Reborn as the Donna Saving My Future Villain Son

I was the villain’s mother who died too soon. Dead mother. Emotionally absent father. No one who really loved him. That was how my son, Nico Moretti, grew up lonely, volatile, and eventually became obsessed with the first girl who ever showed him genuine kindness. He tried to possess her. He destroyed everyone who stood between them. And in the original ending, he died with nothing. The system told me I had to save him. So I came back. I looked down the alley at my currently very alive eighteen-year-old son. Black leather jacket. Silver rings. Smudged eyeliner. Blue-black hair falling over one eye. An electric guitar case leaned against the brick wall behind him. Three boys from his underground band stood nearby like backup muscle. I looked at the kitchen knife I had just bought from the restaurant-supply store next door. Save him? Please. I used to be a Donna. This wasn’t redemption. This was a mother disciplining her son. And that was nobody’s business but mine. When the system brought me back, Nico was cornering a skinny boy behind the music club. He turned a switchblade lazily between his fingers. “Tell me the truth, or lose a hand. Pick one.” Black leather. Dyed hair. Piercings. The full delinquent-rock-star package. Then he tried to plant one boot on top of a dumpster to make himself look more intimidating. He misjudged the height. His leg slipped. His crotch hit the edge. His face twisted in agony. I watched from the other end of the alley. Then I silently walked into the store next door and bought a knife.

I should have been dead. After Nico was born, my health deteriorated for reasons no doctor could explain. I died when he was three. The system brought me back in the body of an eighteen-year-old girl. It told me my death had been necessary. Nico Moretti needed a dead mother and a distant father in order to become the lonely, obsessive villain the story required. Then Sophie Carter would show him a little kindness. To a boy starving for affection, it would feel like salvation. He would hold on until kindness became obsession. Until obsession became possession. Until he eventually destroyed Sophie, the man she loved, and himself. “You have to redeem him,” the system told me. That was our deal. I looked down at the new knife in my hand. Its polished surface reflected a face much younger than the one I remembered. I smiled. Redeem him? No. I was going to raise my damn son. Again. Nico clearly thought no one had seen the dumpster incident. He stayed frozen for a second, then pretended he had meant to step down. “Quit wasting my time,” he snapped at the boy. “You lie to me again, and I’ll break both hands.” Very intimidating. If you ignored the hand currently rubbing his ass behind his back. I walked up behind him. The system panicked. It apparently thought I was about to murder my own child. Instead, I smiled and tapped Nico on the shoulder. “That little thing won’t break anybody’s hand.” He turned. I pressed the cold side of my knife lightly against his cheek. “Want something more useful?” Nico went completely still. Then his face went red. “What the fuck?” Poor boy. He had been so busy trying to look dangerous that he’d forgotten the back of his jeans had split when he hit the dumpster. A strip of bright pink underwear was visible. I sighed. This idiot was supposed to become the terrifying villain who destroyed half of New York? Maybe he killed the protagonists by making them laugh themselves to death.

My appearance ruined Nico’s plan. His bandmates shouted variations of “Bro!” and “Nico!” while staring at the knife. Nico turned slowly. He tried to recover his dignity. “And who the hell are you?” Before I could tell him his pants were ripped, a girl’s angry voice rang through the alley. “Nico Moretti! Are you bullying someone again?” This was supposed to be Nico’s first real encounter with Sophie Carter. In the original story, it was summarized in one sentence: Sophie stopped Nico from bullying a student, and Nico noticed her. Reality was messier. Rachel Hayes, student council president, rushed over and immediately started lecturing him. Nico rolled his eyes. “Rachel, you being student council president doesn’t make you my parole officer. My own father doesn’t control me. Why the hell would I listen to you?” Rachel’s face tightened. I frowned. Then I noticed movement beside me. The skinny boy Nico had cornered was trying to slip behind me. I turned and kicked him away. He screamed. Nico immediately understood. “You sick bastard!” He lunged. His fist connected with the boy’s face. Hard. His movements were quick and clean. Unfortunately, the hole in the back of his jeans got bigger. Nobody spoke. Rachel was the first to recover. “I’m reporting you!” Then she snapped, “No wonder the Morettis don’t want you.” Nico froze. His fists clenched. Rachel kept going. “When your dad marries Ms. Reed, maybe she’ll finally teach you how to behave.” Nico’s face went cold. He stepped toward her. I reached up and patted his head. “He’ll probably be insufferable for a while.” Nico turned sharply. I smiled. “His father having terrible judgment wouldn’t exactly be new.” Then I pushed Nico behind me. “Stay there.” He stared at me. “You—” “You’re all the same,” Rachel said. “Rich criminals acting like you can do whatever you want.” “Then maybe look at what your innocent victim was doing first.” I crouched and took the boy’s phone. Locked. I held up the knife. He gave me the passcode. I opened the hidden album. Sophie took the phone from me. Her face changed. “You disgusting creep.” The gallery was full of secretly taken photos of girls at school. Locker rooms. Under desks. Changing areas backstage. Nico hadn’t cornered a victim. He had cornered a predator.

Rachel realized she had been wrong. She still refused to apologize. “He shouldn’t have beaten him up. And you don’t even know who those girls are.” Even Sophie moved away from her. Nico gave his professional opinion. “You’re an idiot.” “You’re right,” I said. Rachel looked at me. “If secretly taking private photos isn’t a big deal, I’ll do the same thing to you. No face. Just private pictures. I’ll keep them to myself.” Her face changed instantly. “That’s illegal!” “Exactly.” I looked at her. “So why does the law suddenly matter when it’s you?” “He’s still a delinquent!” “A delinquent?” I smiled. “A delinquent who stopped someone from violating girls at his school?” I looked back at Nico. “To those girls, he’s the one who helped.” Nico stared at me. I could tell no one had ever described him that way before. His chin slowly lifted. He looked ridiculously pleased. So I added, “Now beat Rachel’s GPA by finals.” He agreed before thinking. Rachel stormed off crying. Sophie stayed. She looked at Nico seriously. “I’m sorry. I misjudged you too.” I liked her immediately. Then I turned. Nico was still smiling. I hit the back of his head. “Ow!” “You have a mouth. Use it.” He clutched his head. “Wait.” He finally seemed to remember the important question. “Who the hell are you?” I lifted the knife. Then smiled brightly.