The wind on the bridge was freezing. It moved through Elena's thin coat and chilled her skin.
However, the cold outside was nothing compared to the emptiness in her heart. She stood on the edge and looked down at the black river below. The water moved fast. It looked hungry.
Less than five hours ago, Elena had lost everything. She remembered walking toward her small apartment with a bag of groceries in her hand.
She had bought fresh milk for her mother and a small toy for her daughter. She reached the door and stopped. The wood was broken. The lock was broken. A cold feeling of dread washed over her.
She pushed the door open and stepped in.
The grocery bag slipped from her fingers. An orange rolled across the floor and stopped next to a pale hand.
Elena looked down. Her mother, Martha, lay lifeless on the kitchen tiles. There was a dark bruise on her forehead.
Elena did not scream yet. She ran to the small bedroom. The crib was silent. It did not hold the soft sounds of a sleeping baby. Instead, it was empty.
The window was wide open, and the curtains flapped in the wind. Elena fell to her knees. She crawled to the center of the room and found her newborn daughter, Diane.
Baby Diane was still. She was cold. The light of Elena's life had been snuffed out by cruel hands.
On the small wooden table next to the crib, there was a note.
The paper was expensive. The handwriting was elegant. It said, "This is your final warning. Stay away from Liam."
Elena knew who sent it. Isabella Thorne, the woman Liam Sterling had married to save his family's company, had finally acted on her threats.
Isabella wanted Elena erased from the world. Isabella wanted no traces of Liam's secret life to exist.
Elena picked up her daughter's tiny, cold body. She sat on the floor and cried. She cried until her throat was raw.
She cried until her eyes were bulging and red. The pain in her chest was so heavy that she could barely breathe.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was Liam. She answered it with a shaking hand.
"Elena! Are you okay?" Liam's voice was frantic. In the background, she heard the roar of an engine and the screech of tires.
"I heard what Bella did. I am coming to you! I am almost at the apartment. I will take you away from all of this. I promise!"
"They are dead Liam," Elena whispered. Her voice sounded like dead leaves. "My mom. Diane. They are both gone."
There was a sharp gasp on the other end. "No... no, that can't be. Elena, stay there! I am driving as fast as I can. I am nearly—"
A loud, deafening crash cut him off. Elena heard the sound of metal twisting and glass shattering through the speakers. There was a sudden explosion, and then the line went dead.
Elena stared at the phone. She felt numb.
She walked to the living room. She turned on the small television in the corner. A news alert flashed across the screen.
[Breaking News: Liam Sterling, the heir to the Sterling Corporation, has died in a horrific car accident on the highway. Witnesses say he was traveling at high speeds before losing control. He was rushed to the hospital, but he never made it.]
"We are all gone now, Liam," Elena whispered.
She stood up. She had no mother. She had no child. She had no lover. She had no reason to take another breath.
She walked out of the apartment and toward the bridge.
Now, standing on the ledge, she looked at the dark water. She stepped off. The fall was long. The impact with the water was hard.
It knocked the air out of her lungs. The river pulled her down into the darkness. She did not fight it. Instead, she closed her eyes and waited for the end.
***
"Elena! Get up! You are going to be late for the morning shift!"
The voice was loud. It was familiar. Elena felt a sharp jolt in her body. She opened her eyes and gasped.
She expected to see the bottom of the river or the gates of heaven.
Instead, she saw a cracked white ceiling with a small water stain.
She sat up quickly. Her heart was beating fast. She looked at her hands. They were not pale and cold. They were warm and full of life. She touched her face. There were no tears. Her skin felt smooth.
"Elena? Did you hear me?!"
The door opened. A woman walked in. She was wearing a neat black and white maid's uniform.
Elena's breath caught in her throat. She felt a lump form in her neck.
"Mom?" Elena whispered.
Her mother, Martha, looked at her with a frown.
"Who else would it be? You stayed up too late reading again.
Hurry up. The Sterlings are coming back from their summer house today. The whole mansion needs to be perfect."
Elena did not move. She felt a wave of confusion. This was impossible. She had watched her mother die.
She had felt her own life slip away in the river. Moreover, her mother looked younger. The grey hairs were gone from her temples.
She grabbed her phone from the small nightstand. It was an older model with a thick case.
She looked at the date on the screen. It was June 12th. It was five years ago.
This was the day her life had changed forever. This was the day she first met Liam Sterling.
I am back, Elena thought. A strange chill went down her spine. I am actually back.
"Are you sick?" Martha asked. She walked over and touched Elena's forehead. "You look like you have seen a ghost."
"I am fine, Mom," Elena said. She grabbed her mother's hand and held it tight.
The warmth of her mother's skin made Elena want to cry. She however forced herself to stay calm. She could not let Martha see her break down.
In her past life, she was weak. She was just a girl in love who believed in fairy tales.
She had let the Sterlings bully her. She had let them hide her away like a dirty secret.
Because of her weakness, everyone she loved had died.
Not this time, she promised herself. This time, I will be the one who strikes first.
She got up, took her bath and dressed in her own maid's uniform.
The fabric felt stiff and cheap. She looked at herself in the small, scratched mirror.
Her eyes looked different. They were no longer innocent or soft. They were filled with a cold, hard light.
She knew the future. She knew the secrets of the Sterling family.
Most importantly, she knew exactly what Isabella Thorne was capable of.
"I will protect you, Mom," Elena said quietly.
"What was that?" Martha asked as she straightened Elena's collar.
"Nothing. Let's go to work."