Chapter 1 BOOK ONE: CHAPTER 0001

•KRISTINA•

"Yes. Fuck, are you even listening to me? She is exactly what you need." My mother whispered as I walked down the corridor to the front door.

She was sitting on the small couch in the living room with a book on her lap. "I need to know if we have a deal. I can get everything ready for you."

I was on my way to the diner for my morning shift, and I didn't want to be late again. But hearing my mother on the phone somehow sent shivers down my spine.

It sounded weird that she was whispering, probably avoiding me from hearing her conversation on the phone.

My father had been in the hospital for two weeks. He had cancer, and we couldn't afford to pay his chemotherapy bills, which led me to take more shifts at work so I could pay them.

I have been paying all our house bills ever since my father quit his job after his diagnosis.

My mother would tell me that it was time for me to take care of the family and show them my gratitude for everything they had done for me.

So, I worked as hard as I could to pay off the mortgage, the lights, water, and Alexa's college fees. And now I had to pay for my father's medical bills.

I was grateful for everything they had done for me, so I hardly complained. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have had a family.

Sandra and Lucas raised me alongside their biological daughter, whom they had after two years of taking me in. I was four months old when they brought me into their home.

Apparently, I was only a month old when my parents dumped me and left me in the orphanage center because they didn't want me anymore.

"Yes. You can have her in the morning."

I shook my head and decided not to eavesdrop on a conversation that I didn't even understand. So, I put on my headphones and headed out of the front door.

I usually walked to work on foot if Sara didn't pick me up in her car. She worked part-time during holidays or weekends.

Today was a Thursday, so I was walking. I didn't really mind because it was only six blocks away from our house.

And I liked that I would meet Miss Betty on my way to work, and she would always offer me her bakery's leftovers.

But this time, I didn't see her when I passed by her house. It was too quiet, which came as a surprise to me because she was always home. Always.

I had taken five steps away from her home when my gut nudged me to turn back. I looked at the time on my wrist and realized that I had ten minutes left before my morning shift could start.

Andrea, my supervisor, issued me a warning two weeks ago for being late and told me explicitly that I would be fired next time.

I considered the possibility of getting fired from work because it would mean I wouldn't be able to pay for household bills and my father's medical bills.

That thought terrified me because my mother would scold me.

"Shit," I scoffed as I turned around and walked toward Miss Betty's house. My heart was racing because every minute lost meant that Andrea would fire me and not even want to hear excuses.

I opened her gate and walked toward the front door.

Miss Betty was a widow, and she and her husband didn't have any other kids after their daughter died before her husband died two years ago.

She was living alone and running a bakery from her backyard porch. She had many customers, and the diner I was working in also ordered some things from her.

"Miss Betty?" I called out after opening the door. "Hello? Are you in there? Miss Betty?"

I walked down the corridor and froze when I saw her lying on the floor. Her hand was on her chest, and I saw the inhaler beside her.

My chest immediately tightened, and I dropped to my knees beside her and tried to wake her up. I grabbed her inhaler and realized that it was empty.

"No, no, no!" I screamed. "Please, don't die on me! Don't die on me! You must wake up!" I placed both my hands on her chest and started doing CPR on her.

After a moment, I saw a glow coming from my hands, and I gasped before standing up. I looked down at my hands, and it wasn't there anymore.

But it was still visible on Miss Betty's chest. I could see it traveling throughout her entire body until it vanished around her chest area.

She gasped, and when she opened her mouth to speak, I turned to the front door and ran as fast as I could. I slammed the door behind me and didn't even see the road as I ran down the street.

I was so confused and didn't understand anything that happened in Miss Betty's house.

It was so strange, and I didn't know what to think. I had never encountered something like that before, and I kept looking down at my hands, trying to see if the glow was still there.

I stopped at an alley to catch my breath. I was one block away from the diner, but I knew I wouldn't make it there in time before collapsing on the ground.

After a moment, I caught a figure staring at me from the end of the alley, which caused my chest to tighten.

The figure looked like a tall man. He was wearing black trousers and a hoodie with a cap covering half of his face.

I didn't wait to see if he would move. I pushed off the wall and walked out of the alley, keeping my head down until the diner came into view.

I was twelve minutes late.

The bell above the door chimed when I walked in. Most of my coworkers were already on the floor taking orders, and a few of them looked up when I entered.

Andrea was standing near the counter with a brown envelope in her hand. She looked at me, then at the clock on the wall, and smiled.

"There she is." She crossed the floor and stopped in front of me. "I've been waiting for you."

Before I could open my mouth, she pulled out a cheque and a folded letter and threw them both at my chest. They hit me and dropped to the floor.

"Pick those up. That's your last cheque and your termination letter."

A few of my coworkers laughed. I bent down and picked them up without a word.

"Twelve minutes," Andrea announced to the room. "Twelve whole minutes late. But what do you expect from someone whose family can't even keep the lights on?"

My face burned. I kept my eyes on the envelope in my hands and said nothing.

"You're done here, Kristina." She grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the door. "Don't come back here again."

The door swung shut behind me.