Here's a polished, immersive Chapter 1 draft designed to hook readers while planting seeds for your rebirth revenge arc:
---
The roses were the first betrayal.
Lin Xia inhaled their cloying sweetness as she sank into the marble tub— her wedding gift from Jiang Chao, filled with her favorite crimson petals. Now the scent choked her, thick as poison.
*"Relax, Jiejie,"* Su Mei's voice purred from behind her. Long-nailed fingers massaged Lin Xia's shoulders, cold despite the steam. *"You've been so… tense."*
Lin Xia closed her eyes. She should've known when Su Mei volunteered to run her bath. Should've known when her stepsister brought these roses—the ones Jiang Chao swore he'd stopped buying after her allergy diagnosis.
A hand slammed her head underwater.
*Thunk.* Her skull cracked against marble. Bubbles tore from her lungs as bathwater flooded her mouth—*roses and rust.* Through stinging eyes, she saw Su Mei leaning over her, face distorted by rippling water. Beautiful. Merciless.
"Shhh."Su Mei's thumb stroked her cheek like a lover. "He wants it clean. No bruises… just a tragic accident."
Lin Xia thrashed, nails scraping Su Mei's wrist. Her stepsister hissed, yanking back a bleeding hand. Then came the weight—a knee driving into her collarbone, pinning her down.
*Flash*—Jiang Chao's smile this morning. *"Sign the papers, Xia. For our future."* The new life insurance policy. His pen tapping the beneficiary box: SU MEI.
*Flash*—Her father's vacant nod when Su Mei moved into Lin Xia's penthouse. *"Be kind. She's family now."*
*Flash*—The doctor's shrug last week. *"Chronic fatigue, Mrs. Jiang. Stress, perhaps?"* The bitter tea Su Mei brought her every night…
Darkness crept at the edges of her vision. Above water, Su Mei's voice turned jagged with triumph: "Thirty and used up! He needed fresh stock. I'll give him heirs. I'll spend your money!"
Lin Xia's weakening hand brushed her jade bracelet—her dead mother's last gift. *Worthless*, Jiang Chao called it. "Sell it." She'd refused. Now it glowed against her drowning skin, *burning.*
"Rot quietly," Su Mei whispered. "I'll tell everyone you… lost your mind at the end. Pity."*
The last air burst from Lin Xia's lips. As consciousness shattered, one thought crystallized—clear and vicious as broken glass:
*If I return… I'll bury you both in roses.*