In that instant, her ordinary sense of hearing was amplified a million times over.
The rustle of earthworms burrowing through the soil. The muffled whimpers of a stray cat in a distant corner. The shouts of teenagers and the dull thud of a basketball on a court three kilometers away. It was all as clear as if it were happening right beside her.
'Thank you, little cat.'
After paying her respects to the cat, she led her son, Leo Lawrence, away by the hand. Suddenly, the phone in her bag vibrated. The name on the screen—Tiana Lynch—made her frown.
In her past life, Tiana Lynch had stolen her credit, her friends—her everything.
She answered the call slowly, her Cat's Hearing instantly locking onto every sound on the other end.
"Sue, where are you? The company celebration is just waiting on you. If you don't get here soon, you'll have to take a penalty shot!"
The background was a cacophony of clinking glasses, deafening music, and the boisterous laughter of men and women flirting. But as a heavy figure sat down beside Tiana Lynch, Sue caught a whisper that was almost completely drowned out by the noise.
Without her Cat's Hearing, she might have missed the muffled whisper, but now she heard it perfectly. It was Jason Sterling's voice, filled with undisguised malice: "Get her over here. We'll find an excuse tonight to kick her to the curb. We can't have that dead weight with us when the apocalypse hits in a month."
Sue's heart clenched.
'They're Reincarnators, too?'
She swallowed the refusal that was on the tip of her tongue. "Sure," she said. "I'm on my way."
Hanging up, she crouched down to look at Leo.
"Leo, Mommy's going to take you to your aunt's place first. When I'm done with work, we'll go to Grandpa's house. We're not going to deal with bad people ever again."
'In the whole family, only her sister-in-law understood her. She would often sneak around behind everyone's backs to help watch her son. It was such a shame she died so horribly in the last life, and her child along with her.'
'But not this time.'
She hailed a taxi to the office, left Leo with Jenny Norris, then turned and headed straight for the private club.
The moment she pushed open the door to the private room, every eye snapped to her. A scrutinizing look flashed across the faces of Tiana Lynch and her three companions. It was the look of a Reincarnator testing a potential peer, as sinister as the tip of a poisoned needle.
"Sue, you're late! Penalty shot, penalty shot!"
Mia Keller rushed over, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the table.
'This was her best friend, her roommate since high school. In her past life, Mia had been the only one who tried to protect her, and she had died covering Sue's escape, devoured by the horde.'
Sue looked at her friend's vibrant, smiling face, and her eyes grew hot. She gave Mia's hand a firm, silent squeeze as they sat down together.
A glass of harsh liquor was thrust into her hand. Sue tipped her head back and downed it, a fire searing its way down her throat. All the while, her ears were pricked, her Cat's Hearing Superpower on full blast, catching every word of the whispers between Tiana Lynch and her three cohorts.
"She seems normal. Doesn't look like she's a Reincarnator." Maeve Walsh's voice was hushed, tinged with uncertainty.
"So what if she is? Without her connections to those supply caches, she's useless."
"We'll test her during Truth or Dare in a bit. If she's really a Reincarnator, we'll get rid of her tonight. It'll save us trouble during the apocalypse." Donovan Lawrence's voice was utterly vicious, holding none of the warmth you'd expect from a cousin.
'The four of them thought she couldn't hear, but she was catching every last word.'
Sue's knuckles whitened around her glass. She knew this game was a matter of life and death.
Soon enough, the bottle for Truth or Dare spun to a stop, pointing at Donovan Lawrence and Jason Sterling. They exchanged a glance and chose "Truth".
Mia Keller playfully called out, "Jason! Are you still in love with our Sue?"
All eyes focused on Jason Sterling. Sue looked up too, her expression a perfect picture of shyness and hope. Inwardly, however, she was roiling with disgust.
Jason Sterling's brow furrowed. "Let me use this chance to make things clear. Sue, I've never liked you. The sight of that bastard son of yours makes me sick. Stop pestering me from now on. It'd be best if we never saw each other again."
Mia's face went white with fury. She shot to her feet. "Jason! How could you say that?!"
Jason shrugged, looking completely unfazed. "Mia's the one who asked. I'm just telling the truth."
Sue acted as though his words had cut her to the quick, her voice catching as if she were about to cry. "Good. In that case, I have something to say, too."
Her gaze swept over every person in the room as she spoke, enunciating each word. "I'm quitting this company. As of today, we go our separate ways. We have nothing to do with each other anymore!"
'She had founded this company, built it up with everyone here. But now, she didn't want it. In this life, she would not get tangled up with these people again. The extreme cold, the scorching heat, the tides of the dead—they could have it all to themselves. She wasn't playing along. Goodbye!'
Her sudden declaration was met with little reaction. Only Mia looked frantic. "No, don't! Jason was just angry, Sue. Please, reconsider?"
"There's nothing to think about. I'd better leave now, so I don't make anyone sick!"
With that, she turned to leave. 'Good,' she thought. 'Now that I've made things clear, no one will be suspicious when I start doing things on my own.'
"Wait!" Donovan Lawrence suddenly stood up, blocking her path.
He glanced at Tiana Lynch. After getting a silent nod of approval, a vicious smile twisted his lips. "I haven't given my 'truth' yet."
Sue raised an eyebrow. 'Here it comes,' she thought. 'The test.'
She took a deep breath, schooling her features and preparing to face him calmly.
"Sue, your son is dead!"
The words were a poisoned dagger, stabbing straight into Sue's heart.
Images from her past life flooded her mind: screams, the horde of the dead, the cold, indifferent eyes of her friends…
She trembled, seized by the urge to snap the necks of every single one of them.
'But she couldn't. This was a deliberate test, a trap. Only a fool would walk into it.'
SLAP.
Sue's hand shot up, and she slapped Donovan hard across the face.
The sharp crack echoed through the private room. Everyone was stunned.
"You bastard!" Sue's eyes were bloodshot. "Donovan, don't think you can spew whatever filth you want just because you're my cousin! Leo is my life! If anyone ever dares wish death on him again, I'll tear them limb from limb, even if it means going to prison!"
Her hysterical outburst was the perfect performance of a mother who had been pushed past her breaking point.
'No one suspected a thing. It was exactly how she would have reacted in her past life.'
She glared at everyone in the room. "You're the ones who disgust me!"
She slammed the door and stormed out, leaving a room full of people staring at one another in shock.
Mia was beside herself. "What is wrong with you people?!" she shrieked. "Why would you treat Sue like that? She's the one who suggested starting this company in the first place! Every single one of you has benefited from her kindness. She's helped all of you!"
But no one paid her any mind.
Tiana Lynch, Jason Sterling, Donovan Lawrence, and Maeve Walsh huddled together, their faces certain.
"Looks like she isn't a Reincarnator. Her reaction was identical to last time," Maeve Walsh said, sighing in relief.
"A useless weakling who only knows how to throw a fit. We're better off without her."
"One less person to split supplies with. Our odds are better now."
"There's no room for kind-hearted people in the apocalypse."