Chapter 1

"Avery, just say yes to Silas. Go help him finish this acupuncture experiment. If you don't, I won't consider you my daughter anymore!"

In my past life, my husband was the celebrated medical researcher, Silas Sterling. To help his childhood friend, Seraphina Lowe, validate an experimental electrode stimulation therapy, he needed a human subject for the final phase.

This therapy used high-voltage currents to shock neural pathways. It had been shut down during animal trials due to an incredibly high mortality rate. But Seraphina insisted that human data was the only way forward.

Silas couldn't bear to let her take any risks. Instead, he turned his gaze toward me.

"You work out every day, Avery. Your body is strong. You can handle a few shocks. It'll be over before you know it."

But those "few shocks" turned into ninety-nine agonizing sessions.

During the final experiment, my body was torn apart by a massive electrical overload. My internal organs were literally carbonized. I became nothing more than a charred corpse.

They didn't stop there. They used the data from my death to perfect the treatment.

Seraphina used that technology to build a medical empire. She was hailed as the "Rising Star of Neuroscience."

At the gala celebrating her international medical award, Silas held her in a deep embrace. He called her the "Goddess who changed the future of humanity."

As for me? My charred remains were ground into powder and mixed into the concrete foundation of her new research center. I was denied even the peace of the grave.

In this life, I'm done playing this game.

1、

"Silas, let me do it! This is my life's work, after all. I should be the one to take the final risk!"

Seraphina's voice was thick with fake determination. She reached for the headgear bristling with electrodes.

My mother, Martha, who had been hovering nearby, immediately rushed forward to grab her hand.

"Seraphina, you can't! That thing looks terrifying. What if something goes wrong!"

Seraphina gave a tragic little smile, her eyes flickering toward me.

"It's okay, Mrs. Vance. To cure Parkinson's, I'm willing to sacrifice everything."

She made a show of moving toward the experimental chair.

Silas immediately pulled her behind him, shielding her.

"Seraphina! Don't be ridiculous. Your mind is a national treasure. We can't risk a single hair on your head!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Silas's gaze locked onto me as I walked into the observation room.

He stepped forward quickly and grabbed my wrist.

"Avery, you've always wanted to support my career, haven't you? We're at the very last step of human testing!"

My mother walked over as well, her voice dripping with forced sincerity.

"Exactly, Avery! Do it for your father's memory. His greatest wish was to see a cure for terminal illnesses. Now you have the chance to make it happen!"

I looked at the two of them, their rehearsed coordination making my blood run cold.

I slowly shook my head. My voice wasn't loud, but every word was razor-sharp.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be participating in this experiment. Whoever proposes the idea should be the one to test it."

"Avery Vance! How can you be so selfish?"

My refusal made Silas's face contort with instant rage.

"Do you have any idea how many suffering patients this therapy could save? How many families it could bring back from the brink?"

"You're really going to prioritize your own comfort over the progress of medical science?"

"You're a cold-blooded egoist to the core! You've completely disappointed me!"

My mother shoved my arm away, her eyes full of performative disgust.

"How did I raise a daughter like you? Look at Seraphina. Do you have even one percent of her nobility? I'm truly ashamed of you!"

I stared at the woman who had given me life. The last spark of hope I held for her died right then and there.

In my last life, it was this exact tag-team routine that pushed me into that chair.

I could never forget the agony of the first shock―the feeling of muscles tearing and nerves burning. I couldn't forget the way they calmly recorded data while I spasmed and foamed at the mouth.

Back then, I was naive enough to think that if I just endured it, I would earn my mother's pride and my husband's love.

But even when I lost consciousness, they kept tying me back down. They increased the voltage, testing my physical limits until my heart finally stopped.

My mother's gaze back then had been nothing but numb indifference.

I finally understood.

In Silas's eyes, I was just a consumable sample, a string of valuable data points.

In my mother's eyes, I was just a stepping stone for her son-in-law's success.

When they secretly shipped me off to be cremated, not a single tear was shed.