowning in guilt and self-loathing.

She looked about my age, clearly inexperienced with death.

Brenda didn't deserve a single ounce of her remorse.

The girl had tried her best, and Brenda was beating her for it.

Seeing this was like watching my past self.

Fury boiled in my chest, and I marched forward to pull Brenda off her.

"Get used to it," I told the student. "You did what you could."

Brenda heard me and turned her venom back toward me.

"Get used to it? This was a human life!"

"You people say you 'tried your best' while you destroy a family!"

In my last life, Brenda said the exact same thing to me.

But in the end, the family that got destroyed was mine.

Some people in the crowd were already holding up their phones to record.

Brenda saw the flashes and screamed.

"Stop filming! My baby is dead! What are you doing!"

She quickly gathered Skylar's body, preparing to leave.

"Skylar, mommy's taking you home."

Her voice was low, but everyone heard it.

The crowd parted to let her through.

That's when I stepped forward and blocked her path.

Suddenly, I was the center of everyone's attention.

"You aren't going anywhere."