The Twin Who Erased My Life

1: 1

My best friend and my childhood sweetheart came to celebrate my new apartment. When the wine wore off, there was a strange man in my home.

He jabbed a finger at me. Who are you? Why are you in my apartment?

I froze.

This was the apartment I'd emptied every cent of my savings to buy. How had it become someone else's?

I went straight for the deed, opened it, and my mind went blank.

The name on it really was Zachary Mason. The name of that strange man.

I thought it was a prank, so I went to the building management for proof. They said they'd never seen me.

I called the real estate agent. He said he had no idea who I was.

Even my best friend and my childhood sweetheart insisted I lived paycheck to paycheck and could never have afforded a place.

Losing it, I called the police.

But not even the police could find any trace of my ever buying the apartment.

Everyone said something was wrong with my head.

Zachary's wife beat me black and blue as some mistress and drove me out of the complex.

I was locked in a psychiatric ward, dosed with drugs, shocked with electricity.

I tried to run, and fell from the fifth-floor balcony.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my best friend and my childhood sweetheart showed up with gifts to celebrate.

"Congratulations, Lucy finally has a little place of her own!"

Doris Fox held a durian up in front of me, beaming.

Joe Simmons patted the big box in his arms. "The oven you've been going on about for half a year. I had someone bring it back from overseas. Well? Pretty generous of me, huh?"

The scene was painfully familiar.

But my whole body was tense. I didn't take it happily the way I had in my last life.

Doris had been my best friend for over ten years. She knew I loved durian but never let myself buy it.

So she'd bought some for my housewarming, on purpose, so I could eat my fill.

Joe and I had grown up together. His mouth was sharp, but once he'd nearly lost a tooth protecting me.

And yet it was the two of them who, in my last life, after my apartment inexplicably became Zachary's, swore up and down that I'd never bought a place at all.

"Lucy? What's wrong? You look terrible."

Doris leaned in, reaching to feel my forehead.

I stepped back on instinct.

Her hand hung in the air, and Joe's brows drew together at once. "Lucinda Winters, what is your problem? We came all this way with gifts to celebrate for you, and you're going to give us attitude?"

I forced out a smile. "Sorry. I didn't sleep well last night, I'm a little dizzy."

Doris's eyes flickered, but she smoothed it over fast. "Totally understandable, moving is exhausting. You rest, and Joe and I will cook. Tonight we're not stopping till we're all drunk!"

She turned toward the kitchen.

I grabbed her arm.

"How about we do this another day? I'm really not feeling well today."

The air froze for two seconds.

Joe's face went completely dark. "Lucinda Winters, are you out of your mind? We're already through the door and you're saying another day?"

Doris shot him a look. "It's fine. If Lucy's not well, we'll do it another day. Leave the durian here so we don't have to lug it back."

With that, she grabbed Joe's arm and pulled him toward the door.

Once it shut, I leaned against the wall, cold sweat all over me.

In my last life, every disaster had happened after the housewarming.

This time, if I just didn't hold the housewarming, maybe none of it would happen.

Once I'd steadied myself, I rushed into the bedroom and dug out the property deed.

I found the page with my name printed on it, took a photo, and posted it to my feed.

The caption: Finally have a little place of my own. Ten years of savings, paid in full.

Comments came flooding in at once:

"Whoa! Lucy bought an apartment? Amazing!"

"Congrats! When are you going to have us over to the new place?"

"You're way too low-key, pulling off something huge without a word."

I screenshotted and saved it, then dialed the real estate agent.

"Hey, is this Nigel Lambert? It's Lucinda Winters, the one who bought Unit 802 in Building 8."

"I remember you!" The agent was warm. "A woman who could haggle like you? Only one I've met in ten years on the job. I even picked up a few tricks from you! How's the place treating you?"

"It's great. I just wanted to double-check, my name's spelled right on the purchase contract, isn't it?"

He laughed. "How could that be wrong? If it'll put your mind at ease, I'll send you an electronic copy!"

After I hung up, I recorded the call and uploaded it, along with the photo of the deed and the electronic contract, to my cloud storage.

Once it was all done, I let out a breath.

This time, as long as I had these, then even if someone tried to erase my record of buying the apartment, I had the evidence to strike back.

But the next second, the doorbell rang again.

I looked through the peephole, and my chest tightened.

It was Doris and Joe.

They'd actually come back.

2: 2

"Lucy, the storm's here, it's pouring outside, we can't leave! Please, just let us stay one night!"

Doris's voice cracked like she was about to cry.

I glanced out the window. It really was blowing hard, rain coming down in sheets.

Doris was soaked through, hair plastered to her face, looking pitiful.

Joe stood beside her, his expression none too pleasant either.

"Lucinda! What are you dragging your feet for? Open the door already!"

"Doris is your best friend! We're getting engaged any day now. You're really going to leave the two of us standing out here in the rain?"

I clenched my teeth. I knew he was baiting me.

But he had a point. Throwing people out in weather like this wasn't something I could easily justify.

Better to turn their own scheme against them than to just sit and take it.

After turning it over a few times, I opened the door.

Doris threw herself at me and hugged me. "Lucy, thank you. I knew you were the best!"

Joe followed her in and shut the door, muttering, "Would've been fine if you'd just opened it earlier. So dramatic."

I ignored him and checked the time.

Seven in the evening.

In my last life, it happened at eleven at night.

Four hours to go.

Since I couldn't stop them from staying, then I'd leave behind as much evidence as I could.

With that in mind, I picked up a bag of fruit from the coffee table and knocked on the door across the hall, Unit 801.

The door opened. A woman in her forties stood there.

"Hi. I'm the new owner across the way in 802. My name's Lucinda Winters. I hope we can look out for each other from now on."

She took the fruit, beaming. "Oh, a new neighbor! Welcome, welcome! Just let me know if you need anything!"

I glanced at the security camera by her door and confirmed the red light was on, still recording.

"Ma'am, your camera runs twenty-four hours, doesn't it?"

"It does. The whole complex has them installed. Very safe."

"That's great." I smiled. "I just moved in and wanted to film a little vlog about buying my first place, to remember it. Would you mind sending me that footage?"

"No problem at all!"

I went back to 802, but I still wasn't easy about it.

So I sent a message to the property office. "Hi, I'm Lucinda Winters, the owner of Unit 802, Building 8. I just moved in. Could you add me to the residents' group chat?"

The reply came quickly. "Of course. Right away."

The moment they added me to the residents' group chat, welcome messages popped up.

I sent a payment gift with a note: "New owner checking in. Looking forward to getting to know everyone!"

The gift got snapped up in seconds, and the chat lit up.

"Welcome, welcome!"

"Now that's a generous new neighbor!"

I screenshotted the entire chat log and saved it to my cloud storage.

By the time I was done, Doris had a full spread of food on the table.

I didn't pick up my chopsticks. Instead I opened the camera and pulled Doris and Joe in for a selfie.

Doris smiled and flashed a peace sign. Joe looked reluctant, but he leaned in anyway.

Three of us in the frame, with my newly bought apartment as the backdrop, and the full table of food Doris had made.

Even the durian in the corner, tied with a housewarming ribbon, made it into the shot.

I posted the photo to my social media feed: First meal in the new place. My best friend and my childhood sweetheart came to warm the house!

Once all of it was done, I looked at the clock on the wall.

Eight in the evening.

Three hours to go.

3: 3

"Lucy, why are you so worked up tonight?"

Doris picked up a rib and set it on my plate, her eyes searching my face.

"I finally have a home. Of course I'm happy," I said.

Joe was sprawled on the couch, one leg crossed over the other. "Lucy, I'm just saying, what does a woman need her own place for? Marry me and you'll have a house anyway."

"Who said anything about marrying you?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"We were promised to each other as kids. What, you want to back out?"

"That was a kid thing. It doesn't count."

Joe's face shifted, then smoothed over just as fast. He lifted his beer. "Come on, a toast. To Lucy finally getting her own little hole to crawl into."

"You're the one crawling into a hole." I raised my juice and clinked it against his bottle.

I didn't drink the beer.

In my last life, it was that glass of wine that put me under.

This time I wasn't touching a drop. I didn't believe I could still be knocked out cold if I stayed sober.

Ten-thirty at night.

Doris and Joe had both had a bit too much. They were slumped on the couch, one scrolling on a phone, the other dozing.

I carried the dishes into the kitchen and checked the evidence I'd saved.

The social media post was still there. So was the chat log from the residents' group.

The call recording in my cloud storage and the footage from the door camera were fine too.

I let out a breath.

The nightmare from my last life wouldn't happen this time. Right?

I loaded the bowls into the dishwasher, dried my hands, and walked out of the kitchen.

That was when the lights went out.

The whole apartment dropped into black.

Doris shrieked and shot up off the couch. "Why'd the power go out?"

"Breaker probably tripped." Joe's voice came out of the dark. "I'll go check the box."

"No need, I'll go," I said.

I fished out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and headed for the door.

The breaker box was on the ground floor.

I opened the door. The emergency lights were on in the hallway.

I hurried to the elevator and hit the down button.

Ground floor. I found the breaker box.

The indicator lights were on. Everything normal.

I froze for a second. Then it hit me.

I spun around and ran, straight for the elevator.

The doors opened. I threw myself in and jabbed the button for the eighth floor over and over.

The elevator climbed. Every second was agony.

Finally. Eighth floor.

I burst out and ran to 802, dug out my key, my hand shaking too hard to fit it in the lock.

Click. The door opened.

I pushed it in and stopped dead.

Doris and Joe were gone from the couch.

In their place stood a strange man.

His back was to me. When he heard the door, he turned around.

Every drop of blood in me froze.

It was Zachary.

The man who, in my last life, had taken my apartment out of thin air.

"Who are you?" He frowned. "Why do you have a key to my place?"

My mouth opened. This couldn't be happening.

I hadn't drunk anything. I hadn't blacked out. So why was this still happening?

"I asked you a question!" Zachary stood and came toward me. "Who the hell are you?"

I stepped back, then bolted for the bedroom.

I yanked open the drawer, pulled out the deed, and opened it with shaking hands.

The moment I saw Zachary's name on it, I screamed and nearly went down.

Zachary came in after me and grabbed my arm. "Are you insane? What are you doing digging through my place?"

I threw him off. "I bought this apartment!"

"You bought it?" Zachary sneered. "Then why is my name on the deed?"

"No. How do you even know my deed is in the bedroom drawer?"

I didn't answer him. I stumbled into the living room, snatched up my phone, and opened my social media feed.

The post showing off the deed was gone.

I opened the cloud storage. Every other piece of evidence I'd saved ahead of time had vanished with it.

4: 4

I called the building management with shaking hands.

"Hello, this is Lucinda Winters, the owner of Unit 802, Building 8. Do you remember me? I sent a payment gift in the residents' group chat tonight!"

The line went quiet for a beat.

"Sorry, I just checked. The owner of Unit 802, Building 8, is a Mr. Mason, not a Winters."

"And no one sent any payment gift in the residents' group tonight. Are you sure you're not confusing something?"

I hung up, shaking all over.

Only then did I notice the residents' group chat I'd pinned was gone.

Zachary stood in the bedroom doorway, watching me coldly. "Get out of my home right now, or I'll call the police and report you for breaking and entering."

"This is my home!" I shouted. "You're the one who broke in!"

But I had no proof. The evidence I'd saved ahead of time was all gone.

I ran to the door and pounded on 801.

"Ma'am! I'm Lucinda Winters from across the hall, 802. I brought you fruit tonight! Do you remember me?"

The door opened.

The woman poked her head out, her face all confusion.

"Isn't Mr. Mason the owner of 802? I don't know you."

"That's impossible!" I grabbed her arm. "You have a camera at your door! Check it!"

She couldn't shake me off. Frowning, she pulled out her phone, scrolled through it. "Tonight's footage... no one came by..."

She turned the screen toward me.

In the footage, the space outside 801 was empty. Nothing had happened there at all.

I let go of her, backed up two steps, and slumped against the wall.

"Just call the police," Zachary's wife said, coming out. "This woman's a lunatic."

Fifteen minutes later, two young officers arrived.

"Ma'am, you say this apartment is yours. Can you provide a purchase contract or bank statements?"

With trembling hands I opened my banking app.

There was no record of the money I'd spent on the apartment.

"That's impossible... I drained every cent of my savings..."

One officer sighed. "Ma'am, we just checked. This apartment does belong to Mr. Mason. The purchase contract, the bank records, the deedit's all there."

I sank to the floor.

Had I been reborn only to end up trapped in the same fate as before?

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Doris.

I answered with shaking hands.

"Lucy? Why aren't you here yet? We agreed to do hot pot at your rental tonight. Why aren't you home?"

I froze.

"My rental?"

"Yeah," Doris laughed. "Don't tell me you've been so worn out from work you forgot?"

"I gave up the rental and bought an apartment three months ago! You came tonight to celebrate the move with me! Did you forget?" I shouted.

Two seconds of silence on the other end.

"Lucy, have you gone crazy wanting to buy a place? You spend your whole paycheck every month. Where would you get the money to buy an apartment?"

Just then the elevator doors opened.

Joe walked out, saw the scene, and stopped short.

I grabbed at him like a drowning woman clutching a straw, seizing his arm. "Joe, tell them! You came to my place this afternoon!"

"I bought a new apartment, and you brought an oven, said you wanted to help me celebrate the move!"

Joe went still for a second, then sighed. "Lucy, are you having hallucinations again?"

"Ever since your mother passed, you've been like this, imagining you bought some big apartment..."

"I didn't!"

I backed up two steps and dropped to the floor.

Everyone was looking at me like I was insane.

The officer said helplessly, "Ma'am, I suggest you go to a psychiatric hospital for an evaluation first. If everything checks out, come back to the station with us and give a statement. Stop making a scene."

Joe put his arm around me and murmured, "Don't be scared. I'll stay with you."

My head was splitting, and all at once I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.

Was all of this really just a hallucination of mine?

And then, as I was being steered mechanically toward the door of the building,

I suddenly saw the bracelet on Joe's wrist.

The pattern carved into it looked familiar, like I'd seen it somewhere before.

I frowned, turning it over in my mind, and then it hit me like a bolt out of the sky.

At last I understood exactly what was going on here.