Chapter 1

The moment I was blasted awake by nonstop phone calls, I knew I had been reborn. I smashed my phone into pieces without hesitation.

In my previous life, Elijah Cook had courted disaster. He secretly embedded pirated software bought online into the security program. The security system collapsed under a virus attack, and the cryobank began to warm.

He cried and begged me to save him.

I knew that the cryobank had just received the last vial of sperm from a powerful heir who had become infertile. It was his final chance to have a bloodline

I rushed over at once and used my advanced hacking skills to restore the system and stabilize the facility. I successfully preserved Harry Quinlan's only hope of an heir.

Afterward, Harry held Elijah accountable. All Elijah had to do was lower his head and apologize. Once the anger passed, the matter could've been quietly resolved.

Instead, he acted as if he had suffered an insurmountable humiliation. He ran into the freezer and committed suicide.

My wife, Maya Griffin, stubbornly believed I was the one who drove him to his death. So, she locked me alive in the cryogenic freezer. I froze to death there.

This time, after a full night of good sleep, I headed to the cryobank at an unhurried pace. The control room was already in chaos. Fingers were pointed, accusations flew like fireballs.

"Do you think this is a game, Elijah? You actually installed pirated software you bought online? Look what you've done now! We've been breached by a Trojan virus—the freezing system is out of control!

"The liquid-nitrogen chambers are heating up. If this keeps going, all the frozen samples will become nonviable. These samples belong to politicians and tycoons. They're not going to let this go! You've dragged us all down with you!"

Despair hung over every face. Two enraged colleagues rushed forward and started beating Elijah.

He collapsed to the floor in a heap, looking utterly miserable. His face was full of terror. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw me arrive. Hope burst into his gaze, twisted with resentment.

He scrambled up and pointed at me, roaring, "I called you a million times! Why didn't you answer? If you'd come last night, things would never have gotten this bad!

"You know everyone who stores samples here is either filthy rich or politically powerful—people we can't afford to offend. You did this on purpose to ruin us!"

At once, the others turned to stare at me. Their eyes showed blame.

I looked at Elijah coldly. "You were the one who did something stupid and insisted on installing pirated software. How is that my problem?"

His eyes were bloodshot as he desperately tried to shove the blame onto me. "Ms. Griffin made you my mentor. You were supposed to guide me. Now that I've made a mistake, this is your responsibility."

I stared at his selfish, hypocritical face, then slapped him hard across the face.

Following that, I pulled out my shattered phone. "First of all, I worked seven nights straight. I'd just finished a security system for a client worth 100 million. I smashed my phone when I got irritated. I never heard your calls."