darkness: those who kill: season 1

After being taken back from the orphanage, Yvette Jones longed for familial love, but due to her parents' and siblings' bias and prejudice, she was neglected and isolated at home, leading to a stomach illness. Her foster sister Sienna replaced her medication with vitamins, causing Yvette's condition to deteriorate into stomach cancer, while the family believed Sienna and thought Yvette was pretending to have a terminal illness just to gain sympathy. Ultimately, Yvette was framed by Sienna, kicked out of the house, and brutally killed. In her last moments, she met Jared, the only person who extended a helping hand to her in this life. In her second life, Yvette quickly severed ties with her family and focused on herself. To repay Jared for his help in her previous life, Yvette utilized her advantages from her previous life and her own talents to create a medical company with Jared and her friend, ultimately swallowing the Jones family business and making Sienna pay for her misdeeds. In the end, Yvette successfully avenged herself and lived a happy life with Jared.

In high school, Thorn and his boyfriend Jett had their intimate video secretly recorded and leaked by the school bully, Pitch. Unable to endure the public scrutiny and domestic violence, Jett took his own life. Driven by revenge, Thorn underwent a gender reassignment surgery and became Rose. She entered Pitch's life to get close to him. There, she discovered that Pitch's bullying actually came from his own twisted crush on Thorn. She also found out that Pitch's father-in-law, Thanes, was the one who had murdered her parents. During her pursuit of revenge, Rose saw her best friend, Jennis, brutally killed by Pitch's wife, Denee. Pitch also died when he took a bullet for Rose. Denee couldn't take this anymore, and she turned against her own father. In the end, Rose let go of her hatred. Guided by Jett's spirit, she found a way to move on with her life. This violent quest for revenge exposed a powerful family's drug crimes and ended a cycle of hatred that had plagued three generations.

Leon Johnson had been working when he suddenly collapsed. After being diagnosed with cancer and given only three months to live, he decided to keep the diagnosis a secret from his wife, Rachel, not wanting to burden her. That evening, Rachel insisted he accompany investors for a drinking session that left him vomiting blood. Despite his condition, Rachel was constantly defending her first love, Yosef Lloyd. Leon managed to land a major contract and, excited about his success, rushed home, only to find Rachel feeding Yosef porridge, which sparked a heated argument. When Leon vented his frustrations to Rachel, she stormed out and climbed into a car with the drunk Yosef. In a tragic accident, Yosef crashed the car and killed Rachel's mother. Leon took his mother-in-law to the hospital, but the delay in getting there led to her death. The loss of his mother-in-law, who had always treated him like a son, hit Leon hard. But when he revealed the truth to Rachel, the wife he had once loved deeply refused to believe him, accusing him of lying.

In their previous lives, the empress and the consort spent their whole lives locked in a bitter rivalry. It wasn't until their deaths that they uncovered the truth—they had both been pawns in the emperor's game. Their children were used to turn them against each other, and their families had all perished at the emperor's hands. Reborn, the empress returns to the very day the emperor falsely accused her of causing the consort's miscarriage. This time, she does everything she can to protect her former enemy. But before she can offer an explanation, she discovers that the consort has been reborn as well. Once they confirm their shared secret, the two women turn from rivals to allies, determined to take down the unfaithful emperor together. In their previous lives, the emperor's power was still shaky at this point, and he relied heavily on the political influence of both women's families. This time, the empress uses his greed against him and brings him to his own downfall. At the story's close, the consort embraces a life of peace while the empress ascends the throne with grace. For once, the women of the imperial harem live peacefully, free of rivalry. Who says a woman can't wear the crown?