Chapter 1

My wife's ex-lover made a catastrophic mistake during a lab experiment, triggering a massive explosion that killed eight students.

Instead of holding him accountable, she demanded that I take the fall and claim the calculation errors were mine.

"You are a full professor, so taking a tiny bit of blame won't ruin you," she had said coldly. "Garrett, on the other hand, would be destroyed by the victims' families."

Because of that lie, I was stripped of my tenure, expelled from Hudson University, and later burned alive by the grieving parents.

My little daughter Maya was relentlessly bullied, forced out of school, and eventually passed away from severe depression.

While my baby girl lay lifeless on a cold bed, my wife was popping champagne to celebrate Garrett's promotion to full professor.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the lab, exactly five minutes before the blast.

……

"Just mix the compound strictly according to these figures. I guarantee nothing will go wrong."

The familiar, greasy voice jolted me out of my daze.

I looked up and saw Garrett Vance hovering over the research students, pushing them to proceed.

Adrenaline surged through my veins. I sprinted across the room and snatched the test tube right out of a student's trembling hands.

"These figures are completely wrong!" I barked.

Garrett frowned, his eyes narrowing in clear irritation when he saw my panicked face.

"Professor Price, the students and I worked tirelessly on these calculations," he sneered. "I tested them multiple times, so there is zero chance of an error."

He turned back to the young man. "Henry, ignore him and proceed with my formula."

I pulled the vial further back, my muscles locked tight as cold sweat dripped from my fingertips down the glass.

"If you combine these chemicals according to your formula, it will cause an immediate chain reaction and explode! Everyone in this room will be blown to pieces!"

My roar echoed across the hall, making both Garrett and the students jump back in terror.

None of the kids dared to reach for the test tube anymore.

"Instructor Vance, Professor Price wouldn't say this without a reason," one student muttered nervously. "Should we double-check the calculations first?"

The other students nodded in frantic agreement.

Garrett's face twisted into an ugly scowl. "Nolan Price, you are doing this on purpose!"

"Do you really want me to expose where you stole these bogus numbers from?"

I glared at him with pure disgust, then walked straight to the hazardous waste sink and dumped the solution down the drain.

Only when the dangerous liquid was completely neutralized did I finally let out a breath.

"A single misstep in a chemical experiment can be fatal," I stated coldly. "Your formula has a lethal excess of potassium permanganate mixed with strong oxidizers."

How a fraud like him ever became an instructor at Hudson University was beyond comprehension.

In my previous life, I had arrived too late to review the data, which led to the horrific tragedy.

Thank God I came back in time to stop it.

Otherwise, all eight students would have―wait, one, two, three… seven!

"Where is the eighth one?" I demanded.

Suddenly, a student turned deathly pale and cried out in pure terror.

"Oh God, Austin took his batch down to the second-floor lab!"

I whipped my head around to stare at the kid.

His voice shook violently. "He said this room was too crowded, so he went downstairs to work alone."

I scrambled toward the exit like a madman, with the terrified students hot on my heels.

Just as my feet hit the second-floor landing―

BOOM!