REBORN My Second Life I Became The Villianess (Nyxara) novel Chapter 39

"And it didn't stop with Mom and Dad," I said, my voice dropping to a harsh, gravelly whisper that echoed off the high ceilings.

I looked straight at my grandmother, seeing the fragile, elegant woman she was right now, and forced my mind back to the hollow, agonizing months that followed the funeral.

"After Mom and dad died, the grief hollowed this house out," I told her, stepping closer. "You were both shattered. Ella and Bianca completely shut down, becoming hermits locked away in their rooms, refusing to eat, wasting away from grief while I was too blind to see the web tightening around us."

My grandmother’s breath hitched, her hand trembling as she clutched the arm of the sofa.

"I remember the day you died," I said, locking eyes with her. "I was at the office, trying to drown myself in work to escape the crushing silence of this house. My phone rang. It was Nysa, screaming hysterically, telling me you had an accident, that you fell down the stairs."

I turned slowly, pointing a rigid finger toward the grand staircase in the foyer just beyond the archway.

"Those exact same stairs," I snarled, the rage flaring white-hot in my chest. "Except you didn't fall. Nysa was the one who pushed you."

My grandmother gasped, shrinking back against my grandfather, who looked ready to murder me for the blasphemy, until he saw the absolute, bone-chilling terror and conviction in my eyes.

I turned back to him, my gaze landing squarely on my grandfather.

"And you didn't last much longer after she was gone," I continued, my voice shaking with restrained fury. "A few months later, after grandmother died, she killed you too. A clean, targeted hit-and-run right outside the security gates of this estate. The driver was never found, the plates were fake, and the investigation was buried before it even began."

I let out a harsh, bitter breath, running a hand down my face.

"For months , I tore myself apart trying to understand if someone was targeting me, if our family name was cursed. In desperation, I called in Uncle Rinaldi to dig into the filth, to use every connection he had to find out what was happening. But he came up empty-handed every single time. He couldn't find a damn thing, because Nysa was always two steps ahead, playing the grieving, innocent wife while she picked us off one by one."

I turned my gaze away from my grandparents, my eyes locking onto my sisters sitting rigidly by the fireplace.

I looked straight at Bianca. "You died in your bathtub. The police ruled it a suicide. Your wrists were split."

Her breath caught, her face turning ashen. Then I shifted my focus to Ella, who stared at me with wide, terrified eyes. "You jumped off the attic balcony. I was a complete mess. All of you dying one after the other... I had to bury every single one of you, one by one. But she didn't stop there."

I took a slow, heavy step forward, the weight of the nightmare pressing down on the entire room.

"A few months after you were all gone, I was driving back from a meeting on the cliffside road leading back from Attenborough. It was raining. The brakes failed, and I crashed. I was awake long enough to see her standing there, that venomous bitch. She laughed in my face, saying I was the last Valteri."

My voice dropped to a jagged, venomous whisper.

"She killed you all and me because you hated her," I said, looking directly at Ella and Bianca. "She said you looked down on her," I continued, turning my gaze back to my mother, father, and grandparents. "And she said all the Valteri wealth was finally hers. I was still alive, trapped in the wreckage, when she pushed the car over the cliff into the sea."

I stopped, the heavy silence of the room suffocating us all.

"When my eyes opened, I was back. Back to the day you set the engagement."

The room was dead quiet, no one daring to breathe, until Bianca spoke quietly, her voice trembling. "I don't like her. The second she walked into this house for the engagement talk, I knew something was off about her. She smiles, but her smile never reaches her eyes." she said quietly.

My mother looked at me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she asked softly, "Why didn't you say something back then?" she asked softly.

I met her gaze without flinching. "I needed to see if it would happen the same way, and if doing something different than what I did in the past life would change anything."

My mother gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth, and Ella whispered, What?

"Yes," I continued, the memory turning my stomach. "She killed Nyxara in my last life. I asked her why, and the venom in her voice was pure poison. She was jealous. Because Nyxara was smarter, because she was more beautiful, and because people couldn't help but pay attention to her younger sister no matter how hard Nysa tried to bury her in the shadows."

Bianca let out a breathless, horrified sound. "Jesus."

"If in her last life she couldn't tolerate her own flesh and blood, this life won't be any different," I pressed on, leaning forward.

"She already hates her. Last night at the charity gala, Nysa looked like she wanted to murder Nyxara right there in the middle of the ballroom just because Nyxara walked in and completely outshone her."

Ella suddenly jumped up from her chair, her eyes going wide as a wild thought struck her. "Wait. If you were reborn... maybe Nyxara has been reborn too?" she said.

I paused, thinking back to the way she had looked at me on the balcony, the sharp, clever smirk she wore, and the fierce intelligence hidden behind her quiet demeanor. I considered it for a long moment before shaking my head.

"It didn't seem like it," I said slowly. "She doesn't act like she carries memories of a past life. She's just naturally sharp, cautious, and she simply doesn't like Nysa. But I need a few more days to watch her and be sure."

My father let out a long breath, finally nodding. "Okay. Bring them here. Let us get a chance to meet our future daughter-in-law." he said.

My grandfather looked at me from across the room, a slow, approving smile touching his lips. "Very well. I approve. Nyxara Vexari will become the new mistress of this house."

I stood up, a dark, victorious smirk pulling at the corner of my mouth. "Good. I'll need your help to reign her in when the time comes, because she kind of has a fiery nature." I said.

My father let out a sharp, genuine laugh, shaking his head. "A Valteri man always likes a challenge." she said with a laugh.