Natalie Lancaster couldn't breathe.

Her chest was trapped beneath the seat belt, and every attempt to take a full breath ended in a sharp pain that spread through her body. Smoke filled the car, making her eyes sting as she tried to see through the cracked windshield.

The front of the car was completely crushed.

She tried to move her legs, but pain shot through them.

"Help!"

Her voice came out weak.

She swallowed and tried again.

"Somebody help me."

People had gathered outside the car. She could see them through the broken windshield. A man was speaking urgently on his phone while another person stood near the wreck, looking around for a way to reach her.

"She's still alive!"

"Call an ambulance!"

Natalie tried to reach for her phone. It was somewhere near the passenger seat, but she couldn't move far enough to grab it.

Her hands were shaking.

No.

This couldn't be happening.

She couldn't die.

Not now.

Her mind immediately went to Lucas.

Her husband.

They had only been married for a few days.

She remembered his face that morning, the way he had smiled before she left, the kiss he had placed on her forehead and the way he had told her to call him when she arrived.

Natalie's eyes filled with tears.

"I miss my husband."

She didn't even know why she said it aloud.

She just wanted to see him.

She wanted to go home, sit beside him at dinner, tell him about her day and listen to him talk about his. She wanted to wake up beside him the next morning and continue the life they had just begun.

They had barely started their marriage.

She couldn't leave him.

"I can't die."

Her fingers tightened around the seat belt.

She pulled at it again, but it wouldn't move.

Outside, someone was shouting.

"Don't try to move!"

"She's trapped!"

"Where is the ambulance?"

Natalie closed her eyes for a moment.

Her parents came to mind.

Her father and her mother.

She could see them standing together at home, probably still talking about her as they always did. Her mother had called her that morning, reminding her about the family dinner.

Natalie had promised she wouldn't forget.

She had so many things left to do.

Her career was finally reaching another level. She had spent years building her name, growing her brand and working with major companies. She had an important ambassador contract waiting for her signature.

She was supposed to finalize it soon.

She couldn't disappear now.

And then there was the inheritance.

Only two days earlier, her father had given her one hundred million dollars and a valuable estate.

Natalie still couldn't believe it.

She had hugged him so tightly that he had laughed and complained that she was going to crush him.

She smiled faintly at the memory.

She wanted to see him again.

She wanted to see her mother.

She wanted to go home.

"Please hurry," she whispered.

A man moved closer to the car.

"Ma'am, stay awake. The ambulance is coming."

Natalie looked at him.

"I can't breathe."

"Just keep your eyes open."

She tried.

But everything around her was beginning to blur.

The voices became distant. The smoke seemed thicker. Her body felt heavier.

She could hear the sirens now.

They were getting closer.

Natalie fought to keep her eyes open.

She wanted to survive.

She wanted her husband.

She wanted her parents.

She wanted her life.

Her fingers slowly loosened.

"Lucas..."

His name left her lips in a whisper.

Then everything went black.

Natalie opened her eyes.

She gasped and sat upright.

For a few seconds, she didn't understand where she was.

She touched her chest.

She was breathing.

Her eyes moved around the room.

This wasn't a hospital.

It wasn't her bedroom.

It wasn't anywhere she recognized.

She was lying on a narrow bed with an old blanket covering her. A small wooden table stood beside the bed, and faded curtains covered a window. The walls looked worn, and there was very little furniture in the room.

Natalie stared around in confusion.

Where was she?

She remembered the accident.

The broken windshield.

The smoke.

The people outside.

The sirens.

Lucas.

She looked down at herself.

Her breathing stopped.

These weren't her hands.

She lifted them slowly and stared at her fingers.

They were thinner.

Her nails were different.

There was a small scar near her wrist that she had never seen before.

Natalie pulled the blanket away.

She wasn't wearing the clothes she had worn before the accident.

"What happened?"

Her voice sounded strange.

She froze.

That wasn't her voice.

She touched her throat.

"What's going on?"

The unfamiliar voice came again.

Fear rushed through her.

She immediately looked around the room.

Her handbag was gone.

Her phone was gone.

Her jewelry was gone.

Natalie looked at her left hand.

Her wedding ring was missing.