Spare My Heart

After Daisy left, the orphanage became much quieter.

Since I was the top scorer in the mid-term exams, the director did something unprecedented and awarded me a scholarship worth 500 dollars.

When she handed me the envelope, I caught her avoiding my gaze.

I knew it wasn't a reward. It was hush money. She was afraid I'd expose the fact that Daisy had stolen my identity.

I accepted it anyway.

The 500 dollars, combined with the money I'd secretly earned from tutoring over the past two months, was just enough to cover a single semester's tuition for the city's most prestigious private high school, Montesso High School.

The school was packed with heirs and heiresses from powerful families. Its tuition was outrageous. A single semester's tuition cost up to 3,800 dollars.

I didn't care.

I needed to be there because Eve Fletcher attended this high school.

Eve was the Fletcher family's youngest daughter.

In my previous life, she had been the first person to suggest I get a physical check-up.

Back then, I never got the chance to take revenge.

This time, every member of the Fletcher family would pay. I'd make them pay one by one.

On the first day of school, I walked into the classroom in an old uniform that had been washed so many times the color had nearly faded away.

The other students had on tailored navy blazers embroidered with gold school crests.

The looks they gave me were the same looks people reserved for a budget airline passenger wandering into the first-class lounge.

"Who is she? Why is she dressed like that?" someone whispered.

"Did she walk through the wrong door?" Another person chimed in.

I ignored them all.

I chose a seat by the window in the last row. I was exactly two rows behind Eve.

Eve sat near the front. She was surrounded by a group of girls. Her laughter echoed through the room.

She wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she knew how to present herself. Her eyes and gentle demeanor made her seem kind and approachable.

It was the same face that had smiled so sincerely at me in my previous life. "Judy, Mom's worried about your health. Let's go get a checkup. Think of it as a routine physical."

I remembered every expression on her face, every word she said, and every curve of her smile.

During the break, Eve approached me exactly as I expected.

She extended a hand and smiled at me. "Hi. You're new, aren't you? I'm Eve. Let's be friends."

Her smile was flawless.

Pretending to be flattered, I shook her hand.

The instant our fingers touched, another vision appeared in my mind.

Eve stood before Mary while crying dramatically. "Mom, why should that orphan get part of the inheritance? She's an outsider! Why does she get to stay in my room and use my things?"

Mary wrapped an arm around her. Mary's voice was gentle, but her words were ice-cold. "She won't live much longer. Once your brother's heart transplant is finished, she'll outlive her usefulness. Everything she has will be yours again."

Eve immediately brightened up. She leaned against Mary's shoulder. "Mom, you're the best."

The vision shattered.

I felt something warm in my nose. I quickly tilted my head back and pretended to sneeze.

"Are you okay?" Eve asked with concern.

Her voice was gentle, and her expression was sincere.

If I hadn't seen that vision or lived through my previous life, I might actually have believed she cared.

"I'm fine. It's probably just a cold." I rubbed my nose and smiled. "Thanks, Eve. You're really nice."

Her smile became even gentler. "We're practically family now. By the way, what's your name?"

"Judy."

After a few more polite exchanges, she left.

I lowered my head and wrote in my notebook.

[Eve knows about Mary's plan. She's an accomplice.]

That afternoon, during the final lesson, the homeroom teacher entered with a new student.

"Class, this is our new transfer student. Please welcome Henry Lockhart."

I looked up.

He was tall. He looked at least 6'1".

He had striking features and a strong brow. There was something sharp about him, a quiet intensity lurking beneath his polished exterior. He looked like a blade sheathed in velvet, dangerous but carefully concealed.

Henry Lockhart was the heir to a renowned family of doctors.

I knew that name.

Before my death in my previous life, I'd seen him on the news. He had exposed a major corporation for illegal organ trafficking that triggered a nationwide scandal.

That corporation had been Fletcher Group.

Henry looked around the classroom. His gaze landed on me for a second.

In that brief moment, I felt him evaluating me. It wasn't the way a boy looked at a girl. Instead, it was the way an analyst evaluated data points.

He walked toward the empty seat beside me.

"May I sit here?" he asked.

"Suit yourself."

He sat down and retrieved a thick medical journal from his backpack. The cover featured an anatomical diagram of a human heart.

I glanced at it, and my pulse quickened.

"Are you interested in this?" he asked.

I countered, "Are you?"

He turned to face me. Genuine interest appeared in his eyes.

"I'm Henry." He extended his hand.

"Judy Wembley." I shook it.

The moment our skin touched, another vision flashed before me.

Henry sat alone in a lab. There was a pathology report on the desk.

[Stanley, male, 22. Genetic cardiomyopathy. Terminal illness. Requires heart transplant. Matching records–]

Henry frowned. Using a red pen, he circled the words 'donor source' and drew a large question mark beside them.

He then picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Look into Fletcher Group's medical partnerships, especially anything involving organ transplants. Yes. I want every record."

The vision shattered.

My nose felt warm, and a drop of blood landed on my uniform.

I quickly lowered my head and pressed a tissue against my nose.

"Your nose is bleeding." Henry handed me a pack of wet wipes. It looked so natural that one might think he carried them all the time.

"Thanks." I accepted them and wiped the blood away.

That was when I figured out that Henry was already investigating the Fletcher family.

He wasn't my enemy. He was an ally.

That was true at least for now.