Chapter 1

In my past life, I risked my life to shove the police chief’s daughter out of the way, only for an eighteen-wheeler to crush my legs.

The department awarded me a medal, and I became the city’s celebrated hero.

But the moment Valerie Walsh woke up, she pointed at me and told her father I was trying to murder her.

My parents slapped me across the face and screamed, “Why would you try to hurt her!”

My younger brother Landon stood behind them and whimpered, “Lucas... I saw you that day. You really did shove her...”

The truck driver testified against me as well, claiming I had bribed him to stage the hit-and-run so I could kill the chief’s daughter.

I was sentenced to fifteen years in state prison.

On the day I was hauled off to jail, I sat in a wheelchair.

Holding Landon’s hand, my mother looked back at me with pure disgust.

“How did we raise such a piece of human garbage?”

Behind bars, the chief’s pet thugs gouged out my eyes and severed the tendons in my wrists. I died in agony, drowning in hatred.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at that very crosswalk.

A massive semi-truck was barreling straight toward Valerie.

This time, I calmly took a step backward.

In this life, I wasn't saving a damn soul.

1

The blaring horn pierced the air.

Right in front of me was that familiar semi-truck.

It was speeding straight toward Valerie Walsh.

In my past life, I had thrown myself forward without hesitation, trading my legs for her safety.

In return, I got fifteen years of wrongful imprisonment and a living hell.

This time, I took a calm step back.

A deafening crash echoed across the intersection.

Valerie was sent flying through the air, hitting the asphalt hard as blood pooled beneath her.

Screams erupted from the terrified crowd.

Right then, a figure dashed forward.

He didn't run toward Valerie, who was bleeding out on the street.

Instead, he charged straight at me.

It was my younger brother, Landon.

He grabbed my collar with bloodshot eyes, his face twisted in rage as he roared in my face.

“Lucas! Why didn't you save her? You were standing right next to her!”

His voice cracked with theatrical grief.

Camera flashes instantly lit up all around us as countless phones and cameras zeroed in on us.

Bystanders crowded around us in seconds.

“Oh my God, did his brother just say he stood by and watched?”

“That's horrifying! He just watched that poor girl get hit!”

“Seriously! A big guy like him could have pushed her away without breaking a sweat! He probably wouldn't have even gotten hurt!”

“Look at him standing there without a scratch while that poor girl is bleeding out. He has no heart!”

Accusations and venom washed over me like a tidal wave.

With Landon gripping my collar and the crowd barking their righteous judgment, I found the whole scene sickeningly absurd.

A little push? No injury? They made it sound so easy.

I wrenched myself free from Landon’s grip and stared at him with cold, dead eyes.

“Is my life worth nothing to you?”

The entire intersection fell dead silent for a second.

Landon stared at me as if shocked, and then he raised his voice even louder.

“Lucas! How can you say something like that! Your life matters, but doesn't her life matter too?”

“She's just a girl! You're a grown man! If you rushed in, you would have gotten a few scrapes at most, but she could die!”

“You let her die just to avoid a little risk? I thought you were a better person than this!”

Seeing the crowd’s sympathy tilt his way, Landon turned to the cameras as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“My brother isn't usually like this. He gets straight A’s and treats everyone kindly. He’s always been our family’s pride... I don't know what got into him today...”

Just then, a black police SUV screeched to a halt at the curb.

The door flew open, and a middle-aged man in uniform burst out.

It was Police Chief Garrett Walsh.

The moment he saw his daughter lying in a pool of blood, his eyes went wild with rage.

Landon let go of me immediately and scrambled toward Chief Walsh.

Trembling, he pointed a finger straight at me.

“Chief Walsh! My brother... he had the chance to save her! He was the closest, but he didn't move! He didn't lift a single finger!”

Chief Walsh’s murderous glare locked onto me.

It was the exact same look he gave me in my past life when I was shipped off to prison.

The corner of my mouth twitched into a faint smirk.

Yes. Everything was repeating itself.

The girl I had once nearly died to save, and the family I had loved with all my heart―they had all betrayed me.

Only this time, I wouldn't let history repeat itself.