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Chapter 2

Author: Star-filled
Ingrid hugged my shoulders, the color draining from her face.

When she booked the appointment for the repair on the platform, she'd only specified "equipment malfunction" in the notes. She never mentioned that I would have difficulty breathing if my oxygen supply was cut off.

So, how could Tyler have known?

Tyler seemed to sense her hesitation and softened his tone.

"I saw that the whole apartment was out of power while I was downstairs just now. It seems like it happened because you were using the air conditioning unit and the oxygen machine at the same time.

"Just open the door for me, and I'll check your electrical panel to see if the circuit's tripped. You can't afford to delay with the patient suffering, can you?"

He said the last line in an accusatory tone, as though Ingrid would be the one causing my death if she didn't open the door for him now.

Ingrid pressed her lips in a thin line and wheeled the emergency oxygen tank over to my wheelchair first. She pulled the oxygen mask over my face, and I was able to breathe properly again.

She didn't open the door for him, but instead called the management office for the apartment building.

"The power in my unit just went out, and the repairman outside my door said that the whole building is out. Can you please send someone over to take a look?"

The person from the management office, Miles Stafford, tapped on his keyboard and said lazily, "None of the other units on the 12th floor have had their power go out. It's probably just something to do with your circuit breakers.

"You might as well just let the repairman take a look at it. We're going to take at least 40 minutes here."

Ingrid glanced at the emergency oxygen tank, which would only last for half an hour at most, furrowing her brows.

She'd just checked with the post office yesterday, and they'd already told her that the new machine would only arrive tomorrow at the earliest. This emergency tank was supposed to be for any emergencies in the middle of the night.

But Tyler had chosen to show up now, which meant he'd clearly taken even the new machine's delivery time into account.

He was forcing Ingrid to risk my life.

The sound of his toolbox banging against the door came from outside. Tyler urged Ingrid, saying, "Your backup emergency tank isn't going to last very long. You've taken care of the patient for years. You know it better than I do."

A chill ran straight down my back. Tyler even knew that there was an emergency tank in the apartment. This was obviously premeditated. He'd already looked into us long before he showed up here today.

I lifted my left hand, wanting to point toward the door. However, my hand suddenly cramped up, spasming hard and curling up in front of my chest in a twisted position.

Ingrid thought that I was running out of oxygen and hurriedly adjusted my oxygen mask.

"Don't worry, Nick. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Her palms were clammy, and yet, she was still as gentle as she could be while adjusting my mask, as though I were so fragile that I'd break at a single breath.

Her words made tears well up in my eyes.

In my previous life, while Tyler dragged her into our bedroom to violate her, she was still begging him not to remove my oxygen tube. She was shuddering with fear, but still, the first thing she thought of was my safety.

I couldn't let her risk her life to save me again.

Ingrid turned on the camera app linked to the front door cam on her phone and saw Tyler wearing a gray repairman uniform with a work badge pinned to his shirt. His tool box was placed at his feet. He even took a few steps back and raised both his arms in the air.

"I know that it's not convenient for you because you're alone at home right now, Ms. Sanford. You can just leave the safety chain on if you're worried. I'll just stick the power detector into the electrical panel to check. I won't even need to go in.

"I know that you have a patient you're taking care of at home. I'm only staying because I want to help you save him. If it had been someone else in my place, they would've already left without a care in the world."

Ingrid's expression wavered for a moment. I knew that it was her inherent kindness and pity acting up again.

I got so anxious that I hurriedly banged my left foot against the wheelchair leg rest with all my might, but my leg was so numb that it only quivered ever so slightly. It just wasn't enough.

I then caught sight of the pill box in the side pocket of the wheelchair and quickly used my elbow to bump against it. The box clattered to the ground, spilling pills everywhere.

When Ingrid bent over to pick the pills up, I purposely knocked over the oxygen tank again, and it fell to the ground with a metallic thump. It was so loud that Ingrid got a fright.

By the time she realized that something was amiss, she crouched down before me and looked at me with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"Nick? Why won't you let me go near the door today?"

A warning went off in my mind just then, reminding me of the rule that I was not to let her find out I'd returned with memories from my past life. If I acted too rationally now, the exact same tragedy from six years ago would happen all over again.

So, I had no choice but to shrug like a three-year-old and cock my head to the side, crying incoherently, "Bad… Bad…"

Ingrid patted my head and softened her tone. "You think that the man outside is a bad guy?"

I nodded at once, looking at her seriously.

She went silent for a few seconds and finally got back up.

"Sir, we won't be fixing the machine today. Please leave now."

The smile on Tyler's face dropped.

"You'd rather listen to an idiot than a certified technician from the repair platform?"

Ingrid's face darkened. "Watch your mouth!"

She ended the call on the intercom doorbell and dialed the platform's customer service hotline. The representative checked the records and replied, "Ms. Sanford, our system shows that the order was cancelled ten minutes ago, and the contractor has already left your area."

Ingrid then looked at the door. Tyler's shadow was evidently still there.

Seconds later, Tyler ripped off the badge on his uniform and slowly snapped it in half before the front door camera.

"Ms. Sanford, since you refuse to open the door for me, I have no choice but to force my way in."

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    The trial went on for nearly a year.The police had found a complete chain of evidence against Tyler. The two other women who had previously reported him to the authorities identified him immediately through the items left in his van and their records from the repair platform.Ultimately, Tyler was convicted of multiple crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment.The disappearance case from three years earlier was also reopened due to the new evidence found in his vehicle. All of the spoils he'd taken from his crime scenes, including the earring and the dashcam footage, had become evidence pointing at him.When his sentence was read out, Tyler glared hatefully at me across the dock."He's nothing but a moron! A dumb fuck! How dare he ruin my life just like that?"The bailiff immediately pressed the agitated Tyler back into his seat.What really got him convicted wasn't my testimony, but rather, every trace he'd left on the repair platform and the recording that Ingrid had preserv

  • Second Chance: I Won't Fail My Wife   Chapter 7

    After Tyler was taken into police custody, he refused to say a word at first.He believed that I couldn't testify against him properly and that Ingrid wouldn't be able to describe him because she would only have a hazy, vague figure to work with."The things in the van don't belong to me. Anyone could have put them inside to frame me. I'm just an honest repairman. She was the one who attacked me with the pepper spray first. I panicked and took her away with me."He even chuckled when he said this."As for the accident from six years ago… The case has already been closed long ago."He kept rubbing his handcuffed wrists as he spoke, his eyes darting from one side to another. The officers interrogating him didn't expose him on the spot. Instead, they just told him to tell his account of the story from that day.The first time, Tyler said that he only went into the apartment building in the afternoon. The second time, he said that he'd been having lunch nearby at that time.It hadn'

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    Tyler saw Ingrid staring at the bloody earring and immediately kicked it under the car. His grip tightened around her."Don't look!"Ingrid didn't resist. She just hung her head and pretended to have completely given up. She knew that there was no point going against him right now while he had the upper hand.Then, Tyler grabbed hold of her and forced her into the van. She pretended to lose her footing and fell halfway inside, making Tyler crouch over to stuff her in properly with an impatient look on his face.Suddenly, Ingrid grabbed the tire wrench from the side of the seat and slammed it hard against his wrist. The knife in Tyler's hand fell to the ground with a clatter, and Ingrid turned to run, quickly bumping into a couple of the other cars nearby so that their alarms would go off.At once, the entire parking garage was filled with the loud blaring of a dozen car alarms.Tyler caught up to Ingrid and grabbed her by the collar. There was a loud tearing sound, and she quickl

  • Second Chance: I Won't Fail My Wife   Chapter 5

    Another crash came from outside the front security door, and Tyler panicked.He ignored me lying on the ground and dragged Ingrid into the access door behind the wardrobe. But Ingrid desperately clung to the sides of the door. She refused to let go, not at all caring that splinters were cutting into her hands."No! Nick is still inside!"Tyler kicked her in the back of her knees and finally dragged her into the dark utility access chamber.I tried to go after them, but I couldn't even get up, and the broken wheelchair was also overturned on its side. My legs were completely numb, and I couldn't lift my head or feel my right shoulder at all. I could only claw at the floor and drag myself forward, inch by inch, with all my might.Before I'd even made it halfway into the door, the board behind the wardrobe was closed up once more, and Ingrid's voice vanished into the darkness.I pressed my forehead against the cold floor, hating my paralyzed body to the extreme for the first time ev

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    Ingrid's breath hitched for a split second when she saw the car emblem on the floor.I didn't have time to warn her when Tyler approached with a wrench in his hand."Throw the phone over here," he said.Ingrid wasn't about to comply. She quickly switched it to speakerphone instead. The telephone operator's voice came through the phone speaker at once."Ma'am, please keep your distance from the other party. The police are already on their way to you."Tyler's face darkened at once as he lunged for the phone. "You're asking for trouble!"Ingrid hit him with the pepper spray immediately, and the pungent, blinding liquid sprayed all over his face.Tyler covered his face and roared angrily, slamming the wrench against the wall.Ingrid didn't stay put. She pushed me toward the kitchen, simultaneously grabbing the fire extinguisher from the wall. She'd bought it last year because she was worried that my mobility issues would prevent her from getting me out of the apartment in time if

  • Second Chance: I Won't Fail My Wife   Chapter 3

    Ingrid immediately pressed the record button on the front door cam, making doubly sure that everything would be saved and recorded. However, the screen flickered twice and turned black.There was the sound of something breaking outside the door.Tyler had smashed the camera.Ingrid's face turned pale. She picked up the oxygen tank and tried to wheel me into the bedroom for safety. However, I kept my hand firmly on the wheelchair brakes.We couldn't go into the bedroom.In my past life, the first thing Tyler did after breaking into our house was unplug the CCTV camera in the living room before forcing Ingrid into the bedroom, where we didn't have a camera installed.I had to stay in the living room. We had to stay here, no matter what! Even if the court couldn't get a testimony out of me, the CCTV footage would be more than enough evidence to convict Tyler!Ingrid realized that the wheelchair wouldn't budge and hurriedly batted at my hand."Nick! Behave! We'll wait inside the be

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