Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

"He's getting bailed out." Colin's voice was filled with certainty, as though James' release from the detention center was already a done deal.

I was about to say something back when Colin hung up the call.

Glancing at him, I felt a twinge of fear, even though I knew Foebe was innocent and hadn't committed those crimes. But if James and Damian were plotting against her...

"Don't worry," he said, ruffling my hair casually as if that simple gesture could ease my anxieties.

But, in a way, it did.

My feelings towards Colin were complex, a tangle of dependence and something else I couldn't quite name...

"The cops will want to talk to you, but I've got evidence that'll clear your name," Colin reassured me. "Foebe... she didn't do those terrible things."

I looked down, silent. "If Foebe is innocent, if she's truly a good person, then is any of this fair?"

Despite her innocence, Foebe was used, manipulated, and then... she was gone.

And me? I'm just squatting in someone else's life, a parasite.

"This world isn't about fairness," Colin said quietly, pulling me into a hug.

I understood what he meant.

Some things seemed beyond our control.

Yet, I couldn't shake off a feeling of guilt.

Was it all just coincidence? Foebe being set up, her downfall, and my rebirth in her body?

...

That afternoon, Finn and his team arrived.

It was all business. They were taking me in for questioning.

Hailey handed over what she called evidence to the police - a photo of me talking to the second victim of the dismemberment case.

It all felt too orchestrated to be mere coincidence.

"I didn't take part, I was deceived, I know nothing."

Without concrete proof of my guilt, I denied everything.

James claimed, Foebe was a good person. So, do good people deserve to be deceived, misunderstood, wronged?

I wanted to defend not just myself but Foebe too.

"Officer Finn, there are some kids outside claiming to be Foebe's siblings."

I paused, looking up at Finn.

Those kids...

Colin must have sent them. They were here to vouch for Foebe.

"She never hurt us. When Abdul got sick, Phoebe wanted to raise money for him. That's why she reached out to a local charity. But they deceived her, promising to adopt Fenton, our brightest, in exchange for funding Abdul's treatment. But after taking Fenton, they never gave us the money," one of the kids explained.

"She's a good person."

"She always looked out for us, protected us."

These kids were willing to stand up for Foebe.

I believed... Foebe was good.

"Phoebe didn't fully trust them. That's why when she took Fenton to meet the adopters, she asked us to watch from a distance and secretly record everything on our phones. All the evidence is with Abdul, who got arrested and is currently in juvenile detention," the eldest kid revealed, pointing to a crucial piece of evidence.

Finn looked at me, then signaled Cory to retrieve Abdul from juvenile detention.

Abdul was the kid previously accused of attempting to poison Melody.

With these kids' testimonies and the evidence Foebe had smartly left behind, my innocence was

and James' guilt was conf nee

Everything fell into place too smoothly...

I was cleared of all charges, not just absolved but heralded as a hero.

Walking out of the police station, I felt bewildered.

Everything I had feared had been resolved so effortlessly.

Yet, why did a sense of unease linger?

It seemed too convenient, Foebe having recorded that video, leaving behind evidence as if foreseeing today.