All Chapters of A Tinderbox of Vengeance: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Finn, what are you spacing out for?"Lisa Parker's irritated voice dragged me out of those blood-soaked memories.I… had been reborn.I looked at her, then at George Penn beside her, cursing under his breath as he toyed with his lighter.Clenching my fists, I forced myself to stay calm through the pain.I couldn't repeat the mistakes of my previous life.If I rushed in and tried to stop George the way I did back then, he would only explode in anger and everything would unfold the same way again.But this time, if he lit that lighter, we would all die here.I couldn't die—and my teammates behind me were even more innocent.Drawing in a steadying breath, I put on an urgent expression and barked sharply in George's direction."George! What do you think you're doing? Put the lighter down! This is a gas-leak site!"George flinched hard, nearly dropping the lighter.But before he could respond, Lisa instantly blew up.She stepped in front of him, glaring up at me like a furious

Chapter 2

Boom!A deafening blast swallowed every sound in the world. My eardrums felt as if a red-hot iron rod had been driven straight through them, sending a skull-splitting buzz reverberating through my head.But because of the order I'd issued beforehand, every member of my team had avoided the direct impact in those crucial seconds before the explosion. They protected themselves to the greatest extent possible, reducing the damage to a minimum.George and Lisa weren't nearly as lucky.The moment George flicked the lighter, completely unprepared, he didn't even have time to scream before a blue fireball surged forward and swallowed him whole.Standing so close to him, Lisa didn't escape either. The violent shockwave hurled her into the air and slammed her against a load-bearing wall with a sickening thud.The fire-resistant suit she wore blackened and carbonized under the terrifying heat, releasing thin curls of white smoke.A few seconds later, the fiercest wave of the blast finally

Chapter 3

The hospital reeked of disinfectant and burn ointment, the suffocating mix heavy enough to choke a person.George had been rushed straight into the ICU the moment he arrived—covered in third-degree burns. The doctors issued multiple critical-condition notices. Whether he would live or die was still unknown.Lisa survived, but her face, neck, and hands were all severely burned. For a woman who valued her looks more than her life, this was a fate worse than death.I had barely reached the doorway of her hospital room when I heard the piercing screams inside."It's Finn! All of it—everything—is his fault!" Lisa shrieked, her voice hoarse and dripping with venom."He did it on purpose! He barked at George like a mad dog just to provoke him, to embarrass him! He wanted George dead!"She was twisting the facts. A classic villain crying foul first.But what she said next chilled me far more."And… and he threatened me!" Her voice cracked with feigned fear."Right before the explosion

Chapter 4

Just as I was about to pull out the recorder, my phone suddenly rang. Every head turned toward me at once.Before I could react, Lisa's father charged at me with a furious roar."He's trying to run! That call is from his accomplice—trying to help him escape responsibility!" Lisa screamed from the bed."What?! You bastard, you're still trying to run?"Her father didn't give me a single second to respond. He snatched my phone, hit "answer," and immediately turned on the speakerphone without even checking who was calling.He thought he'd catch some imaginary accomplice on the other end—something he could use to expose how I had "colluded" with others.But instead, my mother's panicked voice filled the hallway."Finn, come home quickly! Someone splashed paint all over our door—they're saying you caused the explosion as a firefighter and refused to save people!"Your father argued with them and… and they knocked him out!"A cold, bone-deep terror surged through me.Lisa. George. T

Chapter 5

The atmosphere inside the Fire Department's internal inquiry department was suffocating.Both sides of the long conference table were filled with high-ranking officers, stars gleaming on their shoulders, their expressions growing darker by the minute.Dressed in plain clothes, I sat alone in the hot seat, like a criminal waiting to be sentenced.On the screen was Lisa's face, wrapped in layers of gauze.She attended the meeting via video call, tears streaming as she accused me."Every word I said is true! Finn acted out of twisted jealousy—he planned this!"He's never liked George. That day at the scene, he deliberately provoked him, pushed him into making mistakes! And this screenshot—he sent it to me. I was terrified. I didn't dare speak up…"As she spoke, her lawyer projected the fabricated chat screenshot onto the screen.Lisa: [Finn, are you still mad? That's just George's personality. Don't take it to heart.]Me: [Don't take it to heart? Lisa, you say that every time. He

Chapter 6

"I have something to report!"The words cracked through the room like a whip.Everyone froze.In the last row of the observers' seats, a young firefighter—Aaron Teager—shot to his feet."I can testify Captain Finn Decker is not lying!"Every gaze in the room zeroed in on the young man.Director Bollen's frown deepened. "And who are you? Is this your place to speak? Sit down.""Sir! I'm Firefighter No. 4, Aaron Teager, part of that rescue operation!"Aaron didn't sit. Instead, he stepped forward, his voice firm and unwavering. "I won't sit, because there are things I must say!"That chat screenshot is absolutely fake! From the moment we entered the scene until the explosion, Captain Decker's entire focus was on the environment and our safety. He never even touched his phone!"Through the video feed, Lisa shrieked, "Liar! You're definitely working with Finn! You planned this to frame me!"Aaron ignored her. He turned to the investigation leaders and continued, voice ringing wi

Chapter 7

Director Bollen stared at me for a long moment. Then, with a sudden crack, his palm slammed against the table. The sound was so loud it jolted everyone in the room."Play it! Play Finn's bodycam footage from beginning to end. Not a single second is to be skipped!"Within moments, the footage captured by the camera on my chest was projected onto the large screen.The chaotic noise at the scene—the shouting, the hiss of leaking gas—filled the conference room with chilling clarity.As the recorded dialogue unfolded, the expressions of the leaders grew darker and darker.When the screen showed Lisa stepping in front of George to accuse me, Captain Wright's fingers began tapping the table—unconsciously, rhythmically.When George's line—'Lisa said it's fine'—played, the tapping stopped. Under the table, Captain Wright's hand slowly curled into a fist.On the other side, Lisa's father's expression stiffened. He opened his mouth as if trying to salvage the situation, but the footage lef

Chapter 8

Director Bollen made the decision on the spot. "Get everything ready. We're holding an emergency press conference in thirty minutes. We're releasing the full unedited video to the public. I want to see who would still stab a hero in the back after watching this."The press conference was launched at record speed.The moment that unaltered video footage appeared on live broadcasts across major media platforms, the internet exploded.In the clip, my desperate shout—"Get down!"—and Lisa's snide, mocking "Go ahead and light it" were pulled out, placed side by side by netizens, and circulated wildly.One person was risking his life to save others.The other was practically courting death.#TextbookEvacuation##MostToxicGirlfriendOfTheYear##TheMostFoolishChildhoodSweethearts#One cutting hashtag after another shot straight to the top of trending searches.Under the posts that had previously vilified me, the comments section flooded with apologies and complete reversals.Public opin

Chapter 9

A few years later, I received a special promotion and became the deputy captain of the West City Fire Brigade. By then, I also had a new partner by my side.As for George, he spent three months in the ICU and drained every last cent of his family's savings. His life was spared, but the man himself was completely destroyed.Most of his body suffered deep, extensive burns. His face was unrecognizable, and for the rest of his life, he could do nothing but sit in a wheelchair like an empty shell.Lisa was ultimately sentenced to eight years in prison.That day, I was on leave, accompanying my pregnant wife to the hospital for a prenatal checkup.As we stepped out of the exam room, a woman in a hospital gown appeared at the end of the corridor. She sat in a wheelchair, being pushed toward us by an orderly.Her face was covered with jagged, uneven scars. The once brilliant eyes she was so proud of had turned into nothing more than lifeless, murky pits filled with hatred.It was Lisa.

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