Chapter 1

"It was your lies that got Freddie killed. You should suffer just like he did before he died!"

The thugs sneered as they walked toward me, while my sister, Gabriella Rutherfurd, sat coldly beside Freddie Morgan's headstone. She watched coldly as I was beaten to death over three days and nights.

When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting in the car, taking my brother-in-law, Cyril Harding, to the hospital.

"Watch out!" An urgent shout snapped me back to reality.

A car suddenly appeared in front of us, blocking our path. I yanked the steering wheel hard to avoid it, but our car crashed straight into a flower bed with a thunderous crash. The airbag deployed, and through my dizziness, I saw the face of the person getting out of the other car.

My blood instantly froze when I realized that I had returned to the day Cyril was abducted.

A group of criminals had taken advantage of Gabriella's absence to abduct Cyril and take him away. By the time I desperately searched for and found him, he was already covered in blood, lying weakly in an abandoned boat, barely clinging to life.

Remembering Cyril's horrific condition, I shuddered and frantically shook him awake. "Cyril, wake up! We need to run! They're abductors!"

Cyril weakly opened his eyes and gestured helplessly at me, "Quick, call Ella. She can save us..."

I took the phone, but my fingers wouldn't stop trembling as the painful memories from my previous life kept flashing through my mind.

The thugs were getting closer, and they joked among themselves as they approached us.

"I hate rich people more than anything in this life. I heard that they're Ms. Rutherfurd's brother and husband. Better grab some sharp weapons and teach them a lesson."

Hearing this, I quickly flipped on the high beams. While they were temporarily blinded, I helped Cyril hide in the nearby flower bed.

"How's it going? Did you get through to Ella?" Cyril's face was pale with pain, and he kept nervously looking back at the abductors who were searching for us.

Instead of looking through my contacts, I dialed the police station's number directly. "Hello, we're facing an abduction threat on Magnolia Avenue. Please send someone to help us right away!"

"Alright, sir. Try to stay calm. We need your name for the record, and we'll dispatch officers within five minutes."

I lowered my voice and said quickly, "My name is Vance Rutherfurd, my brother-in-law, Cyril Harding, is seriously injured. These thugs are searching everywhere for us, and we can't hide much longer!"

The person on the other end of the line hung up when they heard my name. Then, a different, deeper voice came over the phone.

He sounded annoyed and dismissive. "Ms. Rutherfurd's brother, huh? She already told us not to waste resources on you and Cyril. She said that grown men shouldn't be stirring up drama over nothing. She hired the best security team to watch Cyril around the clock. So how could he possibly get abducted?"