Chapter 1 Aria Whitmore died on Christmas Eve . A stranger slit her throat in one swift motion , and her vision instantly flooded with crimson . " Die , " a man's voice growled from behind her . " You shouldn't have come back . You stood in Tessa's way - took everything that was rightfully hers ! " Aria crumpled to the ground , her body drenched in blood . The searing pain forced her to curl inward , her consciousness flickering like a dying flame . ' Tessa ? My sister ? I stole from Tessa ? Aria thought , her mind sluggish . But I'm the Whitmore heiress . If anything , Tessa took everything from me , ' she wondered . Her parents adored Tessa . Her brothers worshipped her . Even her fiance had fallen for her . Tessa was the golden child , blessed with everyone's devotion . She had fanatics , too - people so blindly loyal they'd commit crimes for her . Chapter 1 Clutching her bleeding neck , Aria almost wanted to laugh . You didn't have to go this far . The cancer had already been eating her alive for two years . She didn't have much time left anyway . ' There's no cure . I've been ready to die . This is just an early release , she wondered . She forced her breathing to steady , waiting for the suffocating agony to fade . While the killer was gone , she fumbled for her phone and typed a message into the pinned family group chat . Aria : [ Guys , I'm dying . If anyone's free , come collect the body . ] She didn't want to rot undiscovered for days . Or maybe she just wanted one last reason to fight for her life . Tessa : [ Aria , I'm so sorry ! This is all my fault ! I'll tell Mom and Dad and the boys to come home right away . Please don't hurt yourself - don't do anything reckless ! ] Lucas : [ Are you insane ? You've been threatening suicide for years . If you really wanna die , go do it somewhere else . Collect your corpse ? Disgusting . ] Chapter 1 Mason : [ Noted . ] Mom : [ Aria , sweetheart , stop competing with Tessa , okay ? We forgot to tell you we were celebrating her birthday . That's on me . Don't blame Tessa , please ? ] Dad : [ Today is Tessa's special day . Do you really have to ruin everything ? When did you become so cruel ? I'm disappointed in you . Keep this up , and I'll disown you . ] Lucas : [ Ignore her , Dad . She's a pathological liar . Always faking suicide for attention . Pathetic . Tessa's the only sister I need . Aria , I regret ever bringing you home . ] ' Tessa's birthday ? Aria's chest tightened . But it's mine too , ' she wondered . The messages kept coming . The knife wound hadn't hurt this badly . Now , though ? It felt like her heart was being ripped apart . She trembled violently . So this was her family's reaction to her death . Aria laughed bitterly . No matter how hard she'd tried - how much she'd humbled herself , begging for scraps of their love- she'd never been enough . Not for her parents ' warmth , not for her brothers ' protection . Chapter 1 This was it . She surrendered . No more hoping . With her last bit of strength , Aria smeared blood across her screen as she typed: Aria : [ OK . I'll die now . ] No more fighting . No more competing with Tessa . The pain swallowed her whole . There was no surviving this . Aria closed her eyes and waited . Just before the darkness took her , fireworks exploded over the distant mountains . Christmas had arrived . The killer returned , stuffed her into a small suitcase , and locked her away in a damp , pitch - black basement . When Aria opened her eyes again , the world was blinding white . The sharp scent of disinfectant burned her nostrils , jolting her senses awake . The searing pain radiating through her body served as a cruel reminder - she had been saved . She was in a hospital . I'm alive ? She almost laughed . How lucky . Chapter 1 The evening sun blazed outside , painting the room in gold . The clock on the wall ticked steadily . Aria reached for her phone , the screen lighting up with a soft glow . She checked the date , then stared at her bandaged wrist . A sharp throb pulsed beneath the gauze . Aria closed her eyes . In her previous life , she had died . In the end , her corpse had been stuffed into a suitcase , left to rot in obscurity . But now ? This wasn't survival . She had traveled back in time- five years into the past , to the year she turned twenty .