Chapter 2: Reborn as the Enemy's Child

Darkness.

It stretched endlessly around Mia like an ocean without beginning or end. There was no pain anymore. No screams. No boiling water. No laughter from the girls who had destroyed her life.

Only silence.

For what felt like an eternity, she drifted through the emptiness.

Then...

A faint heartbeat echoed somewhere nearby.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Another sound followed.

Soft voices.

"Push! Just one more push!"

"I can see the baby's head!"

"Congratulations! It's almost over!"

Baby?

Mia frowned.

Was someone else dying?

Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure surrounded her.

Her entire body felt squeezed from every direction.

She tried to move, but she couldn't.

Then came a blinding light.

"She's here!"

"It's a healthy baby girl!"

Cold air struck her skin.

Instinctively, she opened her mouth.

"Waaaah!"

The loud cry startled even herself.

Wait...

Why did I sound like that?

She blinked repeatedly, but her vision remained blurry. Everything looked oversized. Strange faces leaned over her, smiling brightly.

"Such beautiful green eyes," one nurse said.

"She's absolutely adorable."

"Look at those tiny fingers!"

Tiny... fingers?

Mia looked down.

Her heart nearly stopped.

Her hands were impossibly small.

Soft.

Round.

A baby's hands.

"No..."

She wanted to scream.

"What happened to me?"

Instead...

"Goo... aaah..."

Only meaningless baby sounds escaped her mouth.

Panic spread through her mind.

She remembered everything.

The school.

The bullying.

The knife.

The jump.

Her death.

"Impossible..."

A warm blanket wrapped around her tiny body.

One of the nurses gently carried her across the delivery room.

"Would you like to hold your daughter, Mrs. Smith?"

Smith?

Mia's thoughts froze.

"Did she just say... Smith?"

The nurse smiled warmly before placing Mia into another woman's arms.

"Here she is."

"Your beautiful little princess."

Mia slowly looked upward.

The woman holding her had long black hair, flawless skin, and striking blue eyes.

Although she appeared exhausted from childbirth, her face was unmistakable.

Time seemed to stop.

"No..."

"It can't be..."

The woman smiled lovingly.

"Hello, my precious baby."

"Mommy's finally holding you."

Mia's tiny body froze completely.

Xena Smith.

It was her.

The same girl.

The same monster.

The same person who had tortured her until death.

Now...

She was smiling like the kindest mother in the world.

"No!"

Rage exploded inside Mia.

"You're not my mother!"

"You're my murderer!"

She threw her tiny arms forward with all the strength she possessed.

Her tiny fingers reached toward Xena's face.

Specifically...

Her eyes.

"Aww!"

The nurse laughed.

"Look how energetic she is already."

"She wants to touch your face."

Only Mia knew the truth.

"I was trying to scratch your eyes out!"

Unfortunately...

Her newborn body had almost no strength.

Her tiny hand barely brushed Xena's cheek.

"She's so cute," Xena giggled.

"Already reaching for Mommy."

"Mommy?"

"Don't call yourself that!"

Mia wanted to scream.

Instead...

"Waaaah!"

She burst into tears.

The nurses smiled knowingly.

"She's hungry."

"No!"

"I'm furious!"

Nobody understood.

Xena gently rocked her.

"It's okay, sweetheart."

"Mommy's here."

Every word made Mia angrier.

"You don't deserve to hold me."

"You don't deserve happiness."

"You ruined my life!"

Hours later...

Mia lay quietly inside a small hospital crib.

Her emotions had finally settled enough for her to think clearly.

"Calm down," she told herself.

"Panicking won't change anything."

"Think."

"I'm definitely dead."

"And somehow... I've been reborn."

"As... her daughter."

Even thinking those words felt unbelievable.

She glanced toward the hospital bed.

Xena slept peacefully while holding one of Mia's tiny socks in her hand.

She looked nothing like the cruel girl from school.

There was no arrogance.

No hatred.

Only exhaustion and... happiness.

"Is she pretending?"

Mia wondered.

"Or has she always fooled everyone?"

The hospital room door opened.

A tall man entered carrying a bouquet of white lilies.

"Honey," he whispered.

"You did amazing."

He leaned down and kissed Xena gently on the forehead.

"How's our daughter?"

Xena smiled warmly.

"Perfect."

"She has your eyes."

"No," he laughed.

"She definitely has yours."

Mia stared silently.

She had never seen this man before.

He certainly wasn't the spoiled rich teenager Xena used to date in high school.

Instead...

He seemed gentle.

Kind.

"What's your name?" Mia wondered.

"Will she treat you the same way she treated everyone else?"

The man carefully picked Mia up.

"Hello there, little princess."

"I'm your dad."

His warm smile felt... genuine.

For the first time since awakening, Mia felt confused instead of angry.

"How can someone like Xena marry someone like him?"

"None of this makes sense."

Later that night...

The hospital became quiet.

Both parents had fallen asleep.

Moonlight streamed through the window onto Mia's crib.

Unable to sleep, she stared at the ceiling.

"If this is really my second life..."

"Then I won't waste it."

"You stole everything from me once, Xena."

"My future."

"My dreams."

"My life."

Her tiny fists slowly clenched.

"Now fate has given me something even better than revenge."

"It placed me inside your family."

"I'll grow up right under your nose."

"I'll uncover every secret you hide."

"I'll make you lose everything... exactly the way I lost everything."

A cold determination settled inside her heart.

From the outside...

She looked like an innocent sleeping baby.

Inside...

The soul of Mia Zeller had already declared war.

Neither she nor Xena realized...

Their second life together was about to reveal secrets far darker than simple school bullying.

And somewhere in the darkness...

Someone was already watching the newborn child with great interest.