A Second Chance to Save My Daughter

Chapter 003

Frank Lane opened his eyes through an unbearable wave of pain.

His head felt as though someone were driving a steel spike into it. He clenched his teeth and struggled to breathe as the black fog clouding his vision gradually dispersed.

When he finally saw his surroundings clearly, he froze.

He was not lying in a spotless hospital room filled with white walls and the sharp smell of disinfectant.

Instead, he found himself inside a small, dilapidated house.

The room was almost completely empty. Cold air slipped through cracks in the walls and window frames, and a thick layer of dust covered everything, making it obvious that no one had properly cared for the place in a long time.

But none of that shocked Frank as much as the child standing in front of him.

It was his young daughter, Lily Lane.

Frank blinked repeatedly, convinced that his eyes were deceiving him.

But the child did not disappear.

The frightened little girl staring at him was exactly how Lily had looked when she was still a toddler.

Tears filled her large eyes, threatening to spill down her thin cheeks at any moment.

She watched in terror as her father struck the side of his head and muttered incoherently to himself.

“Am I dead?” Frank whispered. “Why am I seeing Lily when she was this young?”

He stared at her in disbelief.

“Lily?”

Although the child was frightened, she still responded timidly.

“D-Daddy...”

That single word shattered the last of Frank’s restraint.

He no longer cared whether he was alive, dead, or trapped in some final hallucination.

All he knew was that the little girl before him was his daughter.

His Lily.

Overcome with joy, Frank threw himself forward and pulled her tightly into his arms.

“Lily! My precious little girl!”

He held her as though she might vanish the instant he let go.

After losing her once, he could no longer control his emotions. He repeatedly kissed her small, thin face as tears streamed from his eyes.

“Ow! It hurts!”

Lily began struggling in his arms.

“Daddy, let go of me! It hurts! Waaah!”

Frank was so overwhelmed that he failed to control his strength. His embrace was far too tight for such a small and frail child.

Already terrified by his strange behavior, Lily could no longer hold back her tears.

She burst into loud sobs.

The moment Frank heard her crying, panic replaced his excitement.

He immediately loosened his arms and hurriedly wiped the tears from her face.

“I’m sorry! Daddy’s sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

At that moment, a burst of distorted electrical noise suddenly crackled inside his head.

Static hissed sharply through his mind.

Then a cold, mechanical voice sounded directly inside his consciousness.

“Greetings, Host. I am System 001. The Comeback Life System: Dad Edition is honored to serve you.”

“Congratulations on returning to the year 2026.”

“You currently possess one beginner’s gift package. Would you like to open it now?”

Frank went rigid.

A system?

What was that?

He did not fully understand what the voice meant, but he did not miss the most important part.

The year 2026?

That was the year Sophie had prepared to leave him, around the time of Lily’s first birthday.

Had he truly returned to the past?

If so, did that mean Sophie White was still here?

System 001 appeared to detect the thoughts running through his mind.

Its mechanical voice sounded once more.

“Please remain calm, Host.”

“The current year is 2026. Your wife has not yet left.”

“According to the original timeline, she plans to leave in fifteen days.”

“Fifteen days from now will be Lily Lane’s first birthday.”

The fog in Frank’s mind vanished instantly.

“She hasn’t left yet?”

His voice trembled.

“That’s wonderful. She’s still here!”

His wife had not disappeared.

Lily’s mother had not yet abandoned this family.

Everything had not been destroyed yet.

There was still time to change it all.

Two options appeared inside his mind.

YES

NO

Seeing those clearly defined buttons, Frank finally understood that this was not a dream.

He had truly been reborn.

He had returned to the past—to a time before Sophie left, before Lily grew up without her mother, and before he lost every person who had ever loved him.

He still had a chance to make things right.

Frank’s mind had grown dull after years of drinking and gambling, but fragments of old memories gradually surfaced.

He had heard stories about systems and rebirth before.

Several workers at the construction site in his previous life had frequently read online novels. Frank had occasionally looked over their shoulders and read a few chapters himself.

At the time, he had considered such stories ridiculous.

He had never believed anything like that could actually happen.

That was why the concept had almost disappeared from his memory.

Now that he understood what was happening, wild joy surged through him.

Without hesitation, he selected YES.

“Congratulations, Host.”

“You have successfully received the beginner’s gift package.”

“Rewards obtained: one Pocket Dimension, one Healing Spring, and one acre of Herb Garden.”

“Please inspect your rewards at your convenience.”

Even though Frank had read very few novels of this kind, he immediately understood that all three rewards were extraordinary.

He might never have tasted the meat, but he had at least seen the animal run.

Lily was still in his arms, so it was not convenient for him to enter the Pocket Dimension and investigate.

However, something called a Healing Spring sounded as though it might help treat his damaged leg.

The thought immediately reminded him of Sophie’s sickly appearance, the frail child in his arms, and his elderly mother, who had suffered from illness for years.

If the spring water truly had healing properties, he would make sure every member of his family benefited from it.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside.

Having heard Lily crying, Sophie White rushed into the room.

The moment Lily saw her mother, she stretched out both arms.

“Mommy! Hold me!”

Sophie wiped her hands against her faded gray dress before lifting Lily into her arms.

“Sophie!”

Frank stared at her, his voice breaking.

“You’re still here!”

The heart that had remained numb for so many years suddenly began pounding violently.

Its frantic rhythm made him dizzy.

Although System 001 had already told him that Sophie had not left yet, he had not dared to believe it until he saw her with his own eyes.

Now, the woman who had disappeared from his life for more than a decade was standing directly in front of him.

The mother and daughter had strikingly similar faces.

One was still young and innocent, while the other was pale, exhausted, and worn down by hardship.

The sight of them together caused tears to pour uncontrollably down Frank’s face.

Sophie did not share his joy.

She stared at him coldly.

“Why were you hurting her?”

“Drinking and gambling aren’t enough for you anymore?”

Her voice was flat, but every word carried years of accumulated disappointment.

“Now you need to abuse your own daughter to repair your shattered pride?”

Frank stood frozen.

The coldness and disgust in her eyes cut deeper than any insult.

But he quickly recovered.

He had to explain himself.

More importantly, he had to prove as quickly as possible that he had changed.

Otherwise, even though he had returned to the past, Sophie would still leave after her final shred of hope was exhausted.

“No. That isn’t what happened.”

Frank hurriedly shook his head.

“I only wanted to hold Lily. I got too excited and accidentally hugged her too tightly.”

He looked anxiously at his daughter.

“Lily, please explain it to Mommy. Daddy didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just too happy and didn’t control my strength.”

Sophie’s expression did not change after hearing his explanation.

Only deep exhaustion and numbness could be seen in her eyes.

She did not believe him at all.

After all, the Frank she knew had lied far too many times.

But when Lily heard her father’s plea, the little girl immediately tried her best to defend him.

“Mommy, Daddy really didn’t hurt me on purpose.”

“Daddy hugged me really tight, and I cried because it hurt. But then Daddy kissed me!”

Her eyes were still wet with tears, yet a happy smile appeared on her face.

“Daddy hasn’t hugged or kissed me in a long, long time.”

“I’m really happy today!”

“Mommy, please don’t be angry with Daddy. He didn’t mean it.”

Hearing his innocent daughter defend him made Frank’s heart ache.

He had rarely held her before.

He had almost never kissed her.

Most of the time, he had treated her as though she did not exist.

Yet even after he frightened her and caused her pain, the moment he asked, this pure and loving child still defended him with all her strength.

She did not complain.

She did not hold a grudge.

She was simply happy because her father had finally hugged her.

This was the damage Frank had caused.

According to his memories of the original timeline, this was precisely when Sophie had been trying to find a renowned specialist to examine his injured leg.

But Frank had taken the last of the family’s money and squandered it on alcohol and gambling.

That $1,000 had come from Sophie’s family.

She had cried and begged her relatives for a long time before they finally agreed to give it to her.

She had planned to use part of the money to continue treating Frank’s leg and the rest to buy nutritious food for their frail daughter.

But Frank had wasted every cent.

That incident had completely extinguished Sophie’s remaining hope.

She had never imagined that the man she once trusted and loved without reservation could become so unrecognizable.