Reborn at the Reunion I Exposed the Class That Framed MeChapter 1
Ten-year class reunion. Glasses clinking in the private room, the air thick with cheap nostalgia.
Nelson Whitney stood up without warning and slammed his palm on the table.
"Let me tell you all a secret. Our class? Every last one of us—scum. Cancer on society."
"That assault near campus back in the day? That was us."
"Russ Pruitt was the ringleader. I was the brains."
The whole room burst out laughing, sure he was just running his mouth.
Nelson stuck out his tongue. "Kidding. Just livening things up."
But a second later, he pulled out his phone. "Thing is, I've got proof. Here's the video from the attack. Here are the group chat logs. And here—a photo of our class beauty Laurel Fox, knife in hand, in the middle of it."
On the screen, a photo of me holding a knife. Clear as day.
He'd said my name. The class beauty. I looked around at the old classmates—the same ones who'd shoved me off the rooftop of that karaoke lounge in my last life—and slowly set down the glass I'd raised.
Last life, I tried to explain. They pushed me off anyway. This time, I said nothing.
Someone had called the police. An officer pushed through the door. "Who's Laurel Fox?"
——
The officer stood in the doorway of the private room.
"Officer, it's her! She's the one who ran the whole thing back then!" Nelson pointed at me, shouting.
My classmates scattered in an instant, leaving me stranded in the center of the room.
Russ Pruitt, the class monitor, shouldered his way up to the officer.
"Officer—we were all begging her to turn herself in just now, and she threatened to kill every one of us if we talked."
I looked at these old classmates. The same ones who'd pushed me off a thirtieth-floor rooftop in my last life.
Back then, I'd fought to explain. The photo was doctored. The person in the video wasn't me.
They'd just laughed. "It's a joke, relax. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
Then Damian Delgado led the way and pushed me over the edge.
"I'm Laurel Fox." I wiped the corner of my mouth.
The lead officer stepped forward and flashed his badge.
"You've been reported on suspicion of organizing a criminal syndicate and connection to the stabbing case in the alley behind the college district ten years ago. You'll need to come with us."
The handcuffs closed around my wrists.