Chapter 2

I noticed that the living room was in complete disarray.

Wanda cradled Nathan—his fever finally broken—on the couch, her eyes bloodshot from crying. She immediately let go of all the fury and hurt she had bottled up the moment she spotted me.

"Where on earth have you been, Christian? Nathan's fever hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and the doctor issued a life-threatening condition warning! Do you even care about this family anymore? What about Nathan and me? Do we mean anything to you, Christian?"

I looked at my frail son and my haggard wife, guilt washing over me. I walked up to them, knelt before Wanda, and hugged her and Nathan.

I had no idea how to explain what had happened. How could I explain that I had been reborn, or that Grandma had visited me in a dream? If I said any of that out loud, they would think I was insane.

I tried everything I could that night to apologize and make it up to her. Wanda's anger only finally subsided after she kept demanding more of me all night. It wasn't until nearly dawn that she finally fell fast asleep in my arms.

I stroked her face as she slept, my gaze falling on the hickeys I'd left on her neck. I was overwhelmed with relief that we had escaped disaster. I had made the right choice this time around.

Early the next morning, I walked into the office feeling completely refreshed. I had just stepped through the front doors when a loud pop rang out, and a cloud of confetti and glitter showered down from above.

"Congratulations, Ms. Lister!"

"We've made it! We've made it rich, Mr. Lister!"

Every employee rushed over, their excitement written all over their faces. Henry made his way to me and patted me firmly on the shoulder. "You're incredible, Mr. Lister! Our stock price went up ten times overnight! Ten times!"

I was stunned. I ran into my office and turned on my computer, only to see every financial headline was about my company. In the span of a night, my net worth had surged to 1.5 billion dollars.

I was instantly overwhelmed with excitement. I finally understood the true meaning of Grandma's third dream. It wasn't an omen of disaster but a windfall of enormous wealth.

I announced right then that all employees would get double their year-end bonuses, and key members of my team would receive shares in the company.

The office erupted in cheers.

That afternoon, I went to a high-end jewelry shop and picked up a diamond necklace Wanda had wanted for ages but could never bring herself to buy because of the price. I planned to surprise her with it that evening.

Yet, sitting in the car and staring at the elegant jewelry box, flashes of my violent death from my past life surfaced again.

I couldn't let myself get overconfident. I took out my phone, turned on the camera, and aimed it at myself. "I-If you're watching this video, it means that something is wrong with the world again. You have to remember this—Grandma visited you in your dreams three times.

"Your third dream sent you to the ancestral home, after which the company's stock shot up. Your wife's name is Wanda Cooper, and your son's name is Nathan Lister. Your assistant's name is Henry Johnson, but he…"

I hesitated, then recorded the details of Henry's betrayal and murder in my past life, along with the identical birthmark I remembered seeing on his wrist.

I encrypted the video once I was done and uploaded it to a foreign cloud storage account that no one but me knew about. After that, I finally felt at ease, humming a tune as I drove home.

I took out my key when I reached home and slid it into the lock, but it wouldn't turn. It didn't seem to fit. I was stunned for a moment, assuming I had grabbed the wrong key because I was so excited, but I checked several times, and it was definitely the right one.

Had the lock been changed? I pressed the doorbell.

I waited a while before hearing footsteps behind the door. The door opened a moment later, and Wanda stood there in a casual cotton dress, her hair loosely twisted up. She looked wary and slightly annoyed. "Who are you looking for?"

I froze, the smile on my face fading.