She Faked Her Mother's Death to Destroy Me

2: 2 In my last life, this was exactly the face that fooled me. She'd begged for help, and I hadn't thought twice. I got her mother into the car and floored it toward the hospital. The rain was coming down hard, but I drove as fast as I could, running one yellow and red light after another, so tense my whole face was slick with sweat. And the moment we reached the ER, they pronounced her mother dead. When the doctor said it, my legs almost gave out under me. But Yvonne cried and said I'd killed her mother. Said the two of us had a grudge, and I'd used the chance to get back at her. She hung banners in the complex to smear me. Uploaded videos, posted threads, turned the whole internet loose on me. In the end my mind came apart, and I died in a car crash. Now, facing the exact same opening as last time. I was fully prepared. I shook off the hand Yvonne had clamped on my arm. "You'd better just call 911. It's true I bought a car, but I never took delivery of it." That hadn't happened last time, and it clearly caught Yvonne off guard. For a second she just froze. The tears had been streaming a moment ago; now her face locked up and the crying stopped cold. Like someone had hit pause on her. That was when the neighbors from upstairs and downstairs came running at the noise. In front of everyone. Yvonne started sobbing right away. "My mom's heart gave out all of a sudden. Minnie just got a new car, so I asked her to help me take my mom to the hospital, and she wouldn't do it." Last time, after Yvonne's sobbing, everyone turned on me. Especially Crystal Finch from upstairs, Hannah Lambert from downstairs, and that young man on the third floor named Logan Summers. They came at it the hardest. This time. The exact same scene played out again. The crowd rushed to condemn me first. *A person's life is at stake. Isn't helping the least you could do?* *How can anyone act like this!* *So cold-blooded. It's honestly hard to imagine.* Then. Hannah stormed up and, without a word, slapped me hard across the face. "I'll teach you the lesson your own mother should've! You trashy, low-class little girl!" Crystal rushed over too and kicked me hard. "What rotten luck, ending up with a piece of garbage like you for a neighbor!" The words, the movements, not a shade different from last life.

3: 3 These two women had never liked me. Only because I was prettier than either of their daughters, because plenty of young men chased after me and not one of them ever chased their girls. So the two old hags took the chance to let it out. Just like last time, the moment they'd finished venting, a snide voice rose out of the crowd. "Pretty cover, but the inside's rotten." It was Logan Summers from the third floor, an idle playboy who did nothing with his life. He'd chased after me and I'd turned him down, and he'd carried the grudge ever since. So to him, this was a fine chance to get back at me. His eyes were bright with excitement, snapping photos and posting them online as he went. Muttering to himself. "Show off now. You're finished in a second." That was the face he'd worn last time too, and here it was again. Watching the same scene play out. I wasn't angry. I only swept a calm look over the crowd, and let my eyes settle at last on Yvonne Estes's face. "Like I said just now, I did buy a new car. But I never picked it up." Yvonne had already snapped out of her daze and reacted fast. The pitiful expression from a moment ago switched to a look of pure disbelief. "You had an appointment at the dealership to pick up the car today, and you went there yourself. How could you not have taken it!" I looked straight into her eyes. "How do you know I had an appointment to pick it up today?" "I..." A flicker of a pause. Then she said quickly, "I have a friend who works at that same dealership where you bought your car. She's the one who told me." She turned back around. To face the crowd. "It's the honest truth. After Minnie Lawrence got there, my friend even said your neighbor across the hall had come in to pick up a car." She pulled out the messaging-app screenshots and held them up for everyone to see, proof that she wasn't lying. The crowd's anger flared again. "If you don't want to give it, then don't. Why lie about it?" "Right, who walks into the dealership to pick up a car and comes back empty-handed? Nobody buys that." "Can't even lie right!" "She just couldn't bear to part with her new car. She'd rather watch someone die than help!"

4: 4 As if someone had hit a switch, the tears started up again in Yvonne's eyes. She looked even more pitiful than before. Her voice cracked. "Minnie, I know it hurts, you just bought a new car. But don't worry, I won't let you help for nothing. I'll cover your gas. I can give you extra. Here, take it now—" She fumbled a hundred-dollar bill out of her pocket and shoved it toward me. "A round trip to the hospital only runs about twenty, really. A hundred should more than do it, and the rest can count as compensation for your new car." The crowd couldn't stand it anymore. Crystal and Hannah especially, already rolling up their sleeves, ready to teach me another lesson. Right then Yvonne's mother let out a groan of pain, her legs nearly buckling under her. Everyone's attention swung back to the sick woman, and they all panicked. "She's not going to make it, call 911, hurry!" "Call, now! Any more hesitating and it'll be too late." But Yvonne still didn't give up, still looking at me with those pleading eyes. Someone had already called, and the ambulance pulled up downstairs fast. Only when she saw I still hadn't budged did Yvonne finally pull her gaze off me. Between them, the crowd got Yvonne's mother onto the stretcher, then scrambled to lift her into the ambulance. Crystal, Hannah, and Logan climbed on themselves. Yvonne didn't seem to be in any rush, checking whether anyone else was getting on. Crystal pushed her along. "Come on, let's go, or it'll be too late." Only when no one else got on did Yvonne agree to move out. Just before she left, she looked at me once. Beyond the heavy hatred, the rest of it was a taunt. It said, "Just you wait." The three who'd climbed aboard shot me a sideways look too, one that said, "Don't think you're off the hook. You'll pay for this later." I smiled. The game was on again. Only this time, it was a different version.