Reborn to Save My Daughter The Cellar ConspiracyChapter 1

During the New Year's Day holiday, my husband took me and our daughter back to his hometown.

My in-laws hosted me warmly, and a group of kids whisked my daughter off to play hide-and-seek.

By lunchtime, she still hadn't come back. Her phone watch had malfunctioned.

We searched everywhere—and found her black-and-purple corpse in the cellar.

I ran to the police station, but my in-laws' entire family dragged me back.

"Maya was just too playful. She hid in the wrong place. You can't blame anyone."

I fought to break free and call the police, but they locked me in the cellar. I suffocated to death.

When I opened my eyes again, it was 15 minutes before we'd left.

I yanked open the car door. My daughter—sent ahead of time—sat obediently in her car seat.

Terror seized me. Was I going to relive the whole thing?

——

"Why did you bring Maya back?"

My voice shook as I climbed into the back seat and pulled her tight against me.

Austin Mason started the car. "Mom and Dad missed her. We're working through the holiday anyway—good chance to let them see their granddaughter."

"But my mom missed her too. She called specifically to ask Maya to stay with her."

"If you're working, I'll take Maya myself. It's freezing in your hometown. She just got over the flu—she shouldn't go."

I grabbed the door handle and lifted my daughter, ready to leave.

Austin locked the doors and shot me a look. "Zoey, your mom lives in the building right behind us. She sees Maya every day. My parents don't have that."

"Last year I wanted to bring Maya back, and you said she was too young. My parents didn't get to see her."

"They came all the way from the countryside, and you said she's shy around strangers. They still didn't get to see her."

"Zoey, Maya is a Mason. I get that you mind that my parents are from the village—"

"That's not what I mean." I cut him off. "Maya's been sickly since she was born. She's shy. I wasn't trying to keep your parents from seeing her."

Austin's expression darkened. "I know you want what's best for her. But my parents would never hurt her."

My heart lurched. I thought of the hide-and-seek that killed my daughter in my previous life.

The moment we arrived, my in-laws and Austin's three younger sisters swarmed around me—asking after my health, fussing over me with exaggerated warmth.