Chapter 1

After being reborn, my daughter, Lilah Olson, lay in a pool of blood just as she had in my previous life.

Seeing her covered in blood, I hurriedly pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

The call connected quickly.

"911, what's your emergency?"

I immediately said, "We're at 142 Willowbrook Avenue, Briarwood. My daughter is injured. Please send an ambulance as soon as possible. Please, you have to save her."

"Is that you, Carter?" A familiar voice suddenly came from the other end.

I listened carefully and realized it was Kendra Cherry, my wife Elina's junior.

Looking at Lilah, unconscious and bleeding heavily, pain made my chest feel like it was splitting apart.

I could only force myself to stay patient. "Lilah is losing a lot of blood. This is an emergency. Please send an ambulance right away."

My voice trembled as I spoke, my eyes fixed on Lilah's pale face as she lay motionless in the pool of blood.

But Kendra sounded annoyed. "Carter, Elina told me that the last time the two of you had a fight, you used Lilah as an excuse to trick her into coming home.

"I know you two only had another fight yesterday, and Elina blocked you because she didn't want to see you. You couldn't reach her, so you called me instead. But this is an emergency line. You can't just call it whenever you want. And seriously, you're a grown man. Your wife gets mad and refuses to see you, so you make up a story about your daughter being injured? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"I…" I was about to explain, but Kendra impatiently cut me off.

"Okay, okay. I already told you, you can't just call the emergency line whenever you feel like it. No wonder Elina specifically told me to hang up if you called. If I were Elina, I'd block you too. What kind of father would joke about his daughter's life just to get his wife's attention?"

With that, Kendra hung up.

In my previous life, Lilah had been in a car accident and was bleeding heavily.

After Elina and I fought and she blocked me, I borrowed a stranger's phone to call her. I called dozens of times before she finally answered.

The moment she picked up, I hurriedly told her what had happened to Lilah.

At first, Elina didn't believe me either. It was only after I begged her repeatedly that she finally sent an ambulance.

Once she saw the extent of Lilah's injuries with her own eyes, Elina immediately arranged for surgery.

But while she was operating on Lilah, her first love, Nolan Hicks, was involved in a car accident too. Because Elina was in the operating room, she missed Nolan's desperate call for help.

By the time she finished the surgery, she learned what had happened.

When she finally saw Nolan again, all that remained of him was an urn of ashes.

On the day of Nolan's funeral, I tried to comfort her. Instead, she told me that everyone had their own fate.

After that, life went on as usual. I thought my wife had finally come to terms with Nolan's death.

Until our third wedding anniversary.

She drugged the water in my cup and replaced Lilah's calcium supplements with rat poison.

When I remembered the state Lilah had been in before she died, cold sweat broke out all over my body.

My hand trembled uncontrollably around my phone.

No.

This time, I absolutely could not let history repeat itself.

I scooped my blood-covered daughter into my arms and ran toward the hospital, ignoring the strange looks from everyone around me. I ran so hard that I even lost one of my shoes along the way.

By the time I reached the hospital, I was standing in the lobby with Lilah in my arms, both of us covered in blood.

"My daughter has been hit by a car! Please, somebody, save her…"

Several nurses immediately moved to bring over a stretcher.

But Kendra suddenly stepped in front of them. Her brows knitted together, disgust filling her eyes as her voice rose.

"No wonder Elina told me to keep an eye on you. You really won't give up, will you? But let me make one thing clear. This is a hospital. There are plenty of people here waiting to be saved. If you keep causing a scene, don't blame me for what happens next!"

I felt a surge of rage in my chest and shouted at her, "Lilah was hit by a car! Look at how badly she's hurt! She's lost this much blood! Isn't the hospital supposed to treat her?"

Kendra casually glanced at Lilah in my arms.

I thought injuries this obvious would be enough for her to order someone to operate immediately.

But what she said next sent my heart straight into an abyss.

"Carter, stop bringing Lilah here to cause trouble. Elina already told me what you're like. You're always dragging your daughter around to play the victim. Don't think I'm going to believe you just because you smeared a few blood bags all over her. I don't have time to play along with your little act."

The bystanders who had no idea what was really happening began pointing at me and criticizing me.

"The doctor already said she's fine, and he's still making a scene!"

"I seriously don't understand how someone like this even exists!"

Lilah's breathing grew weaker and weaker in my arms.

Cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

Kendra stood to the side and let out a mocking laugh when she saw the panic on my face. "Carter, I only call you that because of Elina. But you actually made up a car accident just because you're jealous of Nolan? There aren't any doctors available for surgery today. Stop wasting your time."

Looking at Kendra's smug expression, I suddenly came to my senses.

So this had all been arranged by Elina. As long as Kendra was here, no one would save Lilah.

I took a deep breath.

Then I turned around, carried Lilah to the operating room, and dropped to my knees in front of the doors.