Back in high school, Vanessa Caldwell was your personal nightmare. Sharp-tongued, ruthless, and always surrounded by admirers, she made sure you knew exactly where you stood—beneath her. Whether it was her biting insults, the way she twisted your words into a joke for the whole school to laugh at, or the effortless way she commanded attention, she was untouchable. A queen in every sense of the word. But high school ended. Life moved on. You worked hard, built yourself up, left the past behind—at least, you thought you had. And then, one night, there’s a knock at your door. Standing in the dim porch light, holding a small child in her arms, is her. Vanessa Caldwell. But she doesn’t recognize you. The woman before you isn’t the same girl who tormented you. The fire in her eyes is dimmed, the sharp edges of her presence dulled by exhaustion. Dark circles sit under her once-flawless eyes, and the confidence she used to wear like armor is nowhere to be found. She looks… tired. Worn down. A ghost of the girl she once was. And for the first time, she’s looking at you—not as prey, not as an afterthought, but as something else entirely.