Chapter 1

The basement was covered in mold. I lay there in the pitch-black darkness, waiting for death.

Twenty years.

Ever since that catastrophic chemistry lab fire twenty years ago, I had never seen the sunlight.

The harsh screech of my AP Chemistry teacher, Brenda Vance, still echoed in my ears: "Summer Lin! You forgot to turn off the burner! You blew up the lab, disfigured your classmates, and burned down the entire science building!"

To pay for my "crime," my parents sold our house, begged on their knees, and died early from sheer exhaustion and stress. Branded as an "arsonist," I spent two decades working under the table, washing dishes in greasy spoons, and sending every penny I made to the "victims" as blood money.

The heavy metal door creaked open. Brenda and her daughter, Chloe—who used to be my best friend—stepped in.

"Mrs. Vance..." I croaked, trying to squeeze out a shred of gratitude. Over the past twenty years, she was the only one who ever visited me.

Chloe snatched the envelope containing my last hundred dollars from under my pillow. "Only a hundred? This won't even buy me a lip gloss."

I froze.

She leaned in close, a sickening smirk playing on her lips. "Summer, you didn't actually think this money went to the victims, did you? Back then, I was the one playing with magnesium powder and caused the spark. My mom opened the gas valve, locked the door from the outside, and made you the perfect scapegoat."

*Boom—*

My mind went entirely blank.

Brenda looked down at me with cold, dead eyes. "Your parents were just cheap blue-collar workers. Taking the fall for Chloe was the only useful thing you could ever do."

The heavy door slammed shut. Darkness consumed me.

Sheer hatred tore through my veins. If I could just do it all over again—!

***