Cutting the Cord: Reborn as My Mom's High School Frenemy | Full Short Drama | English Sub 2026 [Full Movie] - video Dailymotion

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Transcript

00:00:001996, Texas.

00:00:02I suddenly jerk up from the sink, gasping for air.

00:00:05Water drips from my thick blonde hair.

00:00:06I stare at the mirror in shock.

00:00:08The face staring back at me is vibrant, beautiful, full of life.

00:00:11Vintage smoky eye makeup framing a chalky teenage face.

00:00:1318. You young, healthy, cancer-free.

00:00:16I've been thrown back into the dead-end Texas high school years

00:00:19my mom spent her entire life clawing her way out of.

00:00:22Suddenly, the bathroom door swings open.

00:00:25A familiar grapefruit perfume hits me instantly.

00:00:27It's Valerie, my 18-year-old mother.

00:00:30Her hair is pulled into a high-tony tail,

00:00:32high-waisted jeans hugging her hips,

00:00:33a white tamtop straight out of a 90s teen magazine.

00:00:36Come on, the pep lolly's about to start.

00:00:38She yanks me forward hard enough to make me stumble.

00:00:40But instead of following her, I freeze.

00:00:42Stare at the young face in front of me,

00:00:44untouched by wealth, untouched by surgery,

00:00:46untouched by the years that twisted her into a monster.

00:00:49Valerie, we're... friends?

00:00:51Uh, duh, we're best friends.

00:00:53Why are you being so weird today? Come on!

00:00:55She turns and keeps pulling me towards the door.

00:00:57Half a step behind her, I stare at her back.

00:00:59The confusion in my eyes vanishes instantly,

00:01:02replaced by something cold, something vicious.

00:01:04The school's public address system drones on from the loudspeakers overhead,

00:01:07buzzing with the daily lunch menu.

00:01:09Pizza slices, tater tots, and chocolate milk.

00:01:12Valerie pulls me through the crowded hallway,

00:01:15her hand warm and dry in mine.

00:01:17And then it hits me again,

00:01:18that sharp grapefruit perfume.

00:01:21The scent wraps around me so suddenly my breath catches.

00:01:24It was the smell I knew best as a child.

00:01:26Before I turned five, she used to hold me in her arms,

00:01:29humming 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,

00:01:36that scent only ever showed up in my nightmares.

00:01:40Scarlet, you've been acting weird all day.

00:01:42Scarlet?

00:01:43God, even this body's name sucks.

00:01:45Carefully, I slip my hand out of hers.

00:01:47My eyes swamp across the hallway.

00:01:49The dented locker numbers,

00:01:50the faded football team pictures,

00:01:52the bulletin board plastered with fall semester 1996.

00:01:55Cheerleaders rush past us,

00:01:57ponytails flying while some varsity asshole

00:01:59has a scrawny kid pinned against a logger,

00:02:01shaking him down for lunch money.

00:02:03This isn't a dream.

00:02:04I'm really back in the 90s.

00:02:06That's when a tall, lanky guy with glasses started walking toward us.

00:02:10Hector,

00:02:10my mother's first love,

00:02:12the man who ruined all our lives.

00:02:14Hey, this is my Scarlet.

00:02:15She just transferred it in.

00:02:16Scarlet, meet Hector.

00:02:17Straight A student,

00:02:18total teacher's pet,

00:02:19basically tutoring half the school.

00:02:21Hey, I'm Hector.

00:02:23Welcome to East Ridge.

00:02:24The second I hear his name,

00:02:26my stomach turns.

00:02:28I ignore his hand completely

00:02:30and scan the noisy hallway

00:02:31for the one person who should have been here.

00:02:33Where's my dad?

00:02:35Austin should be at this school too.

00:02:37Wait,

00:02:38Austin's not in your class?

00:02:39Austin?

00:02:40There's no Austin in this entire school.

00:02:44Austin Walker,

00:02:45my dad,

00:02:46he's not,

00:02:46he's not here?

00:02:49Your dad?

00:02:51Just as I'm scrambling for an excuse,

00:02:53a roar erupts from the end of the hallway

00:02:55and 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,

00:03:01she looks nothing like the woman

00:03:03who would one day watch me die without blinking.

00:03:05The gym is loud,

00:03:06humilded,

00:03:07packed wall to wall.

00:03:08Football players in red jerseys

00:03:10charge onto the court

00:03:11while cheerleaders shake palm balls

00:03:13under the flashing lights.

00:03:14The bleachers thunder

00:03:15with stomping feet

00:03:16and screaming students.

00:03:18This Friday,

00:03:19let's show East Ridge

00:03:20who really runs this town.

00:03:22The crowd explodes.

00:03:24She's radiant up there.

00:03:26Beside me,

00:03:26Hector adjusts his glasses,

00:03:28eyes 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,

00:03:39students pour out of the gym.

00:03:41The halls fill with slamming lockers

00:03:43and 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 need enough to look typed.

00:03:57As she flips a page,

00:03:59something slips out from between her books.

00:04:01A pale green application packet.

00:04:03Harvard University.

00:04:05My breathing catches.

00:04:06She actually got an application.

00:04:08But later in life,

00:04:09she always says Harvard was never an option

00:04:11for someone like her.

00:04:12So that was a lie too.

00:04:13Valerie,

00:04:14your future turns out cheap and pathetic anyway.

00:04:16So why are you out here

00:04:17pretend to be some gifted golden girl right now?

00:04:19It makes me sick.

00:04:20I rise from my seat.

00:04:21Then,

00:04:22with one sharp shove of my elbow,

00:04:23I knock over the black coffee on her desk.

00:04:26The dark liquid spills perfectly

00:04:28across the application packet,

00:04:29soaking through the giant Harvard crest

00:04:31until the ink begins to bleed.

00:04:33I stare at her coldly,

00:04:34waiting for her to snap.

00:04:36Waiting for the mask to fall off.

00:04:37Waiting to finally see the real Valerie

00:04:39underneath all that fake sweetness.

00:04:41But her reaction throws me completely off.

00:04:46Oh God, Scarlet, are you okay?

00:04:49She grabs a stack of napkins

00:04:50and 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

00:05:01if the woman I remember

00:05:02was ever the real Valerie at all.

00:05:04Just then,

00:05:05the classroom door swings open.

00:05:07A Latino teacher steps inside

00:05:09and walks over to Valerie's desk.

00:05:11Hey Valerie,

00:05:12something came up with Scarlet's family.

00:05:14Kind of an emergency.

00:05:15Your parents called

00:05:16and asked if you could bring her home

00:05:17with you after school.

00:05:18An emergency?

00:05:20What the hell happened?

00:05:22By the time school lets out,

00:05:23the Texas sunset looks like

00:05:24the whole sky's on fire.

00:05:26Stadium lights flicker on

00:05:27one by one around the football field.

00:05:29The cheer squad is still practicing

00:05:31while snippets of 90s pop songs

00:05:32crack through the loudspears.

00:05:34Valerie walks a few steps ahead of me,

00:05:35her ponytail swaying softly behind her.

00:05:37She suddenly stops

00:05:38and turns to me gently.

00:05:39I heard about your parents.

00:05:41Scarlet,

00:05:41don'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,

00:05:48I'll always be here.

00:05:49That faint grapefruit scent

00:05:50wraps around me again.

00:05:51And just like that,

00:05:52I break.

00:05:53In my last life,

00:05:54there were countless nights

00:05:55when I would have given anything

00:05:56for this exact embrace.

00:05:57As I sob into her shoulder,

00:05:59I deliberately smears and snot

00:06:00all over her pretty shirt.

00:06:01Petty revenge.

00:06:02Pathetic, tiny revenge.

00:06:04But her arms are warm

00:06:05exactly the way I remember

00:06:06from childhood.

00:06:07So how the hell

00:06:08did someone like this

00:06:10become the woman

00:06:10who wouldn't even save my life?

00:06:12A bicycle bell rings behind us.

00:06:14Hector catches up,

00:06:15pushing an old bike

00:06:15with a paper box of cupcakes

00:06:17sitting 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

00:06:23walking side by side

00:06:24beneath the football field lights

00:06:25and something bitter

00:06:26twists in my chest.

00:06:27What, Hector?

00:06:28You gonna pick her up

00:06:29like this every day?

00:06:30Keep her stuck in this town

00:06:31and make her your wife someday?

00:06:32Hector stops walking,

00:06:33but when he looks at me,

00:06:35his expression is completely

00:06:36open and sincere.

00:06:38Valerie's meant for bigger

00:06:38things than this place.

00:06:39She's too talented

00:06:40to spend her life

00:06:41shrinking herself

00:06:42for some guy.

00:06:44That'd be...

00:06:45wrong.

00:06:46I freeze,

00:06:47because I never imagined

00:06:49Hector would say

00:06:49something like that.

00:06:52I'm not getting stuck

00:06:53married with kids at 18.

00:06:55I want to see

00:06:56what's out there first.

00:06:57But you did have me at 18.

00:06:58You ended up trapped

00:06:59in a rotting trailer park

00:07:00full of violence

00:07:01and screaming

00:07:02and broken walls.

00:07:03Valerie,

00:07:04did your dreams betray you?

00:07:05The whole walk there,

00:07:07something about this timeline

00:07:08feels off in a way

00:07:10I can't explain.

00:07:11And then Valerie

00:07:13opens the front door.

00:07:15The smell of home-cooked food

00:07:16hits me instantly.

00:07:18So you're Scarlet, huh?

00:07:21Hi, Mr. Wyatt.

00:07:22Thanks for letting me

00:07:23stay over.

00:07:25He bursts out laughing

00:07:26and pulls me inside

00:07:27before I can even finish.

00:07:29The house is warm,

00:07:31spotless,

00:07:32lived in.

00:07:32There's a brand new

00:07:33pair of slippers

00:07:34waiting for me

00:07:34by the entryway

00:07:35along with folded pajamas

00:07:36set out they'd been

00:07:37expecting me for days.

00:07:38The living room walls

00:07:38are lined with plaques,

00:07:39commendations,

00:07:40and framed Federal Service Award.

00:07:42On the TV,

00:07:43a local news station

00:07:44is covering a major

00:07:44drug trafficking case

00:07:45near the Texas border.

00:07:46A photo flashes on screen

00:07:48of two fallen

00:07:48narcotics agents.

00:07:50Your parents were

00:07:50good people, kiddo.

00:07:52Best partners I ever had.

00:07:54Real heroes.

00:07:55And from now on,

00:07:56this house is yours too.

00:07:57You hear me?

00:07:57That's when it finally

00:07:58hits me.

00:07:59The parents belonging

00:08:00to this body

00:08:01are already dead.

00:08:02Dinner is loud

00:08:03and warm

00:08:04and painfully alive.

00:08:05Grandpa keeps piling

00:08:06food onto plates.

00:08:07Grandma laughs at everything.

00:08:08A dog nudges

00:08:09against my legs

00:08:10beneath the table.

00:08:10The kitchen light

00:08:11glows so warmly

00:08:12it almost hurts to look at.

00:08:13And across from me

00:08:14sits Valerie,

00:08:14laughing freely

00:08:15while her parents

00:08:16stole on her

00:08:16like she's the center

00:08:17of their universe.

00:08:18My chest tightens

00:08:19so hard it feels

00:08:20unbearable.

00:08:21This is insane.

00:08:22Like some cruel

00:08:23cosmic joke.

00:08:24She grew up

00:08:25surrounded by this

00:08:26much love.

00:08:26So how the hell

00:08:27did she become

00:08:28someone who could

00:08:29watch me die

00:08:29without a single

00:08:30shred of kindness?

00:08:31Late that night,

00:08:32Valerie and I

00:08:33lay side by side

00:08:34in the dark.

00:08:35There's been this

00:08:36huge cartel case

00:08:37near the border lately.

00:08:39I keep having nightmares

00:08:40something's gonna happen

00:08:41to my parents.

00:08:42At 18,

00:08:42she looks so young,

00:08:44so fragile.

00:08:45Before sunrise,

00:08:47I wake to the sound

00:08:47of movement

00:08:48in the living room.

00:08:49Grandpa is sitting

00:08:50by the door

00:08:50pulling on his

00:08:51police boots.

00:08:51I run out barefoot

00:08:52and grab onto his sleeve

00:08:53before he can leave.

00:08:54Mr. Wyatt,

00:08:55please be careful out there.

00:08:57He smiles and

00:08:57ruffles my hair.

00:08:58I will, kiddo.

00:08:59Promise I'll come

00:09:00home safe.

00:09:01Then he and grandma

00:09:02disappear together

00:09:02into the pale border

00:09:03fog of early morning.

00:09:05And the dread in my chest

00:09:07only grows heavier.

00:09:10Valerie stumbles

00:09:11out of bed

00:09:12half asleep

00:09:12the next morning

00:09:13and stands in front

00:09:14of the mirror,

00:09:15completely lost

00:09:16trying to fix

00:09:16her ponytail.

00:09:18God, she's hopeless.

00:09:19I walk over

00:09:20and quietly redo

00:09:21her hair for her.

00:09:22It's the first time

00:09:23in both my lives

00:09:24that I've ever been

00:09:25this close to her.

00:09:26Scarlett,

00:09:26how are you so good

00:09:27at this?

00:09:28And suddenly I remember

00:09:29how, when I was little,

00:09:30she always hacked

00:09:31my hair off

00:09:32into awful tomboy cuts.

00:09:33Maybe it wasn't

00:09:34coldness after all.

00:09:35Maybe 18-year-old Valerie

00:09:36just barely knew

00:09:37how to take care

00:09:38of herself.

00:09:38A bicycle bell rings

00:09:39outside the yard.

00:09:40Hector, right on schedule.

00:09:42He hands me

00:09:42an ice-cold soda,

00:09:43then stares at my face

00:09:45for a little too long.

00:09:47Scarlett,

00:09:48is it just me

00:09:49or are you starting

00:09:49to look more and more

00:09:50like Valerie?

00:09:51A chill shoots

00:09:52straight through me.

00:09:53Right before I died

00:09:53in my last life,

00:09:54I was barely recognizable,

00:09:55skin and bones

00:09:56from the cancer.

00:09:57But the last time

00:09:57I looked in a mirror,

00:09:58I realized something horrifying.

00:10:00I hadn't taken over

00:10:01someone else's body.

00:10:02I came back wearing

00:10:02my own 18-year-old face.

00:10:04Pretty girls always

00:10:05kind of look alike, right?

00:10:07Surrounded by all

00:10:07this warmth,

00:10:08I start wavering.

00:10:09It gets harder and harder

00:10:10to connect this version

00:10:11of Valerie to the woman

00:10:12from my last life.

00:10:14This girl is kind,

00:10:15bright, alive.

00:10:16I finally begin

00:10:17to understand

00:10:18why my dad, Austin,

00:10:19spent his whole life

00:10:20loving her even when

00:10:21she never truly

00:10:21loved him back.

00:10:22Part of me even

00:10:23starts thinking

00:10:23that when I finally

00:10:24meet him in this timeline,

00:10:25maybe I should tell him

00:10:26to fall for somebody else.

00:10:28But I never imagined

00:10:29that just as I started

00:10:30letting my guard down,

00:10:31hell was already

00:10:32opening its doors.

00:10:33School lets out

00:10:34early that day.

00:10:34Hector and I stop

00:10:36by a taco truck

00:10:37on the corner.

00:10:38Valerie says she's tired

00:10:39and asks us to grab

00:10:41her a baked potato

00:10:42before heading home

00:10:43ahead of us.

00:10:44We're almost at her house

00:10:45when an old pickup truck

00:10:46with no plates

00:10:47suddenly comes flying

00:10:49backward out of the driveway.

00:10:51Several tattooed men

00:10:52in masks jump

00:10:53into the bed

00:10:53of the truck.

00:10:55Then a scream

00:10:56tears through the air.

00:10:57It's Valerie.

00:11:01Hector and I

00:11:02sprint toward the house

00:11:03so fast my lungs

00:11:04feel like they're

00:11:05tearing apart.

00:11:06The front door

00:11:07hangs crooked

00:11:08on its hinges,

00:11:09creaking heavily

00:11:09as it swings loosely

00:11:10against the broken frame.

00:11:12The second we step inside,

00:11:14the smell hits me.

00:11:14Blood, sweat, whiskey.

00:11:16The living room

00:11:16looks like a battlefield.

00:11:17Furniture overturned.

00:11:19Glass shattered everywhere.

00:11:19Family photos

00:11:20ripped from the walls,

00:11:21blood smeared across

00:11:22the wooden floorboards

00:11:22in long streaks

00:11:23like someone had been dragged.

00:11:25Grandpa and Grandma

00:11:26lie motionless

00:11:26on the ground.

00:11:27And in the middle

00:11:28of the room,

00:11:29Valerie,

00:11:30covered in blood,

00:11:31curled up on the floor.

00:11:32A tattooed man

00:11:33stands nearby,

00:11:35calmly fixing his belt

00:11:36like nothing happened.

00:11:38Hector roars

00:11:39and charges at him,

00:11:40only to get kicked hard

00:11:41across the room.

00:11:42The stranger turns

00:11:43toward me slowly.

00:11:44Then he grabs my collar

00:11:45and jerks me forward

00:11:46so violently

00:11:47my feet leave the ground.

00:11:49Hector!

00:11:50The stench of blood

00:11:51and cigarettes

00:11:52floods my nose

00:11:53so hard I nearly gag.

00:11:55Well, damn.

00:11:56If it isn't

00:11:56Officer Miller's kid.

00:11:58Lucky day for you,

00:11:59sweetheart.

00:12:00Boss already told us

00:12:01to pull out.

00:12:02Otherwise,

00:12:03you'd have been

00:12:03a lot of fun too.

00:12:04He spits onto the floor

00:12:06beside me

00:12:06and turns to leave.

00:12:08Behind him,

00:12:09Valerie curls tighter

00:12:10into herself,

00:12:11desperately clutching

00:12:12the ripped fabric

00:12:13over her chest.

00:12:14A broken sound

00:12:15escapes her throat.

00:12:16Something inside me snaps.

00:12:18I throw myself forward

00:12:19and grab the man's

00:12:20pant leg with both hands.

00:12:21Moonlight spills

00:12:22through the shattered window,

00:12:23sliding across the side

00:12:24of 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

00:12:31completely silent around me.

00:12:33Because he isn't

00:12:34some random cartel thug.

00:12:35He's Austin.

00:12:37My father.

00:12:41Hector scrambles

00:12:42to the wall

00:12:43and grabs the landline.

00:12:44But the phone cord

00:12:45has already been cut.

00:12:49You brought this

00:12:50on yourself,

00:12:51you little bitch!

00:12:52He lunges at me

00:12:53and starts ripping

00:12:54at my clothes,

00:12:55yanking violently

00:12:56at my collar.

00:12:57Trying to save me,

00:12:58Hector throws himself

00:12:59at Austin again

00:13:00without a second thought.

00:13:01In the chaos,

00:13:02I catch a flash of murder

00:13:04in Austin's eyes.

00:13:05He suddenly pulls

00:13:06a hunting knife

00:13:07from the back

00:13:07of his waist hand.

00:13:08And in that instant,

00:13:09I completely lose it.

00:13:11Without thinking,

00:13:12I grab the blade

00:13:13with my bare hand.

00:13:14My dad.

00:13:15How could this be my dad?

00:13:17Tears crash

00:13:18into the growing

00:13:18pool of blood

00:13:19beneath me.

00:13:20The man I loved most

00:13:21growing up.

00:13:22The father who raised me

00:13:23in that trailer park

00:13:24with 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

00:13:30I'm losing my mind.

00:13:31But the sharp pain

00:13:33slicing through my palm

00:13:34and Valier's desperate

00:13:35sobbing remind me

00:13:36this is real.

00:13:37I clamp down on the knife

00:13:39with everything I have

00:13:40and scream hysterically

00:13:42at Hector.

00:13:42Hector, run!

00:13:44Go get help!

00:13:45Go!

00:13:46Now!

00:13:46Blood streams

00:13:47down Hector's face

00:13:48as he staggers

00:13:49toward the door

00:13:50and bolts outside.

00:13:51And the second he's gone,

00:13:53Austin completely snaps.

00:13:55With a vicious twist

00:13:57of his wrist,

00:13:58he jerks the knife free

00:13:59and points the blade

00:14:00straight at my throat.

00:14:04But just then,

00:14:05my grandmother,

00:14:06who had been lying

00:14:07motionless in a pool of blood,

00:14:09somehow forces herself

00:14:10back up

00:14:11with the last bit

00:14:11of strength

00:14:12she has left.

00:14:14Austin turns,

00:14:15ready to stab her next.

00:14:18No!

00:14:19I slam into him

00:14:20with everything I have.

00:14:21The blade plunges

00:14:23straight into my stomach.

00:14:24Warmth explodes

00:14:25through my body.

00:14:26Then comes the pain.

00:14:27Endless,

00:14:28crushing pain.

00:14:29I press both hands

00:14:30against the wound,

00:14:31holding onto the knife

00:14:32with everything I've got

00:14:33so Austin can't

00:14:34pull it back out.

00:14:35You can't kill them.

00:14:38You can't.

00:14:40I'm crying,

00:14:41choking as blood pours

00:14:42from my mouth

00:14:43in heavy bursts.

00:14:44But Austin just twists

00:14:45the knife cruelly

00:14:46inside me.

00:14:48The agony sends me

00:14:50collapsing to my knees

00:14:51in the blood.

00:14:52That's when Grandma

00:14:52suddenly wraps

00:14:53both arms around

00:14:54Austin's neck from behind

00:14:55and drags him to the floor

00:14:57with every ounce of strength

00:14:58she has left.

00:14:59My grandfather,

00:15:00already covered in blood,

00:15:01grabs onto Austin's leg

00:15:02and refuses to let go.

00:15:04Realizing he's about

00:15:05to get caught,

00:15:06Austin curses violently,

00:15:08kicks himself free from them

00:15:09and climbs out the window,

00:15:10disappearing into the darkness

00:15:11near 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,

00:15:20I feel Valerie

00:15:21pulling me into her arms.

00:15:23My consciousness

00:15:24is already slipping away,

00:15:25sobbing controllably

00:15:26with tears and blood

00:15:28all over my face.

00:15:28I still try to take off

00:15:29my jacket and cover her

00:15:30with it,

00:15:31but I'm too weak.

00:15:32My arm barely lifts

00:15:33halfway before it drops

00:15:34limply into the blood.

00:15:35In the distance,

00:15:36sirens scream

00:15:37through the night.

00:15:38I hear Hector crying

00:15:39as he rushes back inside

00:15:40with the police.

00:15:42Then everything goes dark.

00:15:43Somewhere far away,

00:15:44voices echo around me

00:15:46as I'm lifted

00:15:46onto a stretcher.

00:15:48She's flatlining!

00:15:49Move!

00:15:50Get the defibrillator!

00:15:51Now!

00:15:53When I finally open

00:15:54my eyes again,

00:15:55all I see is the pale white

00:15:56ceiling of a hospital room.

00:15:57Sitting beside my bed

00:15:58is Hector.

00:15:58When he ran for help,

00:15:59Austin's men caught him

00:16:00and beat him half to death.

00:16:01The second he sees me awake,

00:16:02arrogant genius,

00:16:03completely falls apart.

00:16:04He wipes his eyes

00:16:05while gripping to entice

00:16:06so tenderly.

00:16:06You were the last one

00:16:07to wake up!

00:16:08Do you have any idea

00:16:09how close you came to dying?

00:16:11You scared the hell out of us!

00:16:12He's crying so hard,

00:16:13it's a complete mess.

00:16:14Tears, snot, everything.

00:16:15At one point,

00:16:15he even spits on my face

00:16:16while talking.

00:16:17I let out a weak laugh.

00:16:18The anesthesia still

00:16:19hasn't fully worn over.

00:16:20I can't really feel pain yet,

00:16:21just heavy numbness

00:16:22all over my body.

00:16:22I look at him anxiously.

00:16:23Valerie's parents

00:16:25and Valerie,

00:16:26are they okay?

00:16:27Her folks made it

00:16:28to the hospital

00:16:29just in time.

00:16:30If that knife

00:16:30had hit either of them

00:16:31any worse.

00:16:33I struggle to sit up,

00:16:34desperate to see her,

00:16:35but before I can move,

00:16:36the hospital room door

00:16:37slowly opens.

00:16:38Valerie is standing there.

00:16:39Her eyes look hollow,

00:16:40and when she looks at me,

00:16:42there's something shattered

00:16:43in them I can't even

00:16:44begin to explain.

00:16:45I say her name softly.

00:16:46She nods faintly

00:16:47and walks over.

00:16:47Her cold fingers

00:16:48justly on my shoulder.

00:16:49Does it hurt?

00:16:51I shake my head.

00:16:51Looking at her red-rimmed eyes,

00:16:53I force a small smile.

00:16:55Have you been crying?

00:16:57She doesn't answer.

00:16:58She just holds my hand tighter

00:16:59and gently squeezes my cheek

00:17:00like she's afraid I'll disappear.

00:17:01Then suddenly,

00:17:02she lowers her head

00:17:03and tears drip

00:17:04onto the back of my hand.

00:17:05Thank you, Scarlet.

00:17:06If it weren't for you,

00:17:07I would have lost my parents.

00:17:10I look at the 18-year-old version

00:17:12of my mother

00:17:12standing in front of me,

00:17:13her fate already

00:17:14completely changed

00:17:15because of me.

00:17:15I sniff hard,

00:17:17holding back tears.

00:17:18I don't say a single word.

00:17:19I just let her tears

00:17:20soak into my skin

00:17:21before slowly lifting

00:17:22my free hand

00:17:23and placing it softly

00:17:24over the trembling hand

00:17:25resting on my shoulder.

00:17:28Valerie looks down

00:17:29at my hand covering hers

00:17:30as if she understands

00:17:32the comfort in my eyes.

00:17:34She takes a deep breath.

00:17:37Tears still cling to her lashes,

00:17:39but for the first time

00:17:40in forever,

00:17:41her voice carries

00:17:42a little relief.

00:17:43I've got good news.

00:17:44The case is over.

00:17:46The cartel operation

00:17:47finally got busted.

00:17:48Every single person

00:17:49involved in the attack

00:17:50was caught near the border.

00:17:51My parents can finally

00:17:52rest for a while.

00:17:53The moment I hear

00:17:54Austin and the traffickers

00:17:55were all arrested,

00:17:56my entire mind goes blank.

00:17:58Relief crashes over me

00:17:59so hard I almost

00:18:00shoot upright

00:18:01in the hospital bed.

00:18:02Wait, seriously?

00:18:03They caught all of them?

00:18:06Yes, seriously.

00:18:07Now stop moving

00:18:08before you rip

00:18:08your stitches open.

00:18:10Crushing weight

00:18:10that haunted me

00:18:11through both lifetimes

00:18:11finally disappears

00:18:12at that moment.

00:18:13Meanwhile, Hector,

00:18:14who has been sitting

00:18:15nearby this entire time,

00:18:16calmly peels a banana

00:18:17like nothing's happening.

00:18:19Doctor said

00:18:19you should eat this.

00:18:20You've already woken up

00:18:21a few times

00:18:21these past couple days.

00:18:22You've managed to pass gas,

00:18:24so now they're just waiting

00:18:25to see if you can finally

00:18:26have a bowel movement.

00:18:27Coming from someone

00:18:28usually this serious,

00:18:29it's so absurd

00:18:30I completely lose it.

00:18:31Unfortunately,

00:18:31the second I laugh,

00:18:32pain rips through

00:18:33the stitches in my abdomen.

00:18:34I immediately hiss in pain,

00:18:35clutching my stomach.

00:18:36Valerie starts laughing too,

00:18:37but after a few seconds,

00:18:38her laughter fades.

00:18:39Tears suddenly begin

00:18:40falling again without warning.

00:18:41She tries to cry quietly.

00:18:43She doesn't want

00:18:43either of us to notice.

00:18:45Hector's smile

00:18:45slowly disappears too.

00:18:47I wrap both arms tightly

00:18:49around this 18-year-old girl.

00:18:50At that moment,

00:18:51through my chest

00:18:52is no longer the hatred

00:18:53I carried in my previous life.

00:18:55Mom,

00:18:56if I had known

00:18:56my Biolodge father

00:18:57was the monster

00:18:58who destroyed your entire family,

00:19:00how could I ever

00:19:00have hated you?

00:19:01I would have only hated myself

00:19:03for ever being born,

00:19:04since fate gave me

00:19:05another chance.

00:19:07Then this time,

00:19:08I'll set you free.

00:19:11After surviving the nightmare,

00:19:13the little Texas town

00:19:14slowly comes back to life.

00:19:15Once I'm discharged

00:19:16from the hospital,

00:19:16my grandparents take me home.

00:19:18Grandpa proudly hands me

00:19:19a limited edition Barbie doll

00:19:20he brought back from New York.

00:19:21In my previous life,

00:19:22it was the only toy

00:19:23my mother had ever given me,

00:19:24but this time,

00:19:25somehow,

00:19:25it heals me first.

00:19:26Then Grandma completely hijacks

00:19:28what was supposed to be

00:19:29an emotional family dinner

00:19:30with giant sizzling Texas steaks,

00:19:31oversized cowboy hats

00:19:32and boots that look straight

00:19:33out of a Hollywood audition,

00:19:35and enough chaos

00:19:35to turn the whole night upside down.

00:19:37Even Hector,

00:19:38who normally acts

00:19:39way too composed for his age,

00:19:40finally laughs

00:19:41without holding back.

00:19:43But beneath the warm

00:19:44yellow glow of the dinner lights,

00:19:46the conversation

00:19:46eventually turns to goodbye.

00:19:48Hector's mother

00:19:48lifts her wine glass,

00:19:49eyes red and swollen,

00:19:50and quietly announces

00:19:51that they're moving back

00:19:52to Boston before Thanksgiving.

00:19:54She can't handle the danger

00:19:55near the border anymore.

00:19:56And in that moment,

00:19:57a misunderstanding

00:19:58from both my lifetimes

00:19:59finally unravels.

00:20:00In my previous life,

00:20:02Hector never left

00:20:03because he looked down

00:20:04on my mother's reputation.

00:20:05His mother had simply

00:20:06watched her son nearly die.

00:20:08Any parent would have wanted

00:20:09to run from this place

00:20:10after that.

00:20:10As an old country song

00:20:12crackles through the radio

00:20:13in the background,

00:20:14we start talking

00:20:15about the future.

00:20:16Valerie asks where

00:20:17I want to go to school someday.

00:20:19I look at her,

00:20:20the girl whose entire future

00:20:21was crushed fate

00:20:22in my previous life,

00:20:23an answer without hesitation.

00:20:25Harvard.

00:20:26Under the endless

00:20:26Texas night sky,

00:20:27with the Milky Way

00:20:28stretched above her

00:20:29like a dream,

00:20:29I finally understand

00:20:30the suffocating pain

00:20:31she carried in her previous life.

00:20:32I turn my head slightly

00:20:33and whisper so softly

00:20:34that only I can hear it.

00:20:35Mom,

00:20:35this time go live your life,

00:20:37chase your dreams,

00:20:38be yourself again.

00:20:38As for me,

00:20:39I'll stay behind

00:20:40in the darkness

00:20:40of this timeline.

00:20:41The day Hector leaves,

00:20:43the boy who has always

00:20:43been calm and restrained

00:20:44completely breaks down

00:20:45the moment he steps

00:20:46onto the bus.

00:20:47Clinging to the window,

00:20:48he cries so hard

00:20:49he can barely breathe.

00:20:50And then the bus

00:20:51slowly pulls away,

00:20:52kicking up clouds

00:20:52of Texas dust

00:20:53before disappearing

00:20:54at the end of the highway.

00:20:55Watching the bus

00:20:56vanish into the distance,

00:20:57I think life might

00:20:58finally return to normal.

00:21:00But fate still

00:21:00isn't done with me yet.

00:21:01Something happened

00:21:02to Valerie.

00:21:06After seeing Hector off,

00:21:07we head home

00:21:07through the bitter

00:21:08Texas winter wind.

00:21:09I cling tightly

00:21:09to Valerie's arm,

00:21:10trying my best

00:21:11to keep the mood light

00:21:11while talking excitedly

00:21:12about Christmas dinner plans.

00:21:13brisket has to be there.

00:21:14And Mr. Wyatt smoked

00:21:15pulled pork too.

00:21:16No argument.

00:21:16This year,

00:21:17we are eating like royalty.

00:21:18I'm still rambling happily

00:21:19when Valerie's expression

00:21:20suddenly changes.

00:21:21Without warning,

00:21:22she jerks her arm

00:21:23out of my grasp.

00:21:24Like a frightened deer,

00:21:25she stumbles towards

00:21:25a trash can on the side

00:21:26of the road,

00:21:27bends over,

00:21:28and starts violently

00:21:29throwing up.

00:21:29She vomits so hard

00:21:30there's eventually

00:21:31nothing left

00:21:31except bitter dry humps.

00:21:33By the end,

00:21:34she can barely

00:21:35stay standing.

00:21:35She grips a freezing

00:21:36telephone pole for support,

00:21:38her whole body

00:21:39trembling violently,

00:21:40her face drained

00:21:41completely white.

00:21:42my mind goes blank.

00:21:43The smile freezes

00:21:45on my face.

00:21:46Watching her clutch

00:21:47her stomach

00:21:48and reek in pain,

00:21:49a terrifying cold realization

00:21:52crawls slowly up my spine

00:21:54like ice water.

00:21:56Those symptoms.

00:21:58No.

00:21:59No way.

00:22:04You, you're pregnant?

00:22:08Valerie instinctively

00:22:09places a hand

00:22:10over her stomach.

00:22:11Her eyes are filled

00:22:13with the kind of panic

00:22:14and confusion

00:22:14no 18-year-old girl

00:22:16should ever have to carry.

00:22:17What happened that night

00:22:18may have been stopped

00:22:19halfway through,

00:22:20but some nightmares

00:22:21had already rerouted

00:22:22themselves deep in the dark.

00:22:25She looks at me helplessly,

00:22:27tears trembling in her eyes.

00:22:29I, I don't know, Scarlett.

00:22:32I thought maybe it was

00:22:33just 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

00:22:45and practically drag her

00:22:46down the street

00:22:47toward the town's

00:22:48small community clinic.

00:22:51The doctor on duty

00:22:52is an elderly

00:22:53Cuban-American woman

00:22:54with silver hair,

00:22:55Dr. Ramirez.

00:22:56She isn't just the only

00:22:57general practitioner in town.

00:22:58She's also one of

00:22:59Grandma Wyatt's

00:23:00oldest friends,

00:23:01and her chalice

00:23:02alongside her years ago.

00:23:03The second Dr. Romero

00:23:04sees Valerie's face

00:23:05and the sheer panic

00:23:06in my eyes,

00:23:07her sharp,

00:23:08battle-wurned gaze

00:23:09immediately narrows.

00:23:10Wasting another second,

00:23:11she starts ushering

00:23:13every remaining patient

00:23:14out of the clinic.

00:23:15The entire room

00:23:16falls into suffocating silence.

00:23:20Tell me what's going on.

00:23:22My scalp precles with dread

00:23:23as I quickly explain

00:23:24Valerie's nausea

00:23:25and vomiting.

00:23:26The old doctor says nothing

00:23:28after hearing me out,

00:23:29but a deep,

00:23:30piercing sorrow

00:23:30flashes through her eyes.

00:23:32She quietly takes Valerie

00:23:33into the examination room

00:23:35in the back.

00:23:36The moment the door closes,

00:23:38all the strength

00:23:38drains out of me.

00:23:39I collapse into the

00:23:40cold metal chair

00:23:41outside the office,

00:23:42shoving both hands

00:23:43deep into my hair.

00:23:44More than anyone else,

00:23:45I know exactly

00:23:46where I came from.

00:23:47And because of that,

00:23:48a horrifying truth

00:23:49finally pieces itself

00:23:50together in my mind.

00:23:51In my previous life,

00:23:52Austin,

00:23:52the man who raised me

00:23:53after showing Valerie's life,

00:23:54was actually released

00:23:55from prison early.

00:23:56After committing crimes

00:23:57like that,

00:23:58he still got out

00:23:58in less than 20 years.

00:24:00Back then,

00:24:00when the case went to court,

00:24:01Valerie must have

00:24:02stayed silent.

00:24:03Maybe to hide the shame

00:24:04of being pregnant

00:24:05as a teenager.

00:24:06Maybe to protect

00:24:06the Wyatt family's reputation.

00:24:08Whatever the reason,

00:24:09her silence helped

00:24:10set a monster free.

00:24:11The guilt of my own existence

00:24:12tears through me

00:24:13like a dull blade.

00:24:14This nightmare

00:24:14destroyed a brilliant girl

00:24:15who was supposed

00:24:16to go to Harvard.

00:24:17And the one thing

00:24:17it gave back to the world

00:24:18was a demon.

00:24:21Half an hour later,

00:24:22the exam room door

00:24:23slowly creaks open.

00:24:25Dr. Ramirez steps outside,

00:24:26looking exhausted.

00:24:28She gently pats my shoulder.

00:24:30Scarlet,

00:24:32go get Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt

00:24:34for me.

00:24:36The moment the truth

00:24:37comes out,

00:24:38the house,

00:24:39which had barely survived

00:24:41one nightmare already,

00:24:42falls into dead silence

00:24:44all over again.

00:24:54Grandpa sits heavily

00:24:55on the couch.

00:24:56This massive,

00:24:58hard-nosed cop

00:24:59who once stared down

00:25:00cartel gunfires

00:25:01now looks hollowed out,

00:25:02like a man aging

00:25:03ten years

00:25:04in a single night.

00:25:08He buries his rough,

00:25:09califafed hands

00:25:10over his face

00:25:11and says nothing.

00:25:14Meanwhile,

00:25:16Grandma holds

00:25:1618-year-old Valerie

00:25:17tightly in her arms,

00:25:19sobbing so hard

00:25:20she can barely breathe.

00:25:22We're packing tonight.

00:25:25We'll go straight

00:25:26to Boston

00:25:26and stay with

00:25:27Hector and his mother.

00:25:30I won't let

00:25:31that monster's family

00:25:32lay a finger

00:25:34on you

00:25:34ever again.

00:25:36Valerie stays

00:25:37curled up

00:25:38in the corner

00:25:38of the bed

00:25:39the entire time,

00:25:40silent as a

00:25:41porcelain doll.

00:25:42She doesn't say

00:25:43a word.

00:25:43She just keeps

00:25:44staring at me

00:25:45with those shattered

00:25:46empty eyes.

00:25:47But somewhere

00:25:48inside them

00:25:48is still this

00:25:49helpless instinct

00:25:50begging for someone

00:25:51to save her.

00:25:52The sight

00:25:52tears me apart

00:25:53inside.

00:25:55I lower my head

00:25:57immediately,

00:25:58too ashamed

00:25:59to even look

00:25:59my own mother

00:26:00in the eye.

00:26:01And then

00:26:02things somehow

00:26:03get even worse.

00:26:05Austin's trashy parents,

00:26:06the grandparents

00:26:07I had in my

00:26:08previous life,

00:26:09somehow hear

00:26:09about Valerie's

00:26:10pregnancy.

00:26:11Right after the attack,

00:26:12those two cowards

00:26:13vanished completely

00:26:14to avoid being

00:26:14dragged into

00:26:15the police investigation.

00:26:16But the second

00:26:17they hear Valerie

00:26:17is carrying

00:26:18Austin's child,

00:26:19they swoop in

00:26:19like vultures

00:26:20smelling blood.

00:26:21To them,

00:26:21this pregnancy

00:26:22is leverage,

00:26:23the perfect weapon

00:26:24to destroy

00:26:25the Wyatt family.

00:26:26We barely

00:26:26made it back home

00:26:27before the two

00:26:28of them show up

00:26:29outside the house

00:26:29with some sleazy

00:26:30lawyer they hired.

00:26:33The smell

00:26:34of cheap cigarettes

00:26:35and stale alcohol

00:26:36hits before they

00:26:37even step

00:26:38into the yard.

00:26:41My former

00:26:42grandfather,

00:26:43Silas Walker,

00:26:44doesn't show

00:26:44even a trace

00:26:45of shame.

00:26:47No guilt,

00:26:47no apology,

00:26:50just this

00:26:51disgusting,

00:26:52smug arrogance.

00:26:56Standing in the yard,

00:26:57he bellows toward

00:26:58the house

00:26:59like he owns

00:26:59the place.

00:27:00Officer Wyatt,

00:27:01don't hide in there.

00:27:03My son,

00:27:03Austin,

00:27:04may be in prison,

00:27:05but he still

00:27:05has parental rights.

00:27:07That maybe

00:27:07is part of our family,

00:27:08and you're not

00:27:09taking our grandchild

00:27:10anywhere.

00:27:11The sleazy lawyer

00:27:12beside him

00:27:13adjusts his glasses

00:27:14and smirks coldly.

00:27:19If Miss Yight

00:27:19refuses to drop

00:27:20the charges,

00:27:21we're fully prepared

00:27:21to drag this

00:27:22through family court

00:27:23for years.

00:27:24And trust me,

00:27:25once the media

00:27:25gets involved,

00:27:26everybody in Texas

00:27:27is going to know

00:27:28exactly what

00:27:28happened to your daughter.

00:27:33Then Mayabelle Walker,

00:27:34my former grandmother,

00:27:36blows out a stream

00:27:37of cigarette smoke

00:27:38and starts screeching

00:27:39in the house.

00:27:40You go testify

00:27:41in federal court,

00:27:43and we'll swear

00:27:44Valerie wanted it.

00:27:45We'll tell everyone

00:27:46you cops framed our son.

00:27:51We'll make damn sure

00:27:52every police department

00:27:53in Texas knows

00:27:55what 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!

00:28:08The police had kept

00:28:09the details of that night

00:28:10sealed tightly.

00:28:11Nobody in town knew

00:28:12what Valerie had actually

00:28:14suffered in the dark.

00:28:15But now,

00:28:15these two shameless monsters

00:28:17are ripping open

00:28:17her deepest traumata

00:28:18in public just to save

00:28:20their worthless son

00:28:20from federal prison.

00:28:22They stand outside

00:28:22with a damn megaphone,

00:28:24turning a survivor's

00:28:25private nightmare

00:28:26into some sick public spectacle

00:28:28about protecting

00:28:28the family bloodline.

00:28:30Before long,

00:28:30the whole town knows.

00:28:32But they don't actually

00:28:33want the baby.

00:28:34That's never been the point.

00:28:35What they want is pressure.

00:28:38They want to weaponize

00:28:39this conservative

00:28:40little town,

00:28:41the gossip,

00:28:42the judgment,

00:28:43the victim blaming

00:28:44until the Wyatts

00:28:45have nowhere left to run.

00:28:46And their terms

00:28:47are crystal clear.

00:28:48They want Valerie

00:28:49to change her testimony

00:28:50in federal court.

00:28:52They want her to claim

00:28:53Austin was just the driver

00:28:55and knew nothing

00:28:56about the attack.

00:28:57In exchange,

00:28:58the Walkers will stop

00:28:59harassing the family

00:29:00and leave them alone.

00:29:01Hearing the whispers

00:29:03rising outside the fence,

00:29:04seeing neighbors stare

00:29:06with that fake sympathy

00:29:07hiding disgust underneath.

00:29:11Everything suddenly

00:29:12clicks into place

00:29:13inside my head.

00:29:15Now I understand

00:29:16exactly how Austin

00:29:17got that early release

00:29:18in my previous life.

00:29:20There had been a deal.

00:29:22And Valerie had been

00:29:23crushed into accepting it.

00:29:24Looking at those

00:29:25two smug bastards

00:29:26standing outside our home

00:29:27acting righteous,

00:29:28every ounce of humiliation

00:29:29from my previous life

00:29:30and every drop of rage

00:29:31from this one

00:29:32finally explodes inside me.

00:29:33To hell with staying calm.

00:29:35I grab Grandpa's

00:29:36Louisville 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,

00:29:42all 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

00:30:02of the Louisville slugger

00:30:03smashes straight into

00:30:04Silas and Maybean's faces

00:30:05without a shred of hesitation.

00:30:07The sound of teeth breaking

00:30:08mixes with their screams

00:30:09as both of them stumble backward,

00:30:11clutching their bloody mouths

00:30:12before collapsing into the dirt.

00:30:13Your son is a convicted rapist!

00:30:16I point the bat directly

00:30:17at the two of them,

00:30:18shaking with rage.

00:30:19Where the hell

00:30:19was the talk about the law

00:30:21when your psycho son

00:30:22was pointing a gun

00:30:23at federal officers?

00:30:24And now you want to come here

00:30:25and black rail cops?

00:30:28Gripping the bat

00:30:29with 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

00:30:34instantly into a spider web

00:30:35of shattered glass.

00:30:37Then I whip around

00:30:37towards the neighbors

00:30:38gathering outside the fence,

00:30:40all of them whispering

00:30:40and 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?

00:30:48I 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!

00:30:55Get the hell away

00:30:55from the Wyatt house!

00:30:57All of you!

00:30:58Move!

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

00:31:17detonates

00:31:18through the street

00:31:18like thunder.

00:31:19The bullet slices

00:31:20past Silas's ear

00:31:21and blasts apart

00:31:22one of the wooden fence

00:31:23posts behind him.

00:31:24Everyone freezes.

00:31:25Grandpa Rick

00:31:26stands there

00:31:26gripping a

00:31:27cold python revolver.

00:31:28The barrel pressed

00:31:29directly against Silas's forehead.

00:31:31His voice is low

00:31:32and deadly.

00:31:33Officer Miller's daughter

00:31:34took 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

00:31:45the dirt beside him

00:31:46as he collapses

00:31:47in 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,

00:31:56another figure comes

00:31:57flying down the porch

00:31:57steps, Grandma.

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 the old woman

00:32:06nearly falls.

00:32:07Slap!

00:32:09Grandma backhands her

00:32:10across the face

00:32:10hard enough to send

00:32:11her crashing into the dirt,

00:32:13then plants a boot

00:32:14against her chest.

00:32:15Her eyes are pure steel.

00:32:17You think you can

00:32:18threaten my daughter's name?

00:32:19I'll go to prison smiling

00:32:20before I let your family

00:32:21destroy her life.

00:32:23Now get the hell

00:32:23off my property

00:32:24before I bury all of you

00:32:26out in the desert myself.

00:32:27Rick cocks the revolver once,

00:32:29never taking his eyes

00:32:30off Silas.

00:32:31You assaulted my family.

00:32:33As a police officer,

00:32:34I have every right

00:32:35to arrest you right now.

00:32:36Next time,

00:32:37you won't walk away

00:32:38this lucky.

00:32:39Now get out.

00:32:40The sheer violence

00:32:41radiating off the two

00:32:42retired narcotics officers

00:32:44terrifies everyone

00:32:45into silence.

00:32:46The gossipy neighbors

00:32:47scatter immediately.

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,

00:32:55Grandpa Rick doubles

00:32:56over coughing violently.

00:32:57Fresh blood begins

00:32:58soaking through the white

00:32:59bandages wrapped around

00:33:00his torso.

00:33:07Grandpa's stitches

00:33:07tear open again,

00:33:08so Grandma rushes him

00:33:09back to the hospital.

00:33:10I stay behind to take

00:33:10care of Valerie.

00:33:11Standing outside her

00:33:12bedroom door,

00:33:12I force myself to breathe

00:33:13through the panic

00:33:14crushing my chest.

00:33:15I wipe the tears

00:33:15and blood off my face

00:33:16over and over with my

00:33:17sleeve until my skin

00:33:17burns raw.

00:33:18I can't let Valerie

00:33:19see me falling apart.

00:33:20Right now,

00:33:20I have to be strong for her.

00:33:22I shove the bedroom door

00:33:23open and lock it tightly

00:33:24behind me,

00:33:25shutting out the chaos

00:33:26outside.

00:33:26Then I walk straight

00:33:27towards her bed.

00:33:29The second I see her

00:33:30sitting there,

00:33:31pale,

00:33:32hollow,

00:33:33motionless,

00:33:34something inside me

00:33:35finally breaks completely.

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 desperate.

00:33:50I grab her shoulders gently,

00:33:52trying to pull strength

00:33:53from the girl who,

00:33:54in another lifetime,

00:33:55would become my mother

00:33:5619 years later.

00:33:58But Valerie never says a word.

00:34:00She just stays curled

00:34:01in the corner of the bed.

00:34:03The fading sunset

00:34:04filters through the blinds,

00:34:05strip by strip,

00:34:06dying slowly across her face.

00:34:08Then she finally lifts her head.

00:34:10And once again,

00:34:11she looks at me

00:34:12with those same shattered eyes,

00:34:14empty,

00:34:15helpless,

00:34:15but still quietly

00:34:17begging someone to save me.

00:34:18Sight crushes my chest.

00:34:20For my entire previous life,

00:34:21I thought I had been born unwanted.

00:34:22But now I finally

00:34:23understand the truth.

00:34:24My birth was never love.

00:34:25It was a chain,

00:34:27a weapon crafted by a monster

00:34:28to trap my mother

00:34:29and destroy her family forever.

00:34:30I have never hated myself

00:34:32more than I do right now.

00:34:35Valerie,

00:34:36listen to me.

00:34:38This baby.

00:34:39Before I can finish,

00:34:40Valerie suddenly covers

00:34:41my mouth with her hand.

00:34:44I look up at her

00:34:47and suddenly the dam inside me

00:34:49completely breaks.

00:34:51Tears pour down my face

00:34:52as I collapse to my knees

00:34:54beside the bed.

00:34:55I pull her hand away

00:34:56from my mouth

00:34:57and finally scream out

00:34:58the truth

00:34:59that destroyed me

00:35:00for an entire lifetime.

00:35:02This baby

00:35:03is a stain

00:35:04that monster

00:35:05left on your life.

00:35:07You'll hate it forever.

00:35:09Every time you look at it,

00:35:11you'll remember him.

00:35:13You'll wish

00:35:14it had never been born.

00:35:16My voice cracks apart completely.

00:35:19It's better to end this now

00:35:21than let that child

00:35:22grow up trapped

00:35:22in pain and misery.

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

00:35:30from existence.

00:35:32But at that exact moment,

00:35:33Valerie,

00:35:34who has been sitting there

00:35:35lifeless and hollow

00:35:36this whole,

00:35:36whole time,

00:35:37suddenly trembles violently.

00:35:39It's like something inside her

00:35:41finally snaps awake.

00:35:42She bolts upright

00:35:43from the bed

00:35:44and throws her arms

00:35:45around me without warning,

00:35:46crushing me

00:35:47against her chest.

00:35:48She holds me so tightly

00:35:49her fingers dig painfully

00:35:51into my back.

00:35:52Hot tears spill

00:35:53onto my neck,

00:35:54burning against my skin.

00:35:55And then she completely

00:35:56breaks down.

00:35:57I never wanted you dead.

00:36:00Nora.

00:36:02Nora.

00:36:03Your voice is raw

00:36:04and shattered from crying.

00:36:06Not once!

00:36:08Not for a single second

00:36:10did I ever wish

00:36:11you were dead!

00:36:15That single sentence

00:36:17crashes through the room

00:36:18with the weight

00:36:18of two lifetimes

00:36:19behind it.

00:36:20Every ounce of pain,

00:36:22resentment,

00:36:23anger,

00:36:24and loneliness

00:36:24I carried inside me

00:36:26shatters instantly

00:36:27into dust.

00:36:29Because she called me

00:36:30Nora.

00:36:31Not Scarlet.

00:36:32Nora.

00:36:33In this timeline,

00:36:35nobody knows that name.

00:36:36Nobody except my mother

00:36:38from my previous life.

00:36:39I freeze in her arms,

00:36:41my mind going

00:36:42completely blank.

00:36:43She isn't just

00:36:44the 18-year-old Valerie

00:36:46who knows nothing

00:36:47about the future.

00:36:48She remembers too.

00:36:50In this broken,

00:36:52twisted timeline,

00:36:53and near my find,

00:36:54my mother was reborn

00:36:56alongside me.

00:36:58I know.

00:37:00My entire body shakes

00:37:02as I cling to her

00:37:03shoulder-her-shoulder

00:37:04like a lost child.

00:37:07I know I was never

00:37:09supposed to be born.

00:37:10You had every reason

00:37:12to hate me

00:37:13because of that monster.

00:37:15Valerie suddenly

00:37:16grabs my face

00:37:16with both hands

00:37:17and forces me

00:37:18to look at her

00:37:18through her tears.

00:37:20How 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,

00:37:27she finally tears open

00:37:28the truth she buried

00:37:29for decades,

00:37:29and through

00:37:30uncontrollable sobbing,

00:37:32my mother finally tells me

00:37:33why she stood beside

00:37:34my hospital bed

00:37:35and watched me die

00:37:36in my previous life.

00:37:40The reason I couldn't

00:37:41donate bone 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 abandoning you,

00:37:50Nora.

00:37:51How could I ever

00:37:52abandon my own daughter?

00:37:54Outside,

00:37:55the winter wind screams

00:37:57across the Texas borderlands.

00:37:59But inside this cold

00:38:01little room,

00:38:02a mother and daughter

00:38:03separated by two lifetimes

00:38:04finally find each other again

00:38:07in the ruins

00:38:08of everything they lost.

00:38:09Valerie clutches me

00:38:11so tightly,

00:38:11she's shaking.

00:38:12I never gave on you,

00:38:14Nora.

00:38:14I begged everyone

00:38:16I could for help.

00:38:17I borrowed money

00:38:18from anybody willing

00:38:19to listen because

00:38:19I wanted to save you.

00:38:21Every word tears

00:38:22out of her throat

00:38:23like it physically hurts

00:38:24to say it.

00:38:24Your bastard father

00:38:25wouldn't pay a single 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 property

00:38:36I owned in Boston

00:38:37just to barely cover

00:38:38your medical 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 ventilator

00:38:44out and himself

00:38:45back at the trailer park.

00:38:46He lied to you.

00:38:47He actually convinced you

00:38:48that I was the one

00:38:49who abandoned you.

00:38:50She cries so hard

00:38:51she can barely breathe anymore.

00:38:52Decades of humiliation

00:38:53and buried motherhood

00:38:54finally exploding out

00:38:55all at once.

00:38:56Back then,

00:38:57I left with Hector's mother

00:38:58to work in the city

00:38:59because I needed money.

00:39:00I was trying to build

00:39:01enough of a life

00:39:01to come back

00:39:02and take you away

00:39:03from that rotting border 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 park

00:39:10with a gun

00:39:10and wouldn't even

00:39:11let me get near you.

00:39:12The only thing

00:39:14I could do

00:39:16Her voice breaks

00:39:17completely.

00:39:19Would 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 little 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.

00:39:39Back then,

00:39:41she was only 18.

00:39:42A girl who had survived

00:39:44something horrific

00:39:44whose mind

00:39:45was already hanging

00:39:46by a thread.

00:39:47There was no way

00:39:48she could go back

00:39:49to that monster.

00:39:50For her,

00:39:51every step

00:39:52towards that trailer cramp

00:39:53was like walking

00:39:53back into hell itself.

00:39:55But fate

00:39:55has always been cruel.

00:39:57By the time

00:39:57Mom finally saved

00:39:58enough 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 apart.

00:40:32But by then,

00:40:34I'd already been diagnosed

00:40:35with terminal cancer.

00:40:38I didn't have much time left, Nora.

00:40:43Her tears mixed with mine

00:40:45as they streamed down

00:40:46our 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 my whole life hating

00:41:09never abandoned me.

00:41:12Not once.

00:41:13With a body and soul

00:41:14shattered by a monster,

00:41:16she still fought through

00:41:17the filth and 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 are

00:41:25no tears left.

00:41:27Finally,

00:41:28I wipe my face hard

00:41:29and force myself

00:41:30to look straight into 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 become

00:41:38your change all 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 live

00:41:44your own life.

00:41:45Valerie instantly shakes

00:41:46her head in panic.

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,

00:41:57crying uncontrollably.

00:41:58And seeing the pain

00:41:59and determination

00:42:00in her eyes,

00:42:01I 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

00:42:08through 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.

00:42:48Dispatch intercepted

00:42:48a report ten minutes ago.

00:42:49He's heading straight for town

00:42:51in 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.

00:43:10Why 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 the heavy cleaver

00:43:34sitting beside the cutting board

00:43:36in 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 into

00:43:51the 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 with 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

00:44:37pickup truck skids

00:44:38to a stop beside me.

00:44:39Scarlett, 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 start

00:44:53tracking tire marks

00:44:55and 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!

00:45:23Let go!

00:45:24My 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

00:45:52suddenly disappears.

00:45:53Completely.

00:45:54As I sprint through

00:45:55the freezing dark

00:45:56I grip the heavy meat clever

00:45:57hidden beneath my coat

00:45:58so tightly my hand aches.

00:46:00My palm is slipped with sweat.

00:46:02But my eyes hold

00:46:03no 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 cost the life

00:46:20I was never supposed

00:46:21to have in the first place.

00:46:23I stare at the

00:46:24battered trailer 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 of 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

00:47:01what kind of monster

00:47:02he really is.

00:47:05I'm gonna rip you apart!

00:47:07A man who survived

00:47:08years of cartel violence

00:47:10along the border

00:47:11doesn't go down easily.

00:47:13The pain only drives me insane.

00:47:16But before I can swing again

00:47:17agony shoots through my arm

00:47:19like the bone is about to snap.

00:47:22I'm gonna kill you!

00:47:24The clever is ripped out

00:47:26of my hands instantly.

00:47:27Clang!

00:47:28The weapon crashes to the floor

00:47:30as Austin slams me hard

00:47:31against the ground

00:47:32inside the trailer.

00:47:36Under the dim moonlight

00:47:37leaking through

00:47:38the broken trailer walls

00:47:39Austin finally sees

00:47:40my face clearly.

00:47:44You little bitch again.

00:47:47You just keep ruining

00:47:49everything!

00:47:50He roars hysterically

00:47:51and raises the clember

00:47:52over his head.

00:47:53Then it comes down.

00:47:55Again.

00:47:56And again.

00:47:57The blade flashes silver

00:47:59through the cramped trailer.

00:48:01Each strike tears violently

00:48:03into my stomach and chest

00:48:04without mercy.

00:48:10Warm blood immediately floods

00:48:11from my mouth

00:48:12soaking my clothes.

00:48:16Strangely

00:48:18I can't feel pain anymore.

00:48:23My mind is terrifyingly clear.

00:48:25Only one thought

00:48:27keeps screaming

00:48:27inside my head.

00:48:28Don't let him go.

00:48:30Don't let him get to Valerie.

00:48:32No!

00:48:33Please!

00:48:33Stop!

00:48:34Let her go!

00:48:37No!

00:48:40Please stop!

00:48:42Stop!

00:48:49And the second I see him

00:48:51turning toward my mother again

00:48:52something inside me snaps

00:48:54using every last ounce of strength

00:48:57from both my lives.

00:48:58I throw myself onto him

00:49:00from behind

00:49:00and lock my arms around his body

00:49:02like a steel trap.

00:49:06No!

00:49:07No!

00:49:08No!

00:49:09No!

00:49:10No!

00:49:11No!

00:49:12No!

00:49:12No matter how violently

00:49:14he punches me

00:49:16no matter how many times

00:49:18the blade carves into my flesh

00:49:20I grit my teeth so hard

00:49:22I taste blood

00:49:22and hold on anyway.

00:49:25Even as blood pours

00:49:26from my mouth

00:49:27I use my dying body weight

00:49:29to keep him pinned

00:49:30in place.

00:49:31You want to hurt her?

00:49:33Then you'll have to cut me

00:49:35into pieces first.

00:49:36Then you'll have to cut me

00:49:36into pieces first!

00:49:37Then you'll have to cut me

00:49:38into pieces first!

00:49:41A deafening shotgun

00:49:42blast erupts

00:49:43through the trailer.

00:49:45Austin!

00:49:46Blinding police spotlights

00:49:48flood the darkness

00:49:48as Grandpa storms

00:49:49inside roaring.

00:49:51The blast tears

00:49:53straight through

00:49:53Austin's skull.

00:49:55The impact stops

00:49:56the monster cold.

00:49:57His body jerks violently

00:49:59before collapsing

00:49:59to the floor

00:50:00like dead weight.

00:50:01Scarlet!

00:50:03Finally

00:50:03the demon falls silent

00:50:05and with the last bit

00:50:06of life draining

00:50:07from my body

00:50:07I collapse

00:50:08into the blood

00:50:09beside him.

00:50:14Scarlet!

00:50:15Scarlet!

00:50:19Scarlet, wake up!

00:50:21Please!

00:50:23Mom's begging you

00:50:24please wake up!

00:50:27My mother's screams

00:50:28tear through

00:50:28the freezing Texas night

00:50:30raw

00:50:31desperate

00:50:32sharp enough

00:50:33to rip the sky apart.

00:50:34I want to lift my hand

00:50:37wipe 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 around me

00:50:47sound farther and farther away

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 helplessly

00:50:54in the cold

00:50:54moldy blood

00:50:55pooling across

00:50:55the floor

00:50:56of the abandoned trailer.

00:50:57I see Grandpa

00:50:58and Grandma

00:50:59rushing 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 once.

00:51:07He 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

00:51:17wreck her body.

00:51:19The whole world

00:51:21is slowly drifting

00:51:22out of reach.

00:51:23I know then

00:51:24I'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

00:51:39by Grandpa's shotgun.

00:51:40The blast tears

00:51:41straight through his head.

00:51:43His blood

00:51:44his violence

00:51:45his evil

00:51:45all 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.

00:51:59After 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.

00:52:18The kitchen that once

00:52:18smells of barbecue

00:52:19and fresh coffee

00:52:20never lights up again.

00:52:22Valerie becomes a ghost.

00:52:23She barely speaks.

00:52:25Barely moves.

00:52:26Like someone winds her up

00:52:28once

00:52:28and then forgets

00:52:29to 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 settled

00:52:36across everything

00:52:37I leave behind.

00:52:38With trembling hands

00:52:39she folds

00:52:40my faded jeans

00:52:41picks up

00:52:42my unfinished notebooks

00:52:43smooths out the wrinkles

00:52:44and the blanket

00:52:45on my bed.

00:52:46And the moment

00:52:47her fingers touch

00:52:48those cold sheets

00:52:49the ones that will

00:52:49never hold 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

00:53:00find you in heaven?

00:53:04Valerie drops

00:53:05to her knees

00:53:06beside the bed.

00:53:07She buries

00:53:08her pale face

00:53:09deep into my old pillow

00:53:10the one I never

00:53:11get around to washing.

00:53:13There's still

00:53:13the faint smell

00:53:14of cheap shampoo

00:53:15lingering in the fabric

00:53:16the last trace

00:53:17of her daughter

00:53:18left in this world.

00:53:20She clutches the sheets

00:53:21so tightly

00:53:22her fingers cramp

00:53:23crying like a child

00:53:24who loses everything

00:53:25in the middle

00:53:25of the desert.

00:53:29The news of the border

00:53:30shooting reaches

00:53:31Boston overnight.

00:53:33Hector

00:53:33and his mother

00:53:34immediately cancel

00:53:35everything

00:53:36and drive back

00:53:37to Texas.

00:53:39Neither of them

00:53:40asks questions.

00:53:42They simply

00:53:43stay beside

00:53:43my grandparents

00:53:44and help them

00:53:45hold themselves together

00:53:46long enough

00:53:47to bury me.

00:53:49The funeral

00:53:50is held

00:53:50in the little cemetery

00:53:51outside town.

00:53:53For once

00:53:54there is no sandstorm.

00:53:57White roses

00:53:58cover my grave.

00:53:59Hector stands

00:54:00at the very back

00:54:01of the crowd.

00:54:02The boy

00:54:03who once looked

00:54:04so calm

00:54:04and untouchable

00:54:05now has eyes

00:54:07darkened

00:54:08with grief

00:54:08and rage.

00:54:09He stares

00:54:10at the photo

00:54:11on my headstone.

00:54:12My 18-year-old

00:54:13smile frozen

00:54:14forever in time

00:54:15and clenches

00:54:16his fists

00:54:17so hard

00:54:17his knuckles

00:54:18turn pale.

00:54:21After the funeral

00:54:22the atmosphere

00:54:23inside the Wyatt house

00:54:25feels suffocating.

00:54:26Grandpa

00:54:27and Grandma

00:54:28sit silently

00:54:28at the dinner table.

00:54:30Exhaustion

00:54:31and grief

00:54:31etched

00:54:32into every line

00:54:33on their faces.

00:54:34Hector sits alone

00:54:35on the old bench

00:54:36near the living room window

00:54:37staring out

00:54:37at the empty

00:54:38Texas highway.

00:54:39He struggles

00:54:40with himself

00:54:40for a long time

00:54:41before finally standing

00:54:42and walking over

00:54:43to Valerie.

00:54:44He crouches down

00:54:45in front of her

00:54:46carefully

00:54:46like he's afraid

00:54:47she might shitter

00:54:48if he moves

00:54:48too fast.

00:54:54Valerie

00:54:54come with us

00:54:55leave this place

00:54:56behind

00:54:57we can start

00:54:58over somewhere else

00:55:00okay?

00:55:01His voice

00:55:02is barely

00:55:02above a whisper

00:55:03he doesn't even

00:55:04dare touch 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

00:55:15oxygen left in the world.

00:55:19That night

00:55:19after everyone

00:55:21finally falls asleep

00:55:22from sheer exhaustion

00:55:23the old house

00:55:24sinks into silence

00:55:31and Valerie wanders

00:55:33back into my room

00:55:34again.

00:55:49She doesn't turn

00:55:50on the lights

00:55:51in a room

00:55:52without me

00:55:53even the light

00:55:53feels like a mockery

00:56:00she kneels

00:56:01alone

00:56:01on the cold floor

00:56:02organizing my

00:56:03belongings

00:56:04one piece

00:56:04at a time

00:56:05under the pale

00:56:05moonlight

00:56:06coming through

00:56:06the window

00:56:15my textbooks

00:56:16full of notes

00:56:20my erasers

00:56:21worn 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

00:56:31into 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

00:56:43hidden deep

00:56:43inside the torn

00:56:44inner lining

00:56:54paper

00:56:54a folded envelope

00:56:56slips loose

00:56:57and 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

00:57:21fingers slowly

00:57:22tear the envelope

00:57:23open

00:57:24she's shaking

00:57:25so 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

00:57:31even notice

00:57:32then she sees

00:57:33the first line

00:57:35and the moment

00:57:36she reads

00:57:36the name buried

00:57:37deepest inside

00:57:38her heart

00:57:43her breathing

00:57:44stops

00:57:51mom

00:57:53if you're reading

00:57:55this

00:57:55I'm probably

00:57:56already gone

00:58:03don't cry

00:58:04for me

00:58:06from the first

00:58:07day I came

00:58:08back to this

00:58:09timeline

00:58:10I already

00:58:11make up

00:58:12my mind

00:58:13I'm going

00:58:13to trade

00:58:14my life

00:58:15for your

00:58:15freedom

00:58:18under the

00:58:19moonlight

00:58:20Valerie's eyes

00:58:21instantly turn

00:58:22red

00:58:22she covers

00:58:24her mouth

00:58:24tightly

00:58:24to stop

00:58:26herself from

00:58:26sobbing out

00:58:27loud

00:58:27and keeps

00:58:28reading

00:58:31during those

00:58:3228 filthy

00:58:33years in my

00:58:33first life

00:58:36I hated

00:58:36you so much

00:58:37sometimes

00:58:38living in that

00:58:39moldy trailer

00:58:39park

00:58:40I wonder

00:58:40every day

00:58:41why everyone

00:58:41else has a

00:58:42loving mom

00:58:42except me

00:58:44why you

00:58:45left me

00:58:45alone in

00:58:46hell

00:58:46but in

00:58:46this life

00:58:47I finally

00:58:47learned the

00:58:48truth

00:58:49my mother

00:58:49loves me

00:58:50more than

00:58:50anyone ever

00:58:51could

00:58:52you burn

00:58:53your whole

00:58:53life away

00:58:54trying to

00:58:54protect me

00:58:55and honestly

00:58:56mom being

00:58:57loved by you

00:58:58like that

00:58:58is already

00:58:59enough

00:58:59you're

00:59:00brilliant

00:59:01beautiful

00:59:03grandpa and

00:59:04grandma love

00:59:05you so much

00:59:06hector

00:59:07hector's mom

00:59:07once says

00:59:07you're meant

00:59:08to soar

00:59:08high above

00:59:09the clouds

00:59:09not rot

00:59:10away in

00:59:11border town

00:59:11dirt because

00:59:12some rapist

00:59:12destroys your

00:59:13life

00:59:14please let

00:59:15me go

00:59:15mom

00:59:16don't give

00:59:16birth to

00:59:17me again

00:59:17as long

00:59:18as the name

00:59:18nora exists

00:59:19austin walker's

00:59:20shadow will

00:59:21always haunt

00:59:21you

00:59:22this time

00:59:23don't look

00:59:23back

00:59:23promise me

00:59:24go somewhere

00:59:25cleaner

00:59:25higher

00:59:26better

00:59:27go live the

00:59:28life you're

00:59:28supposed to

00:59:29have

00:59:29be free

00:59:31by the end

00:59:32of the letter

00:59:32valerie has

00:59:33completely collapsed

00:59:34onto the floor

00:59:35she presses those

00:59:36pages against her

00:59:37chest like they're

00:59:37the last pieces of

00:59:38my heartbeat left

00:59:39in the world and

00:59:40cries so hard she

00:59:41can barely breathe

00:59:42curled up beside the

00:59:43bed in the darkness

00:59:44she breaks apart

00:59:45completely

00:59:47and in that winter

00:59:48night of 1996

00:59:50in a world without

00:59:51her daughter

00:59:53my mother lets out

00:59:54the most shattered

00:59:55guilt-raden

00:59:56heartbroken

00:59:57sobs of both

00:59:58our lifetimes

01:00:02that night

01:00:03the texas winter

01:00:04winter wind howls so

01:00:05hard it nearly tears

01:00:06the old wooden

01:00:07house apart

01:00:09valerie clutches my

01:00:10letter against her

01:00:11chest and cries

01:00:13until her voice

01:00:14gives up

01:00:17in that letter

01:00:18i beg her to let me

01:00:19go beg her not to

01:00:21look back

01:00:21beg her to chase

01:00:23her dreams and

01:00:23finally become the

01:00:24free person she

01:00:25deserves to be

01:00:27but staring into

01:00:28my empty room

01:00:29something reignites in

01:00:31her hollow

01:00:31lifeless eyes

01:00:35a fire

01:00:36a stubbornness

01:00:38stronger than

01:00:39grief itself

01:00:41valerie whispers

01:00:43hawskily into the

01:00:44darkness

01:00:46you silly girl

01:00:48how could a mother

01:00:49ever stop loving

01:00:50her child

01:00:51she can't do

01:00:52what i ask

01:00:55because she had

01:00:56already told me

01:00:57once before

01:00:59i will never let

01:01:00you go

01:01:03you are part of

01:01:05my body

01:01:05part of my life

01:01:09a few days later

01:01:11hector and his

01:01:12mother help my

01:01:13exhausted

01:01:14grandparents

01:01:16finish arranging

01:01:17everything

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

01:01:41yellow dust

01:01:42behind it

01:01:45valerie stands

01:01:46by the window

01:01:46and takes a deep

01:01:47breath of cold

01:01:48new 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

01:02:00rewrite fate itself

01:02:01and bring her

01:02:03daughter back

01:02:03into the world

01:02:04with every ounce

01:02:05of love

01:02:06she has

01:02:09time moves quickly

01:02:10beneath boston's

01:02:12blue skies

01:02:14valerie throws

01:02:15every ounce

01:02:16of grief and

01:02:17pain into study

01:02:21fueled by the

01:02:22determination

01:02:23of two lifetimes

01:02:24she works through

01:02:25endless nights

01:02:26until she's

01:02:28accepted into

01:02:29harvard

01:02:29with near

01:02:30perfect

01:02:31scores

01:02:33and hector

01:02:34the boy

01:02:35who once

01:02:35cries for me

01:02:36at that

01:02:36texas bus station

01:02:38finally achieved

01:02:40his own dream

01:02:40too

01:02:42earning a place

01:02:43at one of the

01:02:44country's top

01:02:45medical schools

01:02:48textbooks become

01:02:49valerie's shelter

01:02:50and the child

01:02:51growing inside

01:02:52her

01:02:52the child once

01:02:54used by monsters

01:02:55as blackmail

01:02:56is finally

01:02:57is finally being

01:02:57nurtured in warmth

01:02:58and love

01:02:59the following autumn

01:03:01beneath golden maple

01:03:03leaves

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

01:03:25noma

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

01:03:42barbie dolls

01:03:44hector adjusts

01:03:45his glasses

01:03:45and smiles

01:03:46softly beside him

01:03:47and this version

01:03:49of nora

01:03:49is finally

01:03:50born into love

01:03:54after that

01:03:55life 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

01:04:04hector 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

01:04:15dedicating her career

01:04:17to protecting women

01:04:18and children

01:04:18through civil rights law

01:04:20and the new nora

01:04:21grows up

01:04:22beneath harvard's

01:04:23golden autumn trees

01:04:24surrounded by love

01:04:26instead of fear

01:04:27she is bright

01:04:28confident

01:04:30happy

01:04:33the cancer

01:04:34that once

01:04:34destroys my body

01:04:36never appears

01:04:38in hers

01:04:42as 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 far

01:04:55beyond what

01:04:56most 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 time

01:05:03itself

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 once

01:05:20tears open the darkness

01:05:21with her own life

01:05:22and i spend the rest of mine

01:05:23bringing her back

01:05:24into the light

01:05:25i lean quietly

01:05:27against my mother's

01:05:28knee in that

01:05:28final memory

01:05:29and whisper softly

01:05:30in her heart

01:05:31dear ears

01:05:32mom

01:05:33this 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

Cutting the Cord: Reborn as My Mom's High School Frenemy | Full Short Drama | English Sub 2026 [Full Movie]

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