raising nora again💖(telegram@linkeex)
Watch the full short drama with English subtitles. CEO, billionaire, revenge, betrayal — complete story in one video.
#shortdrama #ceodrama #drama #revenge #fullmovie #englishsub #reelshort #dramabox #miniseries #love #betrayal #drama2026
Watch the full short drama with English subtitles. CEO, billionaire, revenge, betrayal — complete story in one video.
#shortdrama #ceodrama #drama #revenge #fullmovie #englishsub #reelshort #dramabox #miniseries #love #betrayal #drama2026
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:001996, Texas. I suddenly jerk up from the sink, gasping for air. Water drips from my thick blonde hair. I
00:00:06stare at the mirror in shock. The face staring back at me is vibrant, beautiful, full of life. Vintage smoky
00:00:11eye makeup framing a chalky teenage face. 18. You young, healthy, cancer-free. I've been thrown back into the dead
00:00:18-end Texas high school years my mom spent her entire life clawing her way out of. Suddenly, the bathroom door
00:00:24swings open. A familiar grapefruit perfume hits me instantly. It's Valerie, my 18-year-old mother.
00:00:30Her hair is pulled into a high-tony tail, high-waisted jeans hugging her hips, a white tam-top straight
00:00:34out of a 90s teen magazine.
00:00:36Come on, the pep lolly's about to start. She yanks me forward hard enough to make me stumble. But instead
00:00:40of following her, I freeze.
00:00:42Stare at the young face in front of me, untouched by wealth, untouched by surgery, untouched by the years that
00:00:47twisted her into a monster.
00:00:49Valerie, we're... friends? Uh, duh, we're best friends. Why are you being so weird today? Come on!
00:00:55She turns and keeps pulling me towards the door. Half a step behind her, I stare at her back. The
00:00:59confusion in my eyes vanishes instantly, replaced by something cold, something vicious.
00:01:04The school's public address system drones on from the loudspeaker's overhead, buzzing with the daily lunch menu.
00:01:09Pizza slices, tater tots, and chocolate milk.
00:01:12Valerie pulls me through the crowded hallway, her hand warm and dry in mine.
00:01:16And then it hits me again. That sharp grapefruit perfume. The scent wraps around me so suddenly, my breath catches.
00:01:24It was the smell I knew best as a child. Before I turned five, she used to hold me in
00:01:29her arms, humming old country songs and asking if I loved her.
00:01:32But after she ditched me to chase her high school sweetheart to the big city, that scent only ever showed
00:01:38up in my nightmares.
00:01:39Scarlet, you've been acting weird all day.
00:01:42Scarlet? God, even this body's name sucks.
00:01:45Carefully, I slip my hand out of hers. My eyes swamp across the hallway.
00:01:49The dented locker numbers, the faded football team pictures, the bulletin board plastered with fall semester 1996.
00:01:55Cheerleaders rush past us, ponytails flying, while some varsity asshole has a scrawny kid pinned against a logger, shaking him
00:02:02down for lunch money.
00:02:03This isn't a dream. I'm really back in the 90s.
00:02:06That's when a tall, lanky guy with glasses started walking toward us.
00:02:10Hector, my mother's first love. The man who ruined all our lives.
00:02:14Hey, this is my Scarlet. She just transferred it in. Scarlet, meet Hector.
00:02:17Straight A student, total teacher's pet, basically tutoring half the school.
00:02:21Hey, I'm Hector. Welcome to East Ridge.
00:02:24The second I hear his name, my stomach turns.
00:02:28I ignore his hand completely and scan the noisy hallway for the one person who should have been here.
00:02:33Where's my dad? Austin should be at this school too.
00:02:37Wait! Austin's not in your class?
00:02:39Austin? There's no Austin in this entire school.
00:02:44Austin Walker! My dad! He's not- he's not here!
00:02:49Your dad?
00:02:51Just as I'm scrambling for an excuse, a roar erupts from the end of the hallway and saves me.
00:02:56The pep rally's starting.
00:02:57You coming or what?
00:02:59Sunlight spills across her shoulders.
00:03:01For a second, she looks nothing like the woman who would one day watch me die without blinking.
00:03:04The gym is loud, humilded, packed wall-to-wall.
00:03:09Football players in red jerseys charge onto the court while cheerleaders shake palm balls under the flashing lights.
00:03:14The bleachers thunder with stomping feet and screaming students.
00:03:18This Friday, let's show East Ridge who really runs this town!
00:03:22The crowd explodes.
00:03:24She's radiant up there.
00:03:26Beside me, Hector adjusts his glasses, eyes fixed on her.
00:03:29She's gonna get out of this town someday.
00:03:31He says it like he already knows the future.
00:03:34I don't answer.
00:03:35I just stare at Valerie beneath the spotlight.
00:03:38After the rally, students pour out of the gym.
00:03:41The halls fill with slamming lockers and overlapping conversations again.
00:03:46People argue about Friday's game.
00:03:48Girls debate who's gonna win prom queen.
00:03:50Last period is study hall.
00:03:52Valerie sits one row ahead of me by the window.
00:03:55Her notes neat enough to look typed.
00:03:57As she flips a page, something slips out from between her books.
00:04:01A pale green application packet.
00:04:04Harvard University.
00:04:05My breathing catches.
00:04:06She actually got an application.
00:04:08But later in life, she always says Harvard was never an option for someone like her.
00:04:12So that was a lie too.
00:04:13Valerie, your future turns out cheap and pathetic anyway.
00:04:16So why are you out here pretend to be some gifted golden girl right now?
00:04:19It makes me sick.
00:04:20I rise from my seat.
00:04:21Then, with one sharp shove of my elbow, I knock over the black coffee on her desk.
00:04:26The dark liquid spills perfectly across the application packet, soaking through the giant
00:04:30Harvard crest until the ink begins to bleed.
00:04:32I stare at her coldly, waiting for her to snap.
00:04:36Waiting for the mask to fall off.
00:04:37Waiting to finally see the real Valerie underneath all that fake sweetness.
00:04:41But her reaction throws me completely off.
00:04:46Oh god, Scarlett, are you okay?
00:04:49She grabs a stack of napkins and immediately starts swiping coffee off my hand.
00:04:52There's real concern in her eyes.
00:04:53No anger.
00:04:54No blame.
00:04:55Not even irritation.
00:04:56It's wrong.
00:04:57She's too nice.
00:04:58So nice it scares me.
00:05:00Nice enough to make me wonder if the woman I remember was ever the real Valerie at all.
00:05:04Just then, the classroom door swings open.
00:05:07A Latino teacher steps inside and walks over to Valerie's desk.
00:05:11Hey Valerie, something came up with Scarlett's family.
00:05:14Kind of an emergency.
00:05:15Your parents called and asked if you could bring her home with you after school.
00:05:18An emergency?
00:05:20What the hell happened?
00:05:22By the time school lets out, the Texas sunset looks like the whole sky's on fire.
00:05:26Stadium lights flicker on one by one around the football field.
00:05:29The cheer squad is still practicing while snippets of 90s pop songs crack through the loudspears.
00:05:33Valerie walks a few steps ahead of me, her ponytail swaying softly behind her.
00:05:37She suddenly stops and turns to me gently.
00:05:39I heard about your parents.
00:05:41Scarlett, don't be scared, okay?
00:05:42You've still got me.
00:05:43We're best friends.
00:05:44Then she pulls me into a hug.
00:05:45I'm sorry for what happened.
00:05:46If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll always be here.
00:05:49That faint grapefruit scent wraps around me again.
00:05:51And just like that, I break.
00:05:53In my last life, there were countless nights when I would have given anything for this exact embrace.
00:05:57As I sob into her shoulder, I deliberately smears and snot all over her pretty shirt.
00:06:01Petty revenge.
00:06:02Pathetic, tiny revenge.
00:06:04But her arms are warm exactly the way I remember from childhood.
00:06:07So how the hell did someone like this become the woman who wouldn't even save my life?
00:06:12A bicycle bell rings behind us.
00:06:14Hector catches up, pushing an old bike with a paper box of cupcakes sitting in the basket.
00:06:18He adjusts his glasses awkwardly.
00:06:20Sugar helps.
00:06:21A little, anyway.
00:06:22I watch the two of them walking side by side beneath the football field lights,
00:06:25and something bitter twists in my chest.
00:06:27What, Hector?
00:06:28You gonna pick her up like this every day?
00:06:30Keep her stuck in this town and make her your wife someday?
00:06:32Hector stops walking.
00:06:33But when he looks at me, his expression is completely open and sincere.
00:06:38Valerie's meant for bigger things than this place.
00:06:39She's too talented to spend her life shrinking herself for some guy.
00:06:44That'd be...
00:06:45wrong.
00:06:46I freeze.
00:06:47Because I never imagined Hector would say something like that.
00:06:52I'm not getting stuck married with kids at 18.
00:06:55I want to see what's out there first.
00:06:57But you did have me at 18.
00:06:58You ended up trapped in a rotting trailer park full of violence and screaming and broken walls.
00:07:03Valerie, did your dreams betray you?
00:07:05The whole walk there, something about this timeline feels off in a way I can't explain.
00:07:11And then Valerie opens the front door.
00:07:14The smell of home-cooked food hits me instantly.
00:07:18So you're Scarlet, huh?
00:07:21Hi, Mr. Wyatt.
00:07:22Thanks for letting me stay over.
00:07:25He bursts out laughing and pulls me inside before I can even finish.
00:07:29The house is warm, spotless, lived in.
00:07:32There's a brand new pair of slippers waiting for me by the entryway,
00:07:35along with folded pajamas set out they'd been expecting me for days.
00:07:38The living room walls are lined with plaques, commendations, and framed Federal Service Award.
00:07:42On the TV, a local news station is covering a major drug trafficking case near the Texas border.
00:07:46A photo flashes on screen of two fallen narcotics agents.
00:07:49Your parents were good people, kiddo.
00:07:52Best partners I ever had.
00:07:54Real heroes.
00:07:55And from now on, this house is yours, too.
00:07:57You hear me?
00:07:57That's when it finally hits me.
00:07:59The parents belonging to this body are already dead.
00:08:02Dinner is loud and warm and painfully alive.
00:08:05Grandpa keeps piling food onto plates.
00:08:07Grandma laughs at everything.
00:08:08A dog nudges against my legs beneath the table.
00:08:10The kitchen light glows so warmly it almost hurts to look at.
00:08:13And across from me sits Valerie, laughing freely while her parents dole on her like she's
00:08:16the center of their universe.
00:08:18My chest tightens so hard it feels unbearable.
00:08:21This is insane.
00:08:22Like some cruel cosmic joke.
00:08:24She grew up surrounded by this much love.
00:08:26So how the hell did she become someone who could watch me die without a single shred of
00:08:31kindness?
00:08:31Late that night, Valerie and I lay side by side in the dark.
00:08:35There's been this huge cartel case near the border lately.
00:08:38I keep having nightmares something's going to happen to my parents.
00:08:42At 18, she looks so young.
00:08:44So fragile.
00:08:45Before sunrise, I wake to the sound of movement in the living room.
00:08:49Grandpa is sitting by the door, pulling on his police boots.
00:08:51I run out barefoot and grab onto his sleeve before he can leave.
00:08:54Mr. Wyatt, please be careful out there.
00:08:57He smiles and ruffles my hair.
00:08:58I will, kiddo.
00:08:59Promise I'll come home safe.
00:09:01Then he and Grandma disappear together into the pale border fog of early morning.
00:09:05And the dread in my chest only grows heavier.
00:09:10Valerie stumbles out of bed half asleep the next morning and stands in front of the mirror,
00:09:15completely lost, trying to fix her ponytail.
00:09:18God, she's hopeless.
00:09:19I walk over and quietly redo her hair for her.
00:09:22It's the first time in both my lives that I've ever been this close to her.
00:09:26Scarlett, how are you so good at this?
00:09:28And suddenly I remember how, when I was little, she always hacked my hair off into awful tomboy
00:09:33cuts.
00:09:33Maybe it wasn't coldness after all.
00:09:35Maybe 18-year-old Valerie just barely knew how to take care of herself.
00:09:38A bicycle bell rings outside the yard.
00:09:40Hector, right on schedule.
00:09:42He hands me an ice-cold soda, then stares at my face for a little too long.
00:09:47Scarlett, is it just me or are you starting to look more and more like Valerie?
00:09:51A chill shoots straight through me.
00:09:53Right before I died in my last life, I was barely recognizable, skin and bones from the
00:09:56cancer.
00:09:57But the last time I looked in a mirror, I realized something horrifying.
00:09:59I hadn't taken over someone else's body.
00:10:02I came back wearing my own 18-year-old face.
00:10:04Pretty girls always kind of look alike, right?
00:10:06Surrounded by all this warmth, I start wavering.
00:10:09It gets harder and harder to connect this version of Valerie to the woman from my last
00:10:13life.
00:10:14This girl is kind, bright, alive.
00:10:16I finally begin to understand why my dad, Austin, spent his whole life loving her even
00:10:20when she never truly loved him back.
00:10:22Part of me even starts thinking that when I finally meet him in this timeline, maybe I
00:10:26should tell him to fall for somebody else.
00:10:28But I never imagined that just as I started letting my guard down, hell was already opening
00:10:32its doors.
00:10:33School lets out early that day.
00:10:35Hector and I stop by a taco truck on the corner.
00:10:38Valerie says she's tired and asks us to grab her a baked potato before heading home ahead
00:10:43of us.
00:10:44We're almost at her house when an old pickup truck with no plates suddenly comes flying
00:10:48backward out of the driveway.
00:10:51Several tattooed men in masks jump into the bed of the truck.
00:10:54Then, a scream tears through the air.
00:10:57It's Valerie.
00:11:01Hector and I sprint toward the house so fast my lungs feel like they're tearing apart.
00:11:06The front door hangs crooked on its hinges, creaking heavily as it swings loosely against
00:11:11the broken frame.
00:11:12The second we step inside, the smell hits me.
00:11:14Blood, sweat, whiskey.
00:11:16The living room looks like a battlefield.
00:11:17Furniture overturned.
00:11:18Glass shattered everywhere.
00:11:19Family photos ripped from the walls.
00:11:21Blood smeared across the wooden floorboards in long streaps like someone had been dragged.
00:11:25Grandpa and Grandma lie motionless on the ground.
00:11:27And in the middle of the room, Valerie, covered in blood, curled up on the floor.
00:11:32A tattooed man stands nearby, calmly fixing his belt like nothing happened.
00:11:38Hector roars and charges at him, only to get kicked hard across the room.
00:11:42The stranger turns toward me slowly.
00:11:44Then he grabs my collar and jerks me forward so violently my feet leave the ground.
00:11:49Hector!
00:11:50The stench of blood and cigarettes floods my nose so hard I nearly gag.
00:11:55Well, damn.
00:11:56If it isn't Officer Miller's kid.
00:11:58Lucky day for you, sweetheart.
00:12:00Boss already told us to pull out.
00:12:02Otherwise, you'd have been a lot of fun, too.
00:12:04He spits onto the floor beside me and turns to leave.
00:12:08Behind him, Valerie curls tighter into herself, desperately clutching the ripped fabric over
00:12:13her chest.
00:12:14A broken sound escapes her throat.
00:12:16Something inside me snaps.
00:12:18I throw myself forward and grab the man's pant leg with both hands.
00:12:21Moonlight spills through the shattered window, sliding across the side of his face.
00:12:25That jawline.
00:12:26That scar near his mouth.
00:12:27That voice.
00:12:28My entire body freezes.
00:12:30The world goes completely silent around me, because he isn't some random cartel thug.
00:12:35He's Austin.
00:12:37My father.
00:12:41Hector scrambles to the wall and grabs the landline.
00:12:44But the phone cord has already been cut.
00:12:49You brought this on yourself, you little bitch!
00:12:52He lunges at me and starts ripping at my clothes, yanking violently at my collar.
00:12:57Trying to save me, Hector throws himself at Austin again, without a second thought.
00:13:01In the chaos, I catch a flash of murder in Austin's eyes.
00:13:05He suddenly pulls a hunting knife from the back of his waist hand.
00:13:08And in that instant, I completely lose it.
00:13:11Without thinking, I grab the blade with my bare hand.
00:13:14My dad?
00:13:15How could this be my dad?
00:13:16Tears crash into the growing pool of blood beneath me.
00:13:20The man I loved most growing up.
00:13:22The father who raised me in that trailer park with nothing.
00:13:25How could it be you?
00:13:26You're a rapist now.
00:13:27A murderer.
00:13:28I can't take it.
00:13:29I feel like I'm losing my mind.
00:13:31But the sharp pain slicing through my palm and Valier's desperate sobbing remind me this
00:13:36is real.
00:13:37I clamp down on the knife with everything I have and scream hysterically at Hector.
00:13:42Hector, run!
00:13:44Go get help!
00:13:45Go!
00:13:45Now!
00:13:46Blood streams down Hector's face as he staggers toward the door and bolts outside.
00:13:51And the second he's gone, Austin completely snaps.
00:13:55With a vicious twist of his wrist, he jerks the knife free and points the blade straight
00:14:00at my throat.
00:14:04But just then, my grandmother, who had been lying motionless in a pool of blood, somehow
00:14:09forces herself back up with the last bit of strength she has left.
00:14:13Austin turns, ready to stab her next.
00:14:18No!
00:14:18I slam into him with everything I have.
00:14:21The blade plunges straight into my stomach.
00:14:24Warmth explodes through my body.
00:14:26Then comes the pain.
00:14:27Endless, crushing pain.
00:14:29I press both hands against the wound, holding onto the knife with everything I've got so Austin
00:14:33and can't pull it back out.
00:14:35You can't kill them.
00:14:38You can't.
00:14:40You can't.
00:14:40I'm crying, choking as blood pours from my mouth in heavy bursts.
00:14:44But Austin just twists the knife cruelly inside me.
00:14:48The agony sends me collapsing to my knees in the blood.
00:14:52That's when Grandma suddenly wraps both arms around Austin's neck from behind and drags
00:14:56him to the floor with every ounce of strength she has left.
00:14:59My grandfather, already covered in blood, grabs onto Austin's leg and refuses to let go.
00:15:04Realizing he's about to get caught, Austin curses violently, kicks himself free from them,
00:15:09and climbs out the window, disappearing into the darkness near the border.
00:15:12Scarlet!
00:15:14Scarlet, stay with me!
00:15:16Please don't close your eyes!
00:15:18Through my fading vision, I feel Valerie pulling me into her arms.
00:15:23My consciousness is already slipping away, sobbing controllably.
00:15:27With tears and blood all over my face, I still try to take off my jacket and cover her with
00:15:30it.
00:15:31But I'm too weak.
00:15:32My arm barely lifts halfway before it drops limply into the blood.
00:15:35In the distance, sirens scream through the night.
00:15:38I hear Hector crying as he rushes back inside with the police.
00:15:41Then everything goes dark.
00:15:43Somewhere far away, voices echo around me as I'm lifted onto a stretcher.
00:15:48She's flatlining! Move! Get the defibrillator! Now!
00:15:53When I finally open my eyes again, all I see is the pale white ceiling of a hospital room.
00:15:57Sitting beside my bed is Hector.
00:15:58When he ran for help, Austin's men caught him and beat him half to death.
00:16:01The second he sees me awake, arrogant genius completely falls apart.
00:16:04He wipes his eyes while gripping to entail...
00:16:06You were the last one to wake up.
00:16:08Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?
00:16:11You scared the hell out of us!
00:16:12He's crying so hard, it's a complete mess.
00:16:14Tears, snot, everything.
00:16:15At one point, he even spits on my face while talking.
00:16:17I let out a weak laugh.
00:16:18The anesthesia still hasn't fully worn over.
00:16:20I can't really feel pain yet, just heavy numbness all over my body.
00:16:22I look at him anxiously.
00:16:23Valerie's parents and Valerie, are they okay?
00:16:27Her folks made it to the hospital just in time.
00:16:30If that knife had hit either of them, any worse.
00:16:33I struggle to sit up, desperate to see her, but before I can move, the hospital room door slowly opens.
00:16:38Valerie is standing there.
00:16:39Her eyes look hollow, and when she looks at me, there's something shattered in them I can't even begin to
00:16:44explain.
00:16:45I say her name softly.
00:16:46She nods faintly and walks over.
00:16:47Her cold fingers are justly on my shoulder.
00:16:49Does it hurt?
00:16:50I shake my head.
00:16:51Looking at her red-rimmed eyes, I force a small smile.
00:16:55Have you been crying?
00:16:57She doesn't answer.
00:16:58She just holds my hand tighter and gently squeezes my cheek like she's afraid I'll disappear.
00:17:01Then suddenly, she lowers her head and tears drip onto the back of my hand.
00:17:05Thank you, Scarlet.
00:17:06If it weren't for you, I would have lost my parents.
00:17:10I look at the 18-year-old version of my mother standing in front of me, her fate already completely
00:17:14changed because of me.
00:17:16I sniff hard, holding back tears.
00:17:18I don't say a single word.
00:17:19I just let her tears soak into my skin before slowly lifting my free hand and placing it softly over
00:17:24the trembling hand resting on my shoulder.
00:17:28Valerie looks down at my hand covering hers, as if she understands the comfort in my eyes.
00:17:34She takes a deep breath.
00:17:37Tears still cling to her lashes, but for the first time in forever, her voice carries a little relief.
00:17:43I've got good news.
00:17:44The case is over.
00:17:45The cartel operation finally got busted.
00:17:48Every single person involved in the attack was caught near the border.
00:17:51My parents can finally rest for a while.
00:17:53The moment I hear Austin and the traffickers were all arrested, my entire mind goes blank.
00:17:58Relief crashes over me so hard I almost shoot upright in the hospital bed.
00:18:02Wait, seriously?
00:18:03They caught all of them?
00:18:06Yes, seriously, now stop moving before you rip your stitches open.
00:18:10The crushing weight that haunted me through both lifetimes finally disappears at that moment.
00:18:13Meanwhile, Hector, who has been sitting nearby this entire time, calmly peels a banana like nothing's happening.
00:18:19Doctor said you should eat this.
00:18:20You've already woken up a few times these past couple days.
00:18:22You've managed to pass gas, so now they're just waiting to see if you can finally have a bowel movement.
00:18:27Coming from someone usually this serious, it's so absurd I completely lose it.
00:18:31Unfortunately, the second I laugh, pain rips through the stitches in my abdomen.
00:18:34I immediately hiss in pain, clutching my stomach.
00:18:36Valerie starts laughing too, but after a few seconds her laughter fades.
00:18:39Tears suddenly begin falling again without warning.
00:18:41She tries to cry quietly.
00:18:43She doesn't want either of us to notice.
00:18:45Hector's smile slowly disappears too.
00:18:47I wrap both arms tightly around this 18-year-old girl.
00:18:50At that moment, through my chest is no longer the hatred I carried in my previous life.
00:18:54Mom, if I had known my biologed father was the monster who destroyed your entire family,
00:19:00how could I ever have hated you?
00:19:01I would have only hated myself for ever being born, since fate gave me another chance.
00:19:07Then this time, I'll set you free.
00:19:11After surviving the nightmare, the little Texas town slowly comes back to life.
00:19:15Once I'm discharged from the hospital, my grandparents take me home.
00:19:18Grandpa proudly hands me a limited edition Barbie doll he brought back from New York.
00:19:21In my previous life, it was the only toy my mother had ever given me.
00:19:24But this time, somehow, it heals me first.
00:19:26Then Grandma completely hijacks what was supposed to be an emotional family dinner
00:19:30with giant sizzling Texas steaks, oversized cowboy hats and boots that look straight out
00:19:33of a Hollywood audition, and enough chaos to turn the whole night upside down.
00:19:37Even Hector, who normally acts way too composed for his age, finally laughs without holding back.
00:19:43But beneath the warm yellow glow of the dinner lights, the conversation eventually turns to goodbye.
00:19:48Hector's mother lifts her wine glass, eyes red and swollen,
00:19:50and quietly announces that they're moving back to Boston before Thanksgiving.
00:19:53She can't handle the danger near the border anymore.
00:19:56And in that moment, a misunderstanding from both my lifetimes finally unravels.
00:20:00In my previous life, Hector never left because he looked down on my mother's reputation.
00:20:05His mother had simply watched her son nearly die.
00:20:08Any parent would have wanted to run from this place after that.
00:20:10As an old country song crackles through the radio in the background,
00:20:14we start talking about the future.
00:20:16Valerie asks where I want to go to school someday.
00:20:18I look at her, the girl whose entire future was crushed fate in my previous life.
00:20:23An answer without hesitation.
00:20:25Harvard.
00:20:26Under the endless Texas night sky, with the Milky Way stretched above her like a dream,
00:20:29I finally understand the suffocating pain she carried in her previous life.
00:20:32I turn my head slightly and whisper so softly that only I can hear it.
00:20:35Mom, this time go live your life.
00:20:37Chase your dreams.
00:20:38Be yourself again.
00:20:38As for me, I'll stay behind in the darkness of this timeline.
00:20:41The day Hector leaves, the boy who has always been calm and restrained completely breaks
00:20:45down the moment he steps onto the bus.
00:20:47Clinging to the window, he cries so hard he can barely breathe.
00:20:50And then the bus slowly pulls away, kicking up clouds of Texas dust before disappearing
00:20:54at the end of the highway.
00:20:55Watching the bus vanish into the distance, I think life might finally return to normal.
00:21:00But fate still isn't done with me yet.
00:21:01Something happened to Valerie.
00:21:05After seeing Hector off, we head home through the bitter Texas winter wind.
00:21:09I cling tightly to Valerie's arm, trying my best to keep the mood light while talking
00:21:12excitedly about Christmas dinner plans.
00:21:13Mr. Wyatt's brisket has to be there.
00:21:14And Mr. Wyatt's smoked pulled pork too.
00:21:16No argument.
00:21:16This year, we are eating like royalty.
00:21:18I'm still rambling happily when Valerie's expression suddenly changes.
00:21:21Without warning, she jerks her arm out of my grasp.
00:21:24Like a frightened deer, she stumbles towards a trash can on the side of the road, bends over,
00:21:28and starts violently throwing up.
00:21:29She vomits so hard there's eventually nothing left except bitter dry humps.
00:21:33By the end, she can barely stay standing.
00:21:35She grips a freezing telephone pole for support.
00:21:38Her whole body trembling violently.
00:21:40Her face drained completely white.
00:21:42My mind goes blank.
00:21:43The smile freezes on my face.
00:21:46Watching her clutch her stomach and reek in pain,
00:21:49a terrifying cold realization crawls slowly up my spine like ice water.
00:21:56Those symptoms.
00:21:58No.
00:21:59No way.
00:22:04You...
00:22:05You're pregnant?
00:22:06No.
00:22:08Valerie instinctively places a hand over her stomach.
00:22:11Her eyes are filled with the kind of panic and confusion no 18-year-old girl should ever have to
00:22:17carry.
00:22:17What happened that night may have been stopped halfway through,
00:22:20but some nightmares had already rerouted themselves deep in the dark.
00:22:25She looks at me helplessly, tears trembling in her eyes.
00:22:29I...
00:22:30I don't know, Scarlett.
00:22:32I thought maybe it was just stress lately.
00:22:35I haven't had much appetite,
00:22:37and I kept feeling nauseous.
00:22:39Come on.
00:22:40We're going to the clinic.
00:22:41Now.
00:22:42I don't even let her finish speaking.
00:22:44I grab her hand and practically drag her down the street toward the town's small community clinic.
00:22:51The doctor on duty is an elderly Cuban-American woman with silver hair, Dr. Ramirez.
00:22:56She isn't just the only general practitioner in town.
00:22:58She's also one of Grandma Wyatt's oldest friends, and her tells alongside her years ago.
00:23:03The second Dr. Romero sees Valerie's face, and the sheer panic in my eyes,
00:23:07her sharp, battle-wurned gaze immediately narrows.
00:23:10Wasting another second, she starts ushering every remaining patient out of the clinic.
00:23:15The entire room falls into suffocating silence.
00:23:20Tell me what's going on.
00:23:22My scalp precles with dread as I quickly explain Valerie's nausea and vomiting.
00:23:26The old doctor says nothing after hearing me out,
00:23:29but a deep, piercing sorrow flashes through her eyes.
00:23:32She quietly takes Valerie into the examination room in the back.
00:23:36The moment the door closes, all the strength drains out of me.
00:23:39I collapse into the cold metal chair outside the office,
00:23:42shoving both hands deep into my hair.
00:23:44More than anyone else, I know exactly where I came from.
00:23:47And because of that, a horrifying truth finally pieces itself together in my mind.
00:23:51In my previous life, Austin, the man who raised me after showing Valerie's life,
00:23:54was actually released from prison early.
00:23:56After committing crimes like that, he still got out in less than 20 years.
00:24:00Back then, when the case went to court, Valerie must have stayed silent.
00:24:03Maybe to hide the shame of being pregnant as a teenager.
00:24:05Maybe to protect the Wyatt family's reputation.
00:24:08Whatever the reason, her silence helped set a monster free.
00:24:11The guilt of my own existence tears through me like a dull blade.
00:24:14This nightmare destroyed a brilliant girl who was supposed to go to Harvard.
00:24:17And the one thing it gave back to the world was a demon.
00:24:21Half an hour later, the exam room door slowly creaks open.
00:24:25Dr. Ramirez steps outside, looking exhausted.
00:24:28She gently pats my shoulder.
00:24:31Scarlet, go get Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt for me.
00:24:36The moment the truth comes out, the house, which had barely survived one nightmare already,
00:24:42falls into dead silence all over again.
00:24:53Grandpa sits heavily on the couch.
00:24:56This massive, hard-nosed cop who once stared down cartel gunfires now looks hollowed out,
00:25:02like a man aging ten years in a single night.
00:25:08He buries his rough, califafed hands over his face and says nothing.
00:25:14Meanwhile, Grandma holds 18-year-old Valerie tightly in her arms,
00:25:19sobbing so hard she can barely breathe.
00:25:22We're packing tonight.
00:25:25We'll go straight to Boston and stay with Hector and his mother.
00:25:30I won't let that monster's family lay a finger on you ever again.
00:25:36Valerie stays curled up in the corner of the bed the entire time,
00:25:40silent as a porcelain doll.
00:25:42She doesn't say a word.
00:25:43She just keeps staring at me with those shattered, empty eyes.
00:25:47But somewhere inside them is still this helpless instinct begging for someone to save her.
00:25:52The sight tears me apart inside.
00:25:55I lower my head immediately,
00:25:58too ashamed to even look my own mother in the eye.
00:26:00And then, things somehow get even worse.
00:26:05Austin's trashy parents,
00:26:06the grandparents I had in my previous life,
00:26:09somehow hear about Valerie's pregnancy.
00:26:11Right after the attack,
00:26:12those two cowards vanished completely to avoid being dragged into the police investigation.
00:26:16But the second they hear Valerie is carrying Austin's child,
00:26:19they swoop in like vultures smelling blood.
00:26:21To them, this pregnancy is leverage,
00:26:23the perfect weapon to destroy the Wyatt family.
00:26:25We barely made it back home
00:26:27before the two of them show up outside the house
00:26:29with some sleazy lawyer they hired.
00:26:33The smell of cheap cigarettes and stale alcohol
00:26:36hits before they even step into the yard.
00:26:41My former grandfather, Silas Walker,
00:26:44doesn't show even a trace of shame.
00:26:46No guilt.
00:26:48No apology.
00:26:50Just this disgusting, smug arrogance.
00:26:56Standing in the yard,
00:26:57he bellows toward the house like he owns the place.
00:27:00Officer Wyatt,
00:27:01don't hide in there.
00:27:03My son Austin may be in prison,
00:27:05but he still has parental rights.
00:27:07That maybe is part of our family,
00:27:08and you're not taking our grandchild anywhere.
00:27:11The sleazy lawyer beside him
00:27:13adjusts his glasses and smirks coldly.
00:27:19If Ms. Yight refuses to drop the charges,
00:27:21we're fully prepared to drag this
00:27:22through family court for years.
00:27:24And trust me,
00:27:25once the media gets involved,
00:27:26everybody in Texas is going to know
00:27:28exactly what happened to your daughter.
00:27:33Then Mayabelle Walker,
00:27:34my former grandmother,
00:27:36blows out a stream of cigarette smoke
00:27:38and starts screeching in the house.
00:27:40You go testify in federal court,
00:27:43and we'll swear Valerie wanted it!
00:27:45We'll tell everyone you cops framed our son!
00:27:51We'll make damn sure
00:27:52every police department in Texas
00:27:54knows what kind of girl
00:27:56your daughter really is!
00:27:57You think those badges
00:27:59are going to survive this?
00:28:02We'll ruin your whole family!
00:28:07The police had kept the details
00:28:09of that night sealed tightly.
00:28:11Nobody in town knew
00:28:12what Valerie had actually suffered
00:28:14in the dark.
00:28:15But now,
00:28:15these two shameless monsters
00:28:17are ripping open her deepest traumata
00:28:18in public just to save their worthless son
00:28:20from federal prison.
00:28:22They stand outside with a damn megaphone,
00:28:24turning a survivor's private nightmare
00:28:26into some sick public spectacle
00:28:27about protecting the family bloodline.
00:28:30Before long,
00:28:30the whole town knows.
00:28:32But they don't actually want the baby.
00:28:34That's never been the point.
00:28:35What they want is pressure.
00:28:38They want to weaponize this conservative little town.
00:28:41The gossip,
00:28:42the judgment,
00:28:43the victim blaming
00:28:44until the Wyatts have nowhere left to run.
00:28:46And their terms are crystal clear.
00:28:48They want Valerie to change her testimony
00:28:50in federal court.
00:28:52They want her to claim Austin was just the driver
00:28:55and knew nothing about the attack.
00:28:57In exchange,
00:28:58the walkers will stop harassing the family
00:29:00and leave them alone.
00:29:01Hearing the whispers rising outside the fence.
00:29:04Seeing neighbors stare
00:29:06with that fake sympathy
00:29:07hiding disgust underneath.
00:29:11Everything suddenly clicks into place
00:29:13inside my head.
00:29:15Now I understand exactly how Austin
00:29:17got that early release in my previous life.
00:29:20There had been a deal.
00:29:22And Valerie had been crushed into accepting it.
00:29:24Looking at those two smug bastards
00:29:26standing outside our home acting righteous.
00:29:28Every ounce of humiliation from my previous life
00:29:30and every drop of rage from this one
00:29:32finally explodes inside me.
00:29:34To hell with staying calm.
00:29:35I grab grandpa's Louisville slugger
00:29:37from behind the front door
00:29:38and storm outside.
00:29:39Gripping the bat so hard
00:29:40my knuckles go white.
00:29:41By then all I can see is red.
00:29:58Right in front of everyone
00:29:59I swing the bat.
00:30:00Crack, crack.
00:30:01The heavy end of the Louisville slugger
00:30:03smashes straight into Silas
00:30:04and Naveen's faces
00:30:05without a shred of hesitation.
00:30:06The sound of teeth breaking
00:30:08mixes with their screams
00:30:09as both of them stumble backward
00:30:10clutching their bloody mouths
00:30:12before collapsing into the dirt.
00:30:13Your son is a convicted rapist!
00:30:15I point the bat directly at the two of them
00:30:17shaking with rage.
00:30:19Where the hell was the talk about the law
00:30:20when your psycho son
00:30:22was pointing a gun at federal officers?
00:30:24And now you want to come here
00:30:25and black rail cops?
00:30:28Gripping the bat with both hands
00:30:30I swing as hard as I can
00:30:31into the lawyer's sedan
00:30:32parked by the curb.
00:30:33The windshield explodes instantly
00:30:35into a spider web of shattered glass.
00:30:36Then I whip around
00:30:37towards the neighbors
00:30:38gathering outside the fence.
00:30:40All of them whispering and staring.
00:30:41What are you all looking at?
00:30:43Anybody else wants to stand here
00:30:45screaming at a victim
00:30:46with these two pieces of trash?
00:30:47I raise the broken bat
00:30:49splintered wood
00:30:50jouting from the barrel.
00:30:51I swear to God
00:30:52the next swing
00:30:53straight goes through your skull!
00:30:54Get the hell away
00:30:55from the Wyatt house!
00:30:56All of you!
00:30:57Move!
00:30:58The hot border wind
00:30:59tears through the street.
00:31:01One look at the shattered bat
00:31:02in my hands is enough.
00:31:03The neighbors pale instantly
00:31:04and start backing away in fear.
00:31:06And then suddenly
00:31:07Silas runges at me
00:31:09with a rusty switchblade
00:31:10in his hand.
00:31:10Drop the charges
00:31:11or I'll kill
00:31:12every last one of you!
00:31:16The gunshot detonates
00:31:18the street like thunder.
00:31:19The bullet slices
00:31:20past Silas's ear
00:31:21and blasts apart
00:31:22one of the wooden fence posts
00:31:23behind him.
00:31:24Everyone freezes.
00:31:25Grandpa Rick stands there
00:31:26gripping a cold plate
00:31:27on the revolver.
00:31:28The barrel pressed
00:31:29directly against
00:31:29Silas's forehead.
00:31:30His voice is low
00:31:31and deadly.
00:31:33Officer Miller's daughter
00:31:33took a knife
00:31:34from my family.
00:31:35You touch her again
00:31:36and see what happens.
00:31:38The ringing echo
00:31:39from the gunshot
00:31:40leaves everyone stunned.
00:31:42Silas drops the knife
00:31:43immediately.
00:31:44It clatters onto the dirt
00:31:45beside him
00:31:46as he collapses
00:31:46in terror.
00:31:50He's gonna kill us!
00:31:52The cops are trying
00:31:53to murder us!
00:31:54But before she can
00:31:55say another word
00:31:55another figure comes
00:31:57flying down
00:31:57the porch steps.
00:31:58Grandma.
00:32:00She moves like lightning.
00:32:01Grabbing a fistful
00:32:03of Maybella's
00:32:03brittle yellow hair
00:32:04she yanks her sideways
00:32:05so hard
00:32:06the old woman
00:32:06nearly falls.
00:32:07Slap!
00:32:09Grandma backhands her
00:32:10across the face
00:32:10hard enough
00:32:11to send her crashing
00:32:12into the dirt
00:32:12then plants a boot
00:32:14against her chest.
00:32:15Her eyes are pure steel.
00:32:17You think you can
00:32:17threaten my daughter's name?
00:32:19I'll go to prison
00:32:20smiling before I let
00:32:21your family destroy
00:32:22her life.
00:32:22Now get the hell
00:32:23off my property
00:32:24before I bury
00:32:25all of you
00:32:26out in the desert
00:32:26myself.
00:32:27Rick cocks
00:32:28the revolver once
00:32:29never taking
00:32:30his eyes off
00:32:31Silas.
00:32:32You assaulted
00:32:32my family.
00:32:33As a police officer
00:32:34I have every right
00:32:35to arrest you
00:32:35right now.
00:32:36Next time
00:32:37you won't walk
00:32:38away this lucky.
00:32:39Now get out.
00:32:40The sheer violence
00:32:41radiating off the
00:32:42two retired
00:32:43narcotics officers
00:32:44terrifies everyone
00:32:45into silence.
00:32:46The gossipy
00:32:47neighbors scatter
00:32:47immediately.
00:32:48Silas and Maybella
00:32:49scramble to their feet
00:32:50and flee down the road
00:32:52like stray dogs.
00:32:53But then suddenly
00:32:54Grandpa Rick
00:32:55doubles over
00:32:56coughing violently.
00:32:57Fresh blood
00:32:58begins soaking
00:32:59through the white
00:32:59bandages wrapped
00:33:00around his torso.
00:33:06Grandpa stitches
00:33:07tear open again
00:33:08so Grandma rushes
00:33:09him back to the
00:33:09hospital.
00:33:10I stay behind
00:33:10to take care of
00:33:11Valerie.
00:33:11Standing outside
00:33:12her bedroom door
00:33:12I force myself
00:33:13to breathe through
00:33:13the panic crushing
00:33:14my chest.
00:33:15I wipe the tears
00:33:15and blood off my face
00:33:16over and over
00:33:16with my sleeve
00:33:17until my skin
00:33:17burns raw.
00:33:18I can't let Valerie
00:33:19see me falling apart.
00:33:20Right now I have
00:33:21to be strong for her.
00:33:22I shove the
00:33:23bedroom door open
00:33:23and lock it tightly
00:33:24behind me
00:33:25shutting out the
00:33:25chaos outside.
00:33:26Then I walk
00:33:27straight towards
00:33:28her bed.
00:33:29The second I see
00:33:30her sitting there
00:33:31pale, hollow,
00:33:33motionless,
00:33:34something inside me
00:33:35finally breaks
00:33:36completely.
00:33:37Valerie,
00:33:39let's leave.
00:33:40We can start over
00:33:41somewhere else.
00:33:42New York,
00:33:43California,
00:33:44anywhere.
00:33:45Please,
00:33:46just pack a bag
00:33:47and come with me,
00:33:48okay?
00:33:48I almost sound
00:33:49desperate.
00:33:50I grab her
00:33:51shoulders gently,
00:33:52trying to pull
00:33:52strength from the
00:33:53girl who,
00:33:54in another lifetime,
00:33:55would become my
00:33:56mother 19 years
00:33:56later.
00:33:58But Valerie never
00:33:59says a word.
00:34:00She just stays
00:34:01curled in the
00:34:01corner of the bed.
00:34:03The fading sunset
00:34:04filters through the
00:34:05blinds, strip by
00:34:06strip, dying slowly
00:34:07across her face.
00:34:08Then she finally
00:34:09lifts her head,
00:34:10and once again she
00:34:11looks at me with
00:34:12those same shattered
00:34:13eyes, empty,
00:34:15helpless, but still
00:34:16quietly begging
00:34:17someone to save
00:34:18her.
00:34:18A sight crushes
00:34:19my chest.
00:34:19For my entire
00:34:20previous life I
00:34:21thought I had been
00:34:21born unwanted,
00:34:22but now I finally
00:34:23understand the truth.
00:34:24My birth was never
00:34:25love.
00:34:25It was a chain,
00:34:27a weapon crafted
00:34:27by a monster to
00:34:28trap my mother and
00:34:29destroy her family
00:34:30forever.
00:34:30I have never hated
00:34:31myself more than I
00:34:32do right now.
00:34:36Valerie, listen to
00:34:37me.
00:34:38This baby...
00:34:39Before I can finish,
00:34:40Valerie suddenly
00:34:41covers my mouth
00:34:41with her hand.
00:34:44I look up at her,
00:34:46and suddenly the
00:34:48dam inside me
00:34:49completely breaks.
00:34:51Tears pour down
00:34:52my face as I
00:34:53collapse to my
00:34:53knees beside the
00:34:54bed.
00:34:55I pull her hand
00:34:56away from my
00:34:56mouth and finally
00:34:58scream out the
00:34:59truth that destroyed
00:35:00me for an entire
00:35:01lifetime.
00:35:02This baby is a
00:35:04stain that monster
00:35:05left on your life!
00:35:07You'll hate it
00:35:08forever!
00:35:09Every time you
00:35:10look at it, you'll
00:35:11remember him!
00:35:13You'll wish it had
00:35:15never been born!
00:35:16My voice cracks
00:35:17apart completely.
00:35:19It's better to end
00:35:20this now than let
00:35:21that child grow up
00:35:22trapped in pain and
00:35:23misery!
00:35:25I can barely breathe
00:35:26through the sobbing.
00:35:28No one can calmly
00:35:29beg their own mother
00:35:30to erase them from
00:35:31existence.
00:35:31But at that exact
00:35:32moment, Valerie, who
00:35:34has been sitting there
00:35:35lifeless and hollow
00:35:36this whole, whole time,
00:35:37suddenly trembles
00:35:38violently.
00:35:39It's like something
00:35:40inside her finally
00:35:41snaps awake.
00:35:42She bolts upright
00:35:43from the bed and
00:35:44throws her arms
00:35:45around me without
00:35:45warning, crushing
00:35:47me against her chest.
00:35:48She holds me so
00:35:49tightly, her fingers
00:35:50dig painfully into
00:35:51my back.
00:35:52Hot tears spill
00:35:53onto my neck,
00:35:54burning against my
00:35:55skin.
00:35:55And then she
00:35:56completely breaks
00:35:57down.
00:35:57I never wanted
00:35:59you dead.
00:36:00Nora.
00:36:02her voice is raw
00:36:04and shattered
00:36:05from crying.
00:36:06Not once, not for
00:36:09a single second, did
00:36:10I ever wish you
00:36:11were dead.
00:36:15That single sentence
00:36:17crashes through the
00:36:18room with the weight
00:36:18of two lifetimes
00:36:19behind it.
00:36:20Every ounce of pain,
00:36:22resentment, anger,
00:36:24and loneliness I
00:36:25carried inside me
00:36:26shatters instantly
00:36:27into dust.
00:36:28Because she called
00:36:30me Nora.
00:36:31Not Scarlet.
00:36:32Nora.
00:36:33In this timeline,
00:36:34nobody knows that
00:36:35name.
00:36:36Nobody except my
00:36:37mother from my
00:36:38previous life.
00:36:39I freeze in her
00:36:40arms, my mind going
00:36:42completely blank.
00:36:43She isn't just the
00:36:4418-year-old Valerie
00:36:46who knows nothing
00:36:46about the future.
00:36:48She remembers too.
00:36:50In this broken,
00:36:52twisted timeline,
00:36:53a near my find,
00:36:55my mother was
00:36:55reborn alongside me.
00:36:58I know.
00:37:00My entire body
00:37:01shakes as I cling
00:37:02to her shoulder
00:37:03her shoulder
00:37:04like a lost child.
00:37:07I know I was
00:37:09never supposed
00:37:09to be born.
00:37:10You had every
00:37:12reason to hate me
00:37:13because of that
00:37:14monster.
00:37:15Valerie suddenly
00:37:16grabs my face
00:37:16with both hands
00:37:17and forces me to
00:37:18look at her
00:37:18through her tears.
00:37:19How could a mother
00:37:20ever hate her child?
00:37:22After two lifetimes,
00:37:24inside this old
00:37:25Texas house in 1996,
00:37:26she finally tears
00:37:27open the truth
00:37:28she buried for decades.
00:37:30And through
00:37:30uncontrollable sobbing,
00:37:32my mother finally
00:37:33tells me why she
00:37:33stood beside my
00:37:34hospital bed and
00:37:35watched me die
00:37:36in my previous life.
00:37:40The reason I
00:37:41couldn't donate
00:37:41bone marrow
00:37:42was because I had
00:37:44terminal cancer too.
00:37:46I wasn't eligible
00:37:47to donate.
00:37:48I wasn't
00:37:49abandoning you,
00:37:50Nora.
00:37:51How could I
00:37:51ever abandon
00:37:52my own daughter?
00:37:54Outside,
00:37:55the winter wind
00:37:56screams across
00:37:57the Texas borderlands.
00:37:59But inside this
00:38:00cold little room,
00:38:01a mother and
00:38:02daughter separated
00:38:03by two lifetimes
00:38:04finally find each
00:38:06other again
00:38:06in the ruins
00:38:07of everything
00:38:08they lost.
00:38:09Valerie clutches
00:38:10me so tightly
00:38:11she's shaking.
00:38:12I never gave
00:38:13on you,
00:38:14Nora.
00:38:15I begged
00:38:15everyone I could
00:38:16for help.
00:38:17I borrowed money
00:38:18from anybody
00:38:18willing to listen
00:38:19because I wanted
00:38:20to save you.
00:38:21Every word tears
00:38:22out of her throat
00:38:23like it physically
00:38:23hurts to say it.
00:38:24Your bastard father
00:38:25wouldn't pay a
00:38:26single dime.
00:38:27The ICU bills
00:38:28kept piling up
00:38:29every single day.
00:38:30The hospital kept
00:38:30mailing notices
00:38:31until my bowel box
00:38:32was overflowing.
00:38:33In the end,
00:38:34I sold every apartment
00:38:35and every piece of
00:38:35property I owned
00:38:36in Boston just to
00:38:37barely cover your
00:38:38medical bills.
00:38:39Then her breathing
00:38:40completely falls apart.
00:38:41And Austin,
00:38:42that monster wanted
00:38:43to pull your
00:38:44ventilator out himself
00:38:45back at the trailer park.
00:38:46He lied to you.
00:38:47He actually convinced
00:38:48you that I was
00:38:49the one who abandoned you.
00:38:50She cries so hard
00:38:51she can barely breathe
00:38:52anymore.
00:38:52Decades of humiliation
00:38:53and buried motherhood
00:38:54finally exploding
00:38:55out all at once.
00:38:56Back then,
00:38:57I left with Hector's
00:38:58mother to work
00:38:58in the city
00:38:59because I needed money.
00:39:00I was trying to
00:39:00build enough of a life
00:39:01to come back
00:39:02and take you away
00:39:03from that rotting
00:39:03border town.
00:39:04But the second I left,
00:39:06Austin cut off
00:39:07every possible way
00:39:07for me to contact you.
00:39:09He guarded the trailer
00:39:09park with a gun
00:39:10and wouldn't even
00:39:11let me get near you.
00:39:12The only thing
00:39:13I could do...
00:39:16Her voice breaks
00:39:17completely.
00:39:19Was stand outside
00:39:20your school
00:39:21at the beginning
00:39:21of every semester
00:39:22and watch you
00:39:23from across the street.
00:39:28I bite down
00:39:29so hard
00:39:29on my lip
00:39:30I taste blood.
00:39:32My vision
00:39:33is completely blurred
00:39:34by tears.
00:39:35And finally,
00:39:37I understand everything.
00:39:40Back then,
00:39:41she was only 18.
00:39:42A girl who had
00:39:43survived something horrific
00:39:44whose mind was already
00:39:45hanging by a thread.
00:39:47There was no way
00:39:48she could go back
00:39:48to that monster.
00:39:50For her,
00:39:51every step towards
00:39:52that trailer cramp
00:39:53was like walking back
00:39:54into hell itself.
00:39:55But fate has always
00:39:56been cruel.
00:39:57By the time mom
00:39:57finally saved enough money
00:39:59and came back
00:40:00to fight for custody of me,
00:40:01Austin had already
00:40:02sensed something was coming.
00:40:04He grabbed me
00:40:04in the middle of the night
00:40:05and disappeared.
00:40:06And in the 1990s,
00:40:07before cell phones,
00:40:09databases,
00:40:10and internet tracking
00:40:11connected the world,
00:40:12we vanished
00:40:13into countless
00:40:13forgotten trailer parks
00:40:15scattered across America.
00:40:17She never found us again.
00:40:19Valerie cups my face
00:40:21with trembling hands.
00:40:25When you turned 18,
00:40:27you finally tracked down
00:40:28my private number.
00:40:29Her voice cracks a heart.
00:40:31But by then,
00:40:34I'd already been diagnosed
00:40:35with terminal cancer.
00:40:38I didn't have much time
00:40:40left, Nora.
00:40:43Her tears mixed with mine
00:40:45as they streamed
00:40:45down our faces together.
00:40:47My body was falling apart
00:40:48day by day.
00:40:49I didn't want to drag you
00:40:50into that.
00:40:51I couldn't bear the thought
00:40:52of you watching me die
00:40:53in a hospital bed
00:40:54or inheriting all my debt
00:40:56after I was gone.
00:40:58That's why I acted cold
00:40:59on the phone.
00:41:00That's why I pretended
00:41:01I didn't know you!
00:41:02Everything inside my head
00:41:03goes completely blank.
00:41:08The mother I spent
00:41:09my whole life hating
00:41:09never abandoned me.
00:41:11Not once.
00:41:13With a body and soul
00:41:14shattered by a monster,
00:41:15she still fought
00:41:16through the filled
00:41:17and hopelessness
00:41:18of the 1990s
00:41:19with everything she had left
00:41:20just to keep loving me.
00:41:22We cling to each other
00:41:23in that dark little room
00:41:24and cry until there
00:41:25are no tears left.
00:41:27Finally,
00:41:28I wipe my face hard
00:41:29and force myself
00:41:30to look straight
00:41:31into her eyes.
00:41:32Mom,
00:41:34if we've really both
00:41:35been given another chance,
00:41:37then don't let me
00:41:38become your change
00:41:38all over again.
00:41:40We can still fix this.
00:41:41We'll go to the hospital.
00:41:43Without me,
00:41:43you can finally
00:41:44live your own life.
00:41:45Valerie instantly
00:41:46shakes her head
00:41:47in pain.
00:41:47Stop!
00:41:48Don't say that!
00:41:49I can't do it!
00:41:50Nora!
00:41:51You are part of me!
00:41:52I will never let you go!
00:41:55She covers her face,
00:41:56crying uncontrollably.
00:41:58And seeing the pain
00:41:59and determination
00:41:59in her eyes,
00:42:00I can't force her anymore.
00:42:02The sunset over
00:42:03the Texas border
00:42:04paints the entire sky
00:42:05blood red.
00:42:06Hot wind rolls
00:42:07through the yard
00:42:08carrying dust
00:42:09and dry heat
00:42:10that makes my chest
00:42:11tighten with unease.
00:42:12Grandpa fires up
00:42:13the smoker in the backyard
00:42:14using a stash of oak wood
00:42:16he's been saving for years.
00:42:17Before long,
00:42:18the air fills with the smell
00:42:19of smoked brisket and ribs.
00:42:20Grandma and I spend
00:42:21the entire afternoon
00:42:22preparing dinner,
00:42:23wanting to give Mom,
00:42:24the girl who suffered
00:42:24so much in this timeline,
00:42:26the happiest 18th birthday possible.
00:42:27But just as Grandma
00:42:28wipes her hands clean
00:42:29and starts heading inside
00:42:30to call Valerie at a dinner...
00:42:39Officer Wyatt,
00:42:40we've got a problem.
00:42:42Austin escaped
00:42:43during transport
00:42:43to federal prison.
00:42:44He killed two federal marshals
00:42:46and stole a shotgun.
00:42:47Dispatch intercepted
00:42:48a report ten minutes ago.
00:42:49He's heading straight for town
00:42:50in a stolen pickup truck.
00:42:52The second I hear
00:42:53Austin's name,
00:42:54rage destinates
00:42:55inside my body.
00:42:56Every ounce of blood
00:42:57in my veins
00:42:57feels like it catches fire.
00:42:59He's coming here
00:43:00for revenge!
00:43:06That monster ruined
00:43:08my mother once already.
00:43:09Why the hell
00:43:10should he get another chance
00:43:12to destroy her life?
00:43:18While Grandpa and Grandma
00:43:20rush back inside
00:43:21in scotch
00:43:22to grab their
00:43:23Remingston shoe duns,
00:43:24I move first.
00:43:31Without hesitation,
00:43:33I snatch up
00:43:33the heavy cleaver
00:43:34sitting beside
00:43:35the cutting board
00:43:36from the kitchen.
00:43:46I don't even look back
00:43:47at the house.
00:43:48Eyes burning red
00:43:49with hatred,
00:43:50I run straight
00:43:51into the blood-colored
00:43:52Texas dusk.
00:43:53Austin,
00:43:54even if this drags my soul
00:43:56straight into hell,
00:43:57this time,
00:43:58I'm going to kill you myself.
00:44:03Night falls fast
00:44:05near the border.
00:44:06Freezing wind
00:44:07filled with sand
00:44:08cuts across my face
00:44:09like blades.
00:44:12I crouch silently
00:44:13in the shadows
00:44:14near the edge
00:44:15of the neighborhood,
00:44:15my palms slick
00:44:16with sweat
00:44:17around the handle
00:44:18of the clemver.
00:44:20But no matter
00:44:21how long I wait,
00:44:23Austin never appears.
00:44:24Then around midnight,
00:44:26a horrible instinct
00:44:27suddenly clenches
00:44:28around my heart.
00:44:29Valerie should have
00:44:30returned from the clinic
00:44:31hours ago.
00:44:32But she still isn't home.
00:44:34Headlights suddenly
00:44:35tear through the darkness.
00:44:36Grandpa's old
00:44:37wake-up truck
00:44:38skids to a stop
00:44:39beside me.
00:44:39Scarlet, get in!
00:44:46Grandma and Grandpa
00:44:47both look pale with fear,
00:44:49gripping loaded
00:44:50Remington shoot guns
00:44:51tightly in their hands.
00:44:52We immediately
00:44:53start tracking tire marks
00:44:54and crushed brush
00:44:55along the bide side.
00:44:59Following every sign
00:45:00we can find
00:45:01the search leads us
00:45:02all the way
00:45:03to the edge of town.
00:45:04Then the pickup engine dies.
00:45:06Silence.
00:45:06Nothing but cold desert wind
00:45:08and darkness.
00:45:09In front of us
00:45:10sits an abandoned trailer park
00:45:11that's been empty for years.
00:45:13We split up
00:45:13to search for Valerie.
00:45:14Let go of me!
00:45:15You're insane!
00:45:16Let me go!
00:45:19Let go of me!
00:45:20You're insane!
00:45:22Let me go!
00:45:23My mind goes blank.
00:45:26I know instantly
00:45:27there's no time
00:45:28to turn back
00:45:28for Grandpa.
00:45:30So I run toward
00:45:32Valerie's screams
00:45:33alone.
00:45:35But somewhere
00:45:36during those few
00:45:37desperate seconds
00:45:38hearing my mother
00:45:39crying inside that trailer
00:45:42something strange happens.
00:45:45The panic inside my head
00:45:47suddenly disappears.
00:45:49Something strange happens.
00:45:50The panic inside my head
00:45:51suddenly disappears.
00:45:53Completely.
00:45:54As I sprint
00:45:55through the freezing dark
00:45:56I grip the heavy meat clever
00:45:57hidden beneath my coat
00:45:58so tightly
00:45:59my hand aches.
00:46:00My palm is slipped
00:46:01with sweat.
00:46:01But my eyes
00:46:02hold no fear anymore.
00:46:04Only calm
00:46:05and certainty.
00:46:07In that moment
00:46:08I finally understand
00:46:09why I came back
00:46:10to this world.
00:46:10I wasn't reborn
00:46:11to keep living
00:46:12as that monster's
00:46:13unwanted child.
00:46:14I crossed 28 years
00:46:15of time
00:46:16for one reason only
00:46:17to set my mother free
00:46:19even if it costs
00:46:20the life I was never
00:46:21supposed to have
00:46:21in the first place.
00:46:23I stare
00:46:24at the battered
00:46:25trailer door
00:46:25glowing faintly
00:46:26under the moonlight
00:46:27and I never slow down
00:46:29for even a second.
00:46:31You sick bastard!
00:46:33Die!
00:46:37Without hesitation
00:46:38I slam my foot
00:46:40into the flimsy
00:46:40aluminum trailer door.
00:46:42Using the momentum
00:46:43I throw myself
00:46:45straight at Austin
00:46:46from behind.
00:46:47Under the pale moonlight
00:46:48I raise the heavy cleaver
00:46:50high over my head
00:46:51and bring it down
00:46:52with every ounce
00:46:53of hatred
00:46:53from both lifetimes
00:46:55behind it.
00:46:57Austin lets out
00:46:58an animalistic scream
00:46:59but I underestimated
00:47:00what kind of monster
00:47:02he really is.
00:47:06a man who survived
00:47:08years of cartel
00:47:09violence
00:47:10along the border
00:47:11doesn't go down
00:47:11easily.
00:47:13The pain
00:47:14only drives me
00:47:15insane.
00:47:16Before I can
00:47:17swing again
00:47:17agony shoots
00:47:18through my arm
00:47:19like the bone
00:47:19is about to snap.
00:47:21I'm gonna kill you!
00:47:24The clever
00:47:25is ripped out
00:47:25of my hands
00:47:26instantly.
00:47:27Clang!
00:47:28The weapon
00:47:28crashes to the floor
00:47:29as Austin slams me
00:47:31hard against the ground
00:47:31inside the trailer.
00:47:36Under the dim moonlight
00:47:37leaking through
00:47:37the broken trailer walls
00:47:39Austin finally
00:47:40sees my face clearly.
00:47:44You little bitch
00:47:46again.
00:47:47You just keep
00:47:48ruining everything!
00:47:50He roars hysterically
00:47:51and raises the
00:47:52clember over his head
00:47:53and then it comes down
00:47:54again
00:47:55and again.
00:47:57The blade flashes
00:47:59Bilber through
00:47:59the cramped trailer.
00:48:01Each stripe
00:48:02tears violently
00:48:02into my stomach
00:48:03and chest
00:48:04without mercy.
00:48:10Warm blood
00:48:11immediately floods
00:48:11from my mouth
00:48:12soaking my clothes.
00:48:16Strangely
00:48:18I can't feel pain
00:48:19anymore.
00:48:23My mind
00:48:24is terrifyingly
00:48:25clear.
00:48:25Only one thought
00:48:27keeps screaming
00:48:27inside my head.
00:48:28Don't let him go.
00:48:30but don't let him
00:48:31get to Valerie.
00:48:32No!
00:48:33Please!
00:48:33Stop!
00:48:34Let her go!
00:48:37No!
00:48:40Please stop!
00:48:49And the second I see him
00:48:51turning toward my mother
00:48:52again
00:48:52something inside me
00:48:54snaps
00:48:54using every last ounce
00:48:56of strength
00:48:57from both my lives.
00:48:58I throw myself
00:48:59onto him
00:49:00from behind
00:49:00and lock my arms
00:49:02around his body
00:49:02like a steel trap.
00:49:12No matter how violently
00:49:14he punches me
00:49:16no matter how many times
00:49:18the blade
00:49:18carves into my flesh
00:49:20I grit my teeth
00:49:21so hard
00:49:22I taste blood
00:49:22and hold on anyway
00:49:25even as blood
00:49:26pours from my mouth
00:49:27I use my dying
00:49:28body weight
00:49:29to keep him
00:49:29pinned in place.
00:49:31You want to hurt her?
00:49:33Then you'll have to
00:49:34cut me into pieces
00:49:36first.
00:49:37Then you'll have to
00:49:38cut me into pieces
00:49:39first!
00:49:41A deafening
00:49:42shotgun blast
00:49:43erupts through
00:49:43the trailer
00:49:45Austin!
00:49:46Blinding police
00:49:47spotlights flood
00:49:48the darkness
00:49:48as Grandpa
00:49:49storms inside
00:49:50roaring
00:49:51The blast
00:49:52tears straight
00:49:53through Austin's skull
00:49:54The impact
00:49:55stops the monster
00:49:56cold
00:49:57His body jerks
00:49:58violently
00:49:59before collapsing
00:49:59to the floor
00:50:00like dead weight
00:50:01Scarlet!
00:50:03Finally
00:50:03the demon
00:50:04falls silent
00:50:05and with the last
00:50:06bit of life
00:50:06draining from my body
00:50:07I collapse
00:50:08into the blood
00:50:09beside him
00:50:14Scarlet!
00:50:15Scarlet!
00:50:19Scarlet
00:50:20wake up
00:50:21please
00:50:23Mom's begging you
00:50:24please
00:50:25wake up
00:50:26My mother's screams
00:50:28tear through
00:50:28the freezing
00:50:29Texas night
00:50:30raw
00:50:31desperate
00:50:32sharp enough
00:50:33to rip the sky
00:50:33apart
00:50:34I want to lift
00:50:35my hand
00:50:36wipe the blood
00:50:38off her face
00:50:38like I always do
00:50:40pull her into my arms
00:50:41one last time
00:50:42but my arm feels
00:50:43filled with concrete
00:50:44my body is getting
00:50:45colder by the second
00:50:46and the voices
00:50:46around me sound
00:50:47farther and farther
00:50:48away
00:50:48like they're trapped
00:50:49beneath deep water
00:50:50the whole world
00:50:51is slowly drifting
00:50:52out of reach
00:50:52I lie there
00:50:53helplessly
00:50:54in the cold
00:50:54moldy blood
00:50:55pooling across
00:50:55the floor
00:50:56of the abandoned
00:50:56trailer
00:50:57I see grandpa and grandma
00:50:58rushing toward me
00:51:01grandpa's hands
00:51:02the same steady hands
00:51:03that held a gun
00:51:04his entire life
00:51:05without trembling
00:51:06once
00:51:06he presses so hard
00:51:08his knuckles
00:51:08turn white
00:51:09but the blood
00:51:10still keeps pouring
00:51:11through his fingers
00:51:13grandma collapses
00:51:14beside me
00:51:15covering her mouth
00:51:16as sobs wreck her body
00:51:19the whole world
00:51:21is slowly drifting
00:51:22out of reach
00:51:23I know then
00:51:25I'm never gonna
00:51:26wake up again
00:51:30that monster
00:51:31who haunts
00:51:31both of my lives
00:51:32like a curse
00:51:33carved into my bones
00:51:36Austin Walker
00:51:37is finally killed
00:51:38that night
00:51:38by grandpa's shotgun
00:51:40the blast tears
00:51:41straight through his head
00:51:42his blood
00:51:44his violence
00:51:44his evil
00:51:46all of it
00:51:46splatter across
00:51:47the rusted trailer walls
00:51:48and sinks into the mud
00:51:49of the Texas borderlands
00:51:51justice comes late
00:51:52the law never even
00:51:53gets the chance
00:51:54to put him on death row
00:51:55fate beats it to the punch
00:51:57brutal, bloody
00:51:57and absolute
00:51:58after two lifetimes
00:52:00of suffering
00:52:01the debt is finally paid
00:52:03but the devil's death
00:52:04doesn't bring life
00:52:05back to our family
00:52:06a few days later
00:52:07an unusual storm
00:52:08rolls across the border
00:52:09cold rain mixes
00:52:10with sand and dirt
00:52:11turning the whole town
00:52:12gray, muddy
00:52:12and bitterly cold
00:52:13as if the sky itself
00:52:14is mourning everything
00:52:15we've lost
00:52:16the Wyatt house
00:52:17falls silent
00:52:17the kitchen that once
00:52:18smells of barbecue
00:52:19and fresh coffee
00:52:20never lights up again
00:52:21Valerie becomes a ghost
00:52:23she barely speaks
00:52:25barely moves
00:52:26like someone winds her up
00:52:28once and then
00:52:28forgets to do it again
00:52:30late one night
00:52:31after the rain
00:52:32finally stops
00:52:33she stumbles
00:52:34into my room alone
00:52:35dust has already
00:52:36settled across
00:52:37everything I leave behind
00:52:38with trembling hands
00:52:39she folds my faded jeans
00:52:41picks up my unfinished
00:52:42notebooks
00:52:43smooths out the wrinkles
00:52:44in the blanket on my bed
00:52:46and the moment her fingers
00:52:47touch those cold sheets
00:52:49the ones that will never
00:52:50hold my warmth again
00:52:51something inside her
00:52:52finally breaks
00:52:53tears hit the hardwood floor
00:52:54one after another
00:52:55soft
00:52:56heavy
00:52:58Nora
00:52:59can mom come find you
00:53:01in heaven?
00:53:04Valerie drops to her knees
00:53:06beside the bed
00:53:07she buries her pale face
00:53:08deep into my old pillow
00:53:10the one I never get around
00:53:11to washing
00:53:13there's still the faint smell
00:53:14of cheap shampoo
00:53:15lingering in the fabric
00:53:16the last trace of her daughter
00:53:18left in this world
00:53:20she clutches the sheets
00:53:21so tightly her fingers cramp
00:53:23crying like a child
00:53:24who loses everything
00:53:25in the middle of the desert
00:53:28the news of the border shooting
00:53:30reaches Boston overnight
00:53:32Hector and his mother
00:53:34immediately cancel everything
00:53:36and drive back to Texas
00:53:39neither of them asks questions
00:53:42they simply stay beside my grandparents
00:53:44and help them hold themselves together
00:53:46long enough to bury me
00:53:49the funeral is held
00:53:50in the little cemetery outside town
00:53:53for once
00:53:54there is no sandstorm
00:53:57white roses cover my grave
00:53:59Hector stands at the very back
00:54:01of the crowd
00:54:01the boy who once looked so calm
00:54:04and untouchable
00:54:05now has eyes
00:54:07darkened with grief and rage
00:54:09he stares at the photo
00:54:11on my headstone
00:54:11my 18 year old smile
00:54:13frozen forever in time
00:54:15and clenches his fists
00:54:16so hard his knuckles turn pale
00:54:21after the funeral
00:54:22the atmosphere inside the Wyatt house
00:54:25feels suffocating
00:54:26grandpa and grandma
00:54:28sit silently at the dinner table
00:54:29exhaustion and grief
00:54:31etched into every line
00:54:33on their faces
00:54:33Hector sits alone
00:54:35on the old bench
00:54:36near the living room window
00:54:37staring out at the empty
00:54:38Texas highway
00:54:39he struggles with himself
00:54:40for a long time
00:54:41before finally standing
00:54:42and walking over to Valerie
00:54:44he crouches down
00:54:45in front of her carefully
00:54:46like he's afraid
00:54:47she might shitter
00:54:48if he moves too fast
00:54:54Valerie
00:54:54come with us
00:54:55leave this place behind
00:54:57we can start over
00:54:59somewhere else
00:55:00okay
00:55:01his voice is barely
00:55:02above a whisper
00:55:03he doesn't even dare
00:55:04touch her
00:55:05he just looks at her
00:55:06with quiet heartbreak
00:55:07in his eyes
00:55:08Valerie doesn't answer
00:55:10she sits there
00:55:11in the shadows
00:55:11clutching my faded
00:55:13denim jacket
00:55:13against her chest
00:55:14like it's the last oxygen
00:55:15left in the world
00:55:18that night
00:55:19after everyone
00:55:20finally falls asleep
00:55:21from sheer exhaustion
00:55:23the old house
00:55:24sinks into silence
00:55:31and Valerie wanders
00:55:33back into my room again
00:55:49she doesn't turn on the lights
00:55:51in a room without me
00:55:53even the light feels like a mockery
00:56:00she kneels alone
00:56:01on the cold floor
00:56:02organizing my belongings
00:56:03one piece at a time
00:56:05under the pale moonlight
00:56:06coming through the window
00:56:15my textbooks full of notes
00:56:20my erasers worn down
00:56:21to almost nothing
00:56:22then finally
00:56:25my old backpack
00:56:26the cheap one
00:56:28with frayed edges
00:56:29and fading fabric
00:56:30she pulls it into her arms
00:56:32and buries her face
00:56:33against it
00:56:34breathing in
00:56:35what little remains
00:56:36of my scent
00:56:40then her hand
00:56:41brushes against
00:56:42something hidden deep
00:56:43inside the torn
00:56:44inner lining
00:56:54paper
00:56:54a folded envelope
00:56:56slips loose
00:56:56and falls softly
00:56:58into her lap
00:56:58on the front
00:56:59is only one word
00:57:02those are the words
00:57:03I want to say
00:57:04across two lifetimes
00:57:06the words
00:57:07I never managed
00:57:07to say out loud
00:57:08before I die
00:57:17Valerie freezes
00:57:18her whole body
00:57:20stiffens
00:57:20as her trembling fingers
00:57:21slowly tear the envelope open
00:57:24she's shaking so badly
00:57:26her fingernail
00:57:27slices the edge
00:57:28of the paper
00:57:29and draws blood
00:57:30but she doesn't even notice
00:57:32then she sees the first line
00:57:34and the moment she reads
00:57:36the name buried deepest
00:57:37inside her heart
00:57:43her breathing stops
00:57:51mom
00:57:53if you're reading this
00:57:55I'm probably already gone
00:58:03don't cry for me
00:58:06from the first day
00:58:08I came back
00:58:08to this timeline
00:58:10I already make up
00:58:11my mind
00:58:12I'm going to trade
00:58:14my life
00:58:15for your freedom
00:58:18under the moonlight
00:58:20Valerie's eyes
00:58:21instantly turn red
00:58:22she covers her mouth
00:58:24tightly
00:58:24to stop herself
00:58:26from sobbing out loud
00:58:27and keeps reading
00:58:31during those 28 filthy years
00:58:33in my first life
00:58:36I hated you so much
00:58:37sometimes
00:58:38living in that
00:58:39moldy trailer park
00:58:40I wonder every day
00:58:41why everyone else
00:58:42has a loving mom
00:58:42except me
00:58:44why you left me alone
00:58:45in hell
00:58:46but in this life
00:58:47I finally learn the truth
00:58:49my mother loves me
00:58:50more than anyone
00:58:51ever could
00:58:52you burn your whole life
00:58:53away trying to protect me
00:58:55and honestly mom
00:58:57being loved by you
00:58:58like that
00:58:58is already enough
00:58:59you're brilliant
00:59:01beautiful
00:59:03grandpa and grandma
00:59:04love you so much
00:59:06Hector's mom once says
00:59:07you're meant to soar
00:59:08high above the clouds
00:59:09not rot away
00:59:11in border town dirt
00:59:11because some rapist
00:59:12destroys your life
00:59:14please let me go mom
00:59:15don't give birth to me again
00:59:17as long as the name
00:59:18Nora exists
00:59:19Austin Walker's shadow
00:59:20will always haunt you
00:59:21this time don't look back
00:59:23promise me
00:59:24go somewhere cleaner
00:59:25higher
00:59:26better
00:59:27go live the life
00:59:28you're supposed to have
00:59:29be free
00:59:31by the end of the letter
00:59:32Valerie has completely
00:59:33collapsed onto the floor
00:59:35she presses those pages
00:59:36against her chest
00:59:37like they're the last pieces
00:59:38of my heartbeat
00:59:39left in the world
00:59:40and cries so hard
00:59:41she can barely breathe
00:59:42curled up beside the bed
00:59:43in the darkness
00:59:44she breaks apart completely
00:59:47and in that winter night
00:59:48of 1996
00:59:50in a world without her daughter
00:59:53my mother lets out
00:59:54the most shattered
00:59:55guilt-raden
00:59:56heartbroken sobs
00:59:57of both our lifetimes
01:00:02that night
01:00:03the Texas winter wind
01:00:04howls so hard
01:00:05it nearly tears
01:00:06the old wooden house apart
01:00:09Valerie clutches my letter
01:00:11against her chest
01:00:12and cries until her voice
01:00:14gives up
01:00:17in that letter
01:00:18I beg her to let me go
01:00:20beg her not to look back
01:00:21beg her to chase her dreams
01:00:23and finally become
01:00:24the free person
01:00:25she deserves to be
01:00:27but staring into
01:00:28my empty room
01:00:29something reignites
01:00:30in her hollow
01:00:31lifeless eyes
01:00:35a fire
01:00:36a stubbornness
01:00:38stronger than grief itself
01:00:41Valerie whispers
01:00:43hoskily into the darkness
01:00:46you silly girl
01:00:47how could a mother
01:00:49ever stop loving her child
01:00:51she can't do what I ask
01:00:55because she had already
01:00:57told me once before
01:00:59I will never let you go
01:01:03you are part of my body
01:01:05part of my life
01:01:10a few days later
01:01:11Hector and his mother
01:01:13help my exhausted
01:01:14grandparents
01:01:16finish arranging everything
01:01:25then carrying
01:01:27unbearable grief
01:01:28with them
01:01:28the entire family
01:01:30leaves Texas
01:01:31for Boston
01:01:38the day the bus
01:01:39pulls away
01:01:40kicking up yellow dust
01:01:42behind it
01:01:44Valerie stands
01:01:46by the window
01:01:46and takes a deep breath
01:01:48of cold New England air
01:01:52this time
01:01:53she isn't running
01:01:54as a victim
01:01:55buried under shame
01:01:57this time
01:01:58she's a mother
01:02:00determined to rewrite
01:02:01fate itself
01:02:01and bring her daughter
01:02:03back into the world
01:02:04with every ounce of love
01:02:06she has
01:02:09time moves quickly
01:02:10beneath Boston's blue skies
01:02:14Valerie throws every ounce
01:02:16of grief and pain
01:02:17into study
01:02:21fueled by the determination
01:02:23of two lifetimes
01:02:24she works through
01:02:25endless nights
01:02:26until she's accepted
01:02:28into Harvard
01:02:29with near perfect
01:02:31scores
01:02:33and Hector
01:02:34the boy who once
01:02:35cries for me
01:02:36at that Texas bus station
01:02:38finally achieved
01:02:40his own dream too
01:02:42earning a place
01:02:43at one of the country's
01:02:44top medical schools
01:02:47textbooks become
01:02:49Valerie's shelter
01:02:50and the child
01:02:51growing inside her
01:02:52the child
01:02:53once used
01:02:54by monsters
01:02:55as blackmail
01:02:55is finally being
01:02:57nurtured
01:02:57in warmth
01:02:58and love
01:03:00the following autumn
01:03:01beneath golden maple leaves
01:03:03and the bright lights
01:03:05of a Boston
01:03:05maternity room
01:03:06a baby girl
01:03:08enters the world
01:03:09with a loud
01:03:09healthy cry
01:03:12Valerie lies exhausted
01:03:13against the hospital bed
01:03:14tears blurring her vision
01:03:16as she smiles wider
01:03:17than she ever has before
01:03:18with trembling arms
01:03:20she holds the tiny newborn
01:03:22against her chest
01:03:23and kisses her forehead
01:03:24gently
01:03:24Noma
01:03:27welcome to the world
01:03:28baby
01:03:28this time
01:03:30there's no moldy
01:03:31trailer park
01:03:31no violence
01:03:32no shadow
01:03:34left behind
01:03:35by monsters
01:03:35sunlight pours
01:03:36through the hospital
01:03:37windows
01:03:37onto a warm
01:03:38nursery crib
01:03:39grandpa and grandma
01:03:40show up crying
01:03:41and carrying
01:03:42brand new Barbie dolls
01:03:44Hector adjusts
01:03:45his glasses
01:03:45and smiles softly
01:03:47beside him
01:03:47and this version
01:03:49of Nora
01:03:49is finally born
01:03:51into life
01:03:54after that
01:03:54life slowly
01:03:55finds its way
01:03:56onto the right path
01:03:57without the suffering
01:03:59and burdens
01:03:59of the first timeline
01:04:00Valerie and Hector
01:04:02both reach the futures
01:04:03they are always
01:04:04meant to have
01:04:05Hector becomes
01:04:06one of the country's
01:04:07leading surgeons
01:04:08saving countless lives
01:04:10Valerie becomes
01:04:12a legendary attorney
01:04:13known across America
01:04:14dedicating her career
01:04:16to protecting women
01:04:18and children
01:04:18through civil rights law
01:04:19and the new Nora
01:04:21grows up
01:04:22in Harvard's golden autumn trees
01:04:24surrounded by love
01:04:26instead of fear
01:04:27she is bright
01:04:28confident
01:04:30happy
01:04:32the cancer
01:04:34that once
01:04:34destroys my body
01:04:36never appears
01:04:38in her
01:04:38as little Nora
01:04:43grows up
01:04:43she watches
01:04:45Valerie and Hector
01:04:46eventually fall in love
01:04:47and build a quiet
01:04:48beautiful family
01:04:49together
01:04:50their life
01:04:51isn't glamorous
01:04:52but the love
01:04:53they give her
01:04:54overflows
01:04:55far beyond
01:04:56what most families
01:04:57could ever offer
01:04:58and somewhere
01:04:59inside the golden
01:05:00evening light
01:05:00the version of me
01:05:02that crosses
01:05:03time itself
01:05:03the wandering soul
01:05:05carried away
01:05:06by the wind
01:05:07finally smiles
01:05:08at the end of her
01:05:10autobiography
01:05:11my mother writes
01:05:12one final dedication
01:05:14every achievement
01:05:15and honor in my life
01:05:16belongs to a girl
01:05:18named Nora
01:05:18my daughter
01:05:19once tears open
01:05:20the darkness
01:05:21with her own life
01:05:22and I spend the rest
01:05:23of mine
01:05:23bringing her back
01:05:24into the light
01:05:25I lean quietly
01:05:27against my mother's knee
01:05:28in that final memory
01:05:29and whisper softly
01:05:30in her heart
01:05:32mom
01:05:34this time
01:05:35you get everything right
01:05:36and at last
01:05:37those two wounded souls
01:05:39walk hand in hand
01:05:40towards the endless stars
01:05:41waiting beyond the clouds
01:05:42you
Comments