Chapter 1

My sister was kidnapped by thugs, and to save her, I lost an arm. But afterward, she stole my RV and emptied my bank account. When I confronted her, she was irritated.

"Callie Harlow, don’t guilt-trip me! Losing your arm was your own choice; what does that have to do with me? Besides, you hardly use any of that stuff, so give it to me."

Humiliated and angry, she schemed to push me off a cliff.

The next thing I knew, I was back to the day she begged me to save her. From the rooftop, I shouted, “Fiona, what did you say? I can’t hear you!”

As soon as I said that, I ran.

I sprinted away, not giving the kidnappers or Fiona a chance.

What a joke—if I survived death once and still acted like a fool, then my death in the past life would’ve been for nothing.

“Callie, help me!” Fiona’s voice tore through the air, desperate and heart-wrenching.

She was shouting so loudly that, even though I had already run quite far, I could hear her crystal clear.

“Dad’s already gone! Are you really going to let your only sister die?” Fiona cried, her voice thick with sobs.

From a distance, her words sounded like the shrieks of a banshee, haunting and relentless. And honestly, that’s exactly how it felt.

In my previous life, those same words made me run back without hesitation. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my sister, my own flesh and blood.

But what happened in the end?

I lost my right arm to the kidnappers.

It was my dominant hand. After losing it, even simple tasks like writing became exhausting.

But even though I lost my arm, I didn’t regret it at the time.

Back then, the kidnappers had given me a choice: either they cut off one of my arms, or they’d take Fiona’s head.

Trading my right arm for Fiona’s life? At the time, I thought it was worth it.

I worked hard through physical therapy, joined Mom in managing Harlow Enterprises, and despite the pitiful stares from everyone around me, I slowly rebuilt my life.

But after Mom passed away, Fiona didn’t care that I had lost my arm for her. She took my RV and drained my bank account.

Crushed, I thought I’d use my savings to buy a new house—only to find that I didn’t have a penny left in my account.

I ran back and forth between the bank and the authorities, and finally discovered that Fiona had stolen every last cent that Mom had left me.

At thirty, not only was I missing my arm, but I had lost everything I owned.

When I confronted Fiona, her face was full of disdain. “Callie Harlow, don’t try to guilt-trip me. Losing your arm was your own choice. It has nothing to do with me.”

That was the moment I realized I no longer recognized my sister.

Back when Mom was still alive, Fiona was sweet and charming. She would tell anyone who would listen that we were sisters, that because I had sacrificed my arm for her, she’d repay me. She even said she’d stay single forever to take care of me.

I was deeply touched. I even told Mom to give Fiona a larger share of the inheritance. After all, I had practically raised her. I didn’t want her to suffer.

But in the end, Fiona sweet-talked Mom into leaving all the houses and cars in her name.

When I questioned her, she responded like it was the most natural thing in the world: “Besides, you don’t use them much anyway. Just give them to me.”

I was so angry, my face flushed red, and I blurted out the whole truth in front of everyone—that I had lost my arm saving Fiona from kidnappers.

Everyone was outraged on my behalf, calling her an ungrateful wolf in sheep's clothing.

I thought that maybe, after hearing so many people call her out, Fiona might feel some sense of guilt.

But I never imagined that she would lure me to the edge of Overlook Ridge and push me off.

And as I fell, the truth behind the kidnapping finally came out.

The so-called kidnapping? It was all Fiona’s doing.

She wanted the money that Mom had, but since Mom was trying to teach Fiona independence by cutting off her extravagant allowance, Fiona staged the entire kidnapping.

My arm? That was just for added realism. After securing a million dollars from Mom, Fiona instructed the kidnappers to chop off my arm to make it look convincing.

It wasn’t until I was dying that I realized the sweet little sister I grew up with had turned into a cold-blooded stranger.

I raced downstairs.

As soon as Mom saw me, she was frantic. “Callie! Fiona’s been kidnapped!”

She was crying, and her voice was filled with genuine panic.

Fiona was the apple of her eye, raised by Mom’s side, so of course, she couldn’t sit idly by.

I gently took her hand and led her to a seat, calmly reassuring her. “Mom, don’t worry. Fiona will be okay.”

“How can you say that?” Mom’s voice rose in disbelief. “They’re asking for a million dollars! If we don’t pay, they’ll kill her!”

“Callie, I know you and Fiona didn’t grow up together, so maybe you don’t feel that close to her, but you can’t just let her die!” Mom’s voice cracked, on the verge of breaking down.

When I was five, Mom and Dad divorced. Fiona, still a baby, stayed with Mom, while I was sent to live with Dad.

Even though we lived apart, we weren’t strangers. During school breaks, we’d do homework together, play together. To say we had no bond would be a lie.

Even though Mom’s words stung a little, I understood. Right now, Fiona’s life was in danger, and Mom was too panicked to think straight.

In my past life, I was just as blinded by fear.

“Mom, we’ll save Fiona. But if you sell everything to raise that kind of money, what will you do if this happens again?”

Mom hadn’t thought about that—she was so focused on saving Fiona that she couldn’t think about the future.

My words snapped her back to reality. Giving in to the kidnappers would only encourage them to come back for more.

“Callie, what should I do?” Mom asked, gripping my hands like a lifeline, her eyes full of desperation.

In this moment, I had control of everything.

Fiona, this time, you’re going to experience exactly what I went through.