Back to Zero: Saving My Doomed Family

I bolted upright. My knees slammed hard against the conference table.

I had been reborn.

In my past life, I had only been a few minutes late to get home from this exact meeting, just in time to see my wife, Lisa Irwin, jump to her death.

But not this time.

I had to move fast.

My boss, Oliver Garrison, glared at me with a heavy scowl. "Winston Conner, what the hell are you doing? We're in the middle of a meeting!"

Every eye in the room turned toward me.

I grabbed my phone off the table, my eyes burning as I shouted back, "I'm sorry, Mr. Garrison! There's a massive emergency at home! I have to leave right now!"

Without giving anyone a chance to stop me, I barged through the glass doors and bolted down the hall like a man possessed.

The wind whipped past my ears.

I burst out of the office building. My hands shook violently as I pulled up the app and grabbed a ticket for the earliest train back.

There were 20 minutes left until departure.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, praying silently with every breath.

Lisa was such a gentle person. She would flush red just speaking up to a stranger.

How agonizing must her final moments have been without me there?

The mere thought sent a sharp, suffocating pain straight through my chest.

I quickly dialed her number.

It rang twice before she picked up. "Honey? Why are you calling me now? Aren't you out of town for your meeting?"

Lisa's voice sounded totally normal, and I could hear my daughter Ariah Conner's faint cries in the background.

The sound of that familiar voice had half the tension draining out of me.

Fighting to hide my ragged gasps, I cut straight to the point. "Honey, listen to me carefully. Lock the front door right now. Do not open it for anyone, no matter who knocks!"

Lisa paused, clearly confused. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"Don't ask questions! Just trust me! Lock it up!" I hurriedly cut her off. "And remember those two tiny hidden cameras that we got for free with our main security system?"

"Yeah, they're sitting in the drawer. Why?"

"Get them out and set them up right now!" I shouted into the phone while sprinting toward the roadside.

When we installed the main camera, the merchant had thrown in two thumb-sized pinhole cameras.

Back then, I thought the living room camera was plenty and tossed the extras into a drawer to gather dust.

Looking back, I had been an absolute fool.

If I hadn't been so lazy, I wouldn't have been left totally helpless after the main feed was destroyed in my past life.

A wave of bitter regret washed over me.

I was such a fool!

I never should have kept taking these business trips, leaving Lisa home alone right after she gave birth to Ariah.

She had only just recovered from childbirth and was still so weak. How could I leave her to handle everything on her own?

Lisa's voice came through the speaker, laced with deep concern. "Honey, you're scaring me. What's going on? Please tell me."

I took a sharp breath, trying to sound steady so I wouldn't worry her. "Listen to me, honey. No matter who comes to the door today—delivery guys, building management, or even people we know—do not open it. Keep the door locked, hide those two pinhole cameras, and don't tell a soul."

The line went quiet for a second.

Realizing I wasn't joking, Lisa held back her questions. "Okay, I got it. Don't worry. I'm grabbing the cameras now, and I'll lock everything down."

Tears welled in my eyes at her words.

She had always trusted me blindly.

Even though my request sounded completely unhinged—even though she was probably terrified and confused—she didn't hesitate for a second. She just believed me.

Listening to the faint sounds of the lock clicking and her rummaging for the hidden cameras, I gritted my teeth and swore to myself in my mind, "Last time, I missed my chance to save you. This time, I'll protect you and Ariah, even if it costs me my life!"

I hung up, yanked open the door of a waiting cab, and threw myself into the back seat before barking at the driver. "To the train station! Step on it!"