Chapter 2

"Alex, did you see the news?" Brenda, my mother-in-law, clutched my hand, her face a mask of panic.

Her thousand-dollar manicure dug into my flesh like sharp claws. "Celine was in a multi-car pile-up on her way back! I can't reach her on FaceTime! What are we going to do?"

I gazed at her face, no longer young but impeccably maintained, and a chilling realization hit me: I had been reborn.

Seeing my silence, Brenda grew more frantic, tightening her grip until her nails practically pierced my skin.

"Say something! My daughter was rushing back for *your* birthday!"

Just then, Arthur, my father-in-law, burst into my bedroom, his voice booming. "She's right! Go to the highway right now! Maybe you can still save her!"

The familiar dialogue, identical to my previous life, sent shivers down my spine.

I scrutinized the two of them.

Their faces were etched with anxiety, their expressions panicked. At first glance, they genuinely looked like worried parents.

But as I focused, I caught a flicker of calculation in their eyes, a subtle glint that betrayed any genuine concern for their daughter.

In my past life, I was completely fooled by their deceptive act. I rushed to the highway, not even bothering to verify the truth. The result? I was severely burned by the explosion, my face practically disfigured, and I didn't even find a trace of my wife.

When I woke up in the hospital, my in-laws cried hysterically, telling me my wife had died in the crash and blaming me for not getting there sooner, which they claimed delayed the rescue.

Overwhelmed by self-reproach, I believed it was all my fault. Without a moment's hesitation, I transferred my company and all my properties to them.

Because of my severe burns and grotesque face, no respectable company would hire me. To survive, I had to wear a balaclava to hide my disfigurement and become a delivery driver.

I left before dawn and dragged my exhausted body home late at night, earning barely enough to cover my own medical expenses. But I never complained, always believing I owed them.

It wasn't until I met my tragic end under a bridge, my soul hovering above, that I finally saw my wife, who had been "missing" for twenty years.

She was sweetly nestled in Marcus Lee's arms, with their twenty-five-year-old daughter by their side! Marcus Lee was the male nanny my wife had recommended to look after my in-laws.

It turned out she had betrayed me long ago.

Doing the math, she must have gotten involved with Marcus and had their daughter the year I went abroad.

Reborn, I would never let such a disgusting travesty repeat itself. "You're still hesitating? Are you even human? I should never have let my daughter marry a loser like you!" Brenda saw I was unmoved and, furious, her nails nearly poked my eyes out.

Marcus chimed in, feigning concern. "Don't worry, Auntie. Alex isn't like that. He loves Celine so much, he wouldn't just ignore this. He's probably figuring something out."

"Alex, you must be looking at routes, right? I told you about Celine's accident half an hour ago."

I glanced at my phone. He had indeed sent me a message half an hour ago. But strangely, the accident had only happened twenty minutes ago! I put on a worried facade, my heart growing colder by the second.

"Mom, Dad, after all these years of marriage, I've always cherished Celine. Anything she wanted, I bought it for her without a second thought.

But –" I said, my face turning red with feigned urgency, "the accident happened in another state. It'll take at least a dozen hours to drive there.

For a flight, only first-class seats are available now."

"The company lost a lot of money recently, so I –" I pretended to be embarrassed to speak, "I really don't have any money left."

Arthur gritted his teeth and declared, "I'll buy it!"

My teeth instantly clenched in fury. He was a notorious penny-pincher, usually making me pay even his phone bill.

The fact that he was willing to spend over ten thousand dollars on a first-class ticket for me now showed how desperate they were to swindle my money.

I didn't want to die in an explosion like in my past life, so I tried to stall for time.

"I still have so many things to arrange at the company.

But don't worry, I'll contact the local rescue team right away. We'll definitely find Celine."

Seeing that he couldn't convince me, Arthur suddenly clutched his chest, his legs buckling, and he collapsed onto the floor. Brenda wailed dramatically beside him.

"Oh, the horror! My daughter, she's practically gone, and he won't even go find her!"

"My dear! You can't be sick! Otherwise, I won't live either!"

I acted even more frantic than them, immediately pulling out my phone and dialing 911. "Dad, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you!"

Arthur immediately yelled anxiously, "An ambulance costs money! Are you crazy?"

I put on an innocent face. "Dad, Celine is so filial. If she knew I didn't save you, she'd definitely divorce me. I can't lose her."

Brenda couldn't hold back. "No! Celine said you have to go!"

I seized on her slip of the tongue. "Celine said that? When? Is she okay?"

Marcus quickly pointed out the window. "The ambulance is here!"

I didn't get a chance to press further. I had to follow my in-laws into the ambulance.

Marcus didn't come along, saying, "Alex, you go ahead. I'll help Uncle Arthur pack some clothes."

I didn't know what trick he was planning, but I knew it wasn't good.

However, in front of my in-laws, I couldn't say anything. I just needed to get to the hospital – as long as I didn't go to the highway.

At the hospital, Arthur was wheeled into the emergency room. I pulled a doctor aside and spoke to them in a low voice for a while.

When Brenda finally hurried over, breathless, I looked flustered, my words jumbled. "Dad is almost – no, Dad's perfectly fine."

The doctor looked relaxed. "Your husband is fine. He just had a surge of anger. He'll be fine after some rest."

The more he said it, the more scared Brenda became. She grabbed the doctor's hand, urgently asking, "He's not going to make it, is he? Tell me the truth!"

I interjected, pretending to be anxious. "Doctor, my wife took them for a check-up a while ago, and she said my father-in-law has lung cancer."

In my past life, my wife used this exact trick to swindle a huge sum of money from me for Arthur's "treatment."

I later found out that money was used to raise her and Marcus's child! Even after I lost everything, they still used "lung cancer" as an excuse to keep demanding money from me.

During that time, to earn money, I didn't even dare to eat vegetables, subsisting on stale bread and instant ramen, sometimes even picking up leftover food from others.

Meanwhile, they were living lavishly with my money, scamming me my entire life!

"Doctor, no matter how much it costs, as long as you can save my father-in-law, I'm willing to pay."

Brenda's small eyes darted around. She suddenly collapsed to the floor, sobbing dramatically.

"Oh, my poor husband! How could you be so miserable? Your daughter is in a car crash, and now you're dying too!"

"And your son-in-law won't even go save your daughter! What are we going to do!"

The surrounding people instantly looked at me with disdain. I cried out, more distraught than Brenda.

"Mom, don't worry! As long as we can save Dad's life, I'll cooperate with the hospital even if it means open-chest surgery!"

"I'll also have someone keep an eye on Celine. Even if she really passed away, I'll always take care of you. I'll transfer the house you live in to your names."

Brenda's eyes lit up. "Really?"

She quickly realized her expression was wrong and, remembering my mention of open-chest surgery, asked, "What open-chest surgery?"

"Lung cancer can be operated on. They just need to remove the bad part of the lung."

"Don't worry, I'll find the most expensive surgeon to operate on him. There definitely won't be any problems.

Even if he can't be saved, I've already bought a prestigious burial plot for him."

Brenda shot up from the floor. "We're not having surgery!"

"He's not sick! No surgery!"

I insisted that Arthur was sick, even pulling out the old lung cancer report they had shown me before and handing it to the doctor.

The doctor immediately opened a fast track and sent Arthur to the CT scan room.

While waiting for the results, Brenda kept her back to me, texting on her phone.

I didn't need to look to know she was sending messages to Marcus.

I also opened my phone and checked the surveillance cameras at the house. That villa was meant for their retirement.

Fearing the old couple might not be safe living alone, I had cameras installed, but I never told them, worried they'd feel uncomfortable.

Now, it had become a tool for my revenge.

On the monitor, Marcus entered my bedroom. He rummaged around for a long time but found nothing. He then called Celine.

Less than five minutes later, Celine appeared. She had been hiding nearby the whole time!

I watched as she walked straight to the safe, punching in the code. She tried several times, but it was wrong each time.

A pang of pain shot through my chest. That code was our wedding anniversary – she didn't even remember it.

Marcus had to remind her, and she went to fetch our marriage certificate. The cabinet was empty; there was nothing there.

Celine angrily kicked the wall, cursing, "That bitch! If the property deeds aren't here, where could they be? And his private seal, why can't I find any of them?"

My body trembled. She actually wanted to transfer all my company assets and properties, so even if I managed to divorce her, I'd be left with nothing, and her family could live happily ever after.

Thankfully, a couple of days ago, I had used them as collateral with the bank to expand the company.

Finally, Celine declared decisively, "You go to the hospital and find Mom and Dad. Make them figure out a way to get rid of Alex. I'll think of other ways."

With that, Celine leaned in and kissed Marcus. The two of them couldn't control themselves and started making out right there.

I felt an overwhelming wave of nausea. I wanted nothing more than to rush over and beat those two senseless. But I held back. I knew it wasn't time yet.