Blurb：
Step into the foggy streets of 19th-century London with “The Enigma of Lord Blackwood,” where **Detective Evelyn Reed** faces her most perplexing case yet. When the aristocratic **Lord Blackwood** vanishes under mysterious circumstances, Evelyn must navigate a web of secrets involving the **Blackwood family**, the **London constabulary**, and the shadowy **Victorian underworld**.
Readers searching for **strong female detectives**, **gothic suspense**, and **historical whodunits** will be captivated by Evelyn’s sharp intellect and relentless pursuit of truth. Uncover clues alongside her, from cryptic letters to hidden passages in **Blackwood Manor**, as the story builds toward a shocking revelation about the **Blackwood curse**.
Perfect for fans of **Sherlock Holmes**-style mysteries with a feminist twist, this novel delivers **atmospheric settings**, **complex characters**, and a finale that will leave you breathless. Dive into a tale where **gaslit alleyways** and **high-society scandals** collide in a masterpiece of suspense.
Content：
After I dropped out of school, my parents didn’t pressure me to do anything.
But Nicole Hicks kept calling nonstop. She was my boyfriend’s childhood friend who had established a reputation as a genius.
I was too busy helping out in the fields, growing vegetables, and splashing around in the creek, living my best carefree life. Writing code wasn’t even on my mind.
In my past life, she had turned in a project just one day before I did. Her codes were exactly the same as mine.
Everyone called me a fraud and said I had stolen it.
I tried to explain, but no one believed me.
Later, she even did a livestream, accusing me online of being a school bully.
People went wild. They didn’t just come for me—they went after my whole family. Some obsessed troll chased my parents in a car, and they died in a crash.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I jumped off a high-rise, my eyes still wide open, refusing to accept the way it all ended.
Even in my last moment, I couldn’t figure it out.
That code was mine. My hard work. So how did she manage to post it before me?
When I opened my eyes again, I was back, right before everything fell apart.
Chapter 1
There was a loud buzzing noise around me. I forced my eyes open, realizing I wasn’t dead.
I had been reborn.
I fumbled for my phone, checking the date. It was August 28th, the day before I was supposed to turn in the most important project of my life.
My teammates crowded around me, eyes shining.
“Kelsey, you’re seriously amazing. No wonder you’re a special admit student. You even solved the hardest problems as if they were nothing. Once you wrap up the last bit of code, we can finally submit, right?”
My advisor gave my shoulder a firm pat, smiling with pride.
“I know how much work you’ve put into this. Without your core design, we wouldn’t even have a shot. With your program, I’m sure we’ll take first place. A full-ride scholarship is basically guaranteed for you.”
Their words made my chest ache.
Because in my last life, when I was accused of plagiarism, my teammates and teachers had stood up for me, too.
But their voices got drowned out fast. Haters doxxed them online, and they suffered just for defending me.
That memory sent a chill through me as I stared at my half-finished code. Suddenly, all the horror came rushing back.
If I remembered correctly, in my past life, I had stayed up all night on August 28th, coding like crazy until it was perfect.
I handed it in the next day, practically bouncing with excitement, only to get slapped with a forced disqualification.
The organizers even posted a public notice, saying that I plagiarized. Overnight, I became the internet’s favorite punching bag.
[She thought she could cheat her way to a win? Pathetic.]
[Yeah, plagiarists like her should just disappear.]
[How could she steal someone else’s work like that? Makes me sick.]
On campus, it was worse. I couldn’t walk down the hallway without hearing whispers, sneers, and people throwing insults right in my face.
“There she is. The cheater. Arkenville University’s biggest disgrace.”
“Don’t think I’ve seen a more shameless person. If she had any skills, she wouldn’t have to plagiarize.”
“Everyone knows she only wanted that scholarship. Instead, she took the easy way out and cheated.”
The hate in their eyes made me wish I could vanish on the spot.
Shaking off the memory, I grabbed my phone with trembling fingers and pulled up Nicole Hicks’s messages.
Nicole was the so-called victim of my plagiarism and my boyfriend, Mark Atkinson’s, childhood friend.
She was all soft features and doe-eyed, the kind of girl every STEM guy drooled over. Her parents were both professors, and her sweet, innocent vibe made her even more lovable.
Her name was always popping up on the school’s anonymous confessions page, with guys begging her for dates.
Mark seemed to be under her spell, too. He never missed a chance to bring her flowers or little gifts. When I called him out, he brushed it off, saying, “She’s like a sister to me. Why are you always so jealous?”
But then I found his texts with his roommate. He called me boring and plain, and said Nicole was cuter, more fun, and better in every way. He said being with me made him sick.
I tried breaking up, but he always came crawling back, acting as if he couldn’t live without me.
But now? I saw everything for what it was.
I checked out Nicole’s Instagram profile.
Her latest post was a selfie taken with her male teammates, with a laptop in the background.
The caption read, [Pulled an all-nighter with the crew. Fingers crossed we crush this coding competition!]
Something made me zoom in on the screen. And my stomach dropped.
There it was, my code. It was exactly how I had written it.
I even noticed my mistake, a random extra parenthesis I’d accidentally typed. She had copied it word for word.
I froze. Was this some kind of twisted coincidence?
But she’d posted that picture a full day before I was even supposed to submit mine. Which meant her project was already marked as “original”, and mine would look like a copy.
But I knew the truth. I had built my code from scratch. I never copied anyone’s code.
So how did she end up with the exact same thing?
My head spun. None of it made sense.
Still, quitting the competition wasn’t an option. It wasn’t just about me anymore. My whole team had poured their hearts into this project. If I backed out, I’d drag them down, too. And I couldn’t do that to them.
That night, as the sky grew dark, I made my decision.
I’d been given a second chance. And this time, I wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.
I was going to protect the people around me. I was going to fight for myself.
I lifted my head, staring at the endless lines of code on my screen.
Then I hit delete and closed the laptop.
Chapter 2
I was guaranteed a spot in Arkenville University because I had won a competition, and I chose the computer science program.
Once I got in, it felt as if everything lined up. I loved what I studied, dominated every class, and racked up win after win at competitions.
By senior year, I wanted nothing more than to study under Professor Briggs, someone I’d admired forever, as a grad student. He agreed, but on one condition: I had to win first place at this international competition.
So, I picked the hardest project topic I could and practically lived in the computer lab, chasing every detail, every line of code.
But in the end, Nicole snatched the reward of my work as if it was nothing.
As I walked across campus, the memory made the silence feel heavier, as if the whole place was pressing down on me. I knew I must’ve missed something
But then an idea hit me.
If my original design was useless now, why not rebuild it from scratch? I’d use a different programming language and structure. I’d create a whole new design.
Back at the dorm, I pulled out my laptop and started typing as if my life depended on it. My brain was on fire, the logic falling into place in ways I hadn’t even considered before.
This new design couldn’t be accused of plagiarism, since it was too different. And on top of that, it ran faster and smoother than the first one.
The more I coded, the more excited I got, my fingers flying over the keyboard.
That was when I heard my roommate’s voice behind me.
“Kelsey, you’re pushing yourself too hard. You’ve been up all night. You need to rest.”
I blinked at my phone screen and froze. It was already 4:30 AM.
She rubbed her forehead and sighed.
“You’ve still got a whole week before the competition. Why kill yourself over it now? What if you get sick right before? You’d lose everything.”
Her words hit me like a wake-up call.
She was right. There was still a week left, so I didn’t need to rush a submission. I could hold back and watch what Nicole posted. If anything weird popped up again, I’d have time to adjust.
That way, I could avoid the nightmare from last time. This time, I’d go in with a project that I had built myself.
Breathing out, I finally felt the weight lift a little. I thanked her, then turned back to my screen and kept going. I only stopped when I had my second version coded and running.
When I tested it, the program worked perfectly.
I stared at the screen, my heart thudding.
Finally. Something that was fully mine.
But then my chest tightened as another memory surfaced.
Last time, Nicole didn’t just accuse me of plagiarism. She went online and did a livestream, claiming I bullied her on campus.
She sat in front of the camera crying. With tears rolling down her cheeks, her innocent face pulled everyone in. Overnight, she had the internet on her side.
The comments were brutal.
[Wow. Didn’t know bullies like that still existed in college. We can’t let her keep hurting people.]
[Poor Nicole. She got bullied and cheated out of her work! Kelsey’s pure evil.]
[Nicole’s just too kind. We’ll fight for her. Who’s got Kelsey’s number?]
I never understood why she lied. All I could do was run around and try to clear my name, but the harder I tried, the worse it got.
Someone leaked my family’s private info online. Trolls harassed them nonstop until my parents decided to move. Then, on the way out of town, some crazed fan chased them off the road. The crash killed them instantly.
The memory burned hot in my chest. My nails dug into my palm as I clenched my fists.
I had to get to the bottom of this. If I didn’t figure out where it all started, I couldn’t keep my family safe this time.
While I was stuck in my own storm of thoughts, a group of classmates gasped nearby.
“Did you guys see Nicole’s Instagram? Someone copied her project!”
“For real? The competition’s just days away. How’s she supposed to redo everything now?”
“Whoever did that is trash. The audacity!”
The words hit me like lightning. My stomach dropped.
I yanked out my phone, my hands shaking, and opened Nicole’s Instagram.
Chapter 3
Nicole’s new post popped up on my screen.
[So I guess people can steal someone else’s code and still compete with it, huh?]
My stomach dropped. A thought hit me that maybe this was the exact post that had started everything last time. It was the reason I got torn apart online.
Nicole was always the one people adored. She had professor parents, that sweet-girl image, and a smile everyone noticed. Meanwhile, I was just an average face with no family connections. And in this world, looks and status would win every time.
The comments came in fast.
[What’s going on, Nicole? Did someone copy your code?]
[Tell your parents right now. Let the dean handle it and kick that cheater out of school!]
[Plagiarizers like that are the shame of Arkenville University. Right before the competition, too? That’s just disgusting.]
As I read their words, I felt as if I was being dragged back into my past life—the bullying, the hate, and the endless comments that ripped me apart.
Back then, I’d get hundreds of texts every day. Some guys even posted my info on sketchy hookup sites, and creepy strangers started calling.
They’d say things like, “Stop acting so innocent. You’ll end up sleeping with your professors for good grades anyway. Might as well have some fun with me first.”
“I know where you live. If you don’t sleep with me, I’ll just show up at your door.”
That was when my parents decided to move and were killed in the crash.
The memory stung so hard that I wanted to throw my phone away. My thumb hovered over the screen, ready to shut it down, when something stopped me.
A comment with my name.
[Is Nicole talking about Kelsey? I saw her program in my professor’s office a few days ago. It looked exactly like Nicole’s.]
The thread exploded.
[Kelsey? The special enrolled student? You actually saw her stuff?]
[No way. She’s been top of the department for years. Why would she need to plagiarize? You’d better have proof.]
[Ha. How do you know she didn’t cheat her way to those grades, too? And Nicole never even said it was Kelsey. Stop acting like a neutral judge!]
The whole post turned into a battlefield, with people arguing back and forth.
Some students even started making their own posts to show support for Nicole, calling her strong and brave.
And of course, the loudest voice belonged to my boyfriend, Mark.
He went all out with three back-to-back posts, each one with a selfie of Nicole.
[Everyone knows how hard Nicole works. She’s always staying up late for the team. Whoever copied her needs to admit it now, or I’ll call the cops myself and make sure Nicole gets justice!]
Almost every guy in the department liked his post. And Nicole commented right under it.
[Thanks, Mark. I’m so glad you’re here for me!]
The words stung like needles under my skin. My chest twisted with jealousy, but also relief.
Thank God I hadn’t turned in my code yesterday. If I had, I’d already be drowning in another wave of hate.
I steadied my breathing, trying to calm down. I was about to leave the classroom and tell my team about my new program when Nicole’s next post popped up.
“Thanks for your support, everyone. Even if someone steals my work, I can still rebuild. That’s something no one can take away. Here’s my new program. Check it out!”
My hand shook as I clicked the link.
And my blood went cold.
The code for her “new” program was exactly the same as my second version, line for line!
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