2025-03-20 17:18:29Laughter.
Loud. Familiar. Nate’s eyes snapped open. His breath hitched. He wasn’t on the cold floor. He wasn’t coughing up blood. He wasn’t dying. He was sitting at a large dining table, surrounded by people. His heart pounded as he looked around. The room was bright, golden light bouncing off the chandelier above. Plates of untouched food sat before him. Wine glasses clinked. The air smelled of roasted meat, expensive liquor, and cologne. Ethan Maddox sat across from him, laughing as he leaned back in his chair. Owen Carter, on his left, smirked at something someone had said. His hands clenched the edge of the table. This wasn’t right. He was supposed to be dead. But everyone was here. His friends. The ones who had betrayed him. Nate’s pulse raced. He swallowed hard, his throat dry. He pinched his own arm under the table. Hard. Pain shot through him. His stomach churned. This was real. He was here. But how? Ethan’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Damn, Nate, you really just passed out in the middle of the conversation?” His grin was wide, amused. Owen chuckled, shaking his head. “Hope we’re not boring you.” More laughter. More voices. Glasses clinking. Nate’s hands felt cold. This wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a hallucination. It was a year ago. The same night he had hosted dinner for his friends and business associates. The night everything had still seemed fine. The night he had trusted them. His heart pounded so hard he thought it would burst. He couldn’t be here. He couldn’t sit here and laugh with them. They weren’t his friends. They were his enemies. He pushed his chair back, standing abruptly. “I need to go to the restroom.” His voice was steady, but his mind was spiraling. Ethan raised an eyebrow. “You good?” Nate forced a nod. “Yeah. Just… need a minute.” No one questioned him further. They went back to their conversations, their laughter, their lies. Nate turned away, his steps firm. His throat tightened as he walked. He needed to think. He needed to understand. Nate stood in front of the mirror, water dripping down his face. He gripped the sink, his breath uneven. This was real. He wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t hallucinating. He had been sent back. Everything…the betrayals, the pain, the slow poisoning, the lies…it hadn’t happened yet. But he remembered. His hands trembled as he wiped his face. He looked into his own eyes. The same face. The same body. But he was no longer the man they thought they knew. He straightened, fixing his sleeves. He wasn’t going to make the same mistakes. Not this time. Because if this was real, then he had a chance. Taking a deep breath, he walked back to the table. The moment he sat down, Ethan leaned in with that same smug grin. “So, about the position…” Nate tensed. His blood ran cold. He knew what this was. A year ago, he had agreed without hesitation. He had trusted Ethan. And Ethan had taken that trust and destroyed him. “Will you still let me be the manager of Aldric Innovations?” Ethan asked, confidence dripping from his voice. Nate lifted his gaze, his expression unreadable. Silence fell over the table. Then, he said it. “No.” The air shifted. Ethan blinked. His smile faltered. The others went still. Owen turned to look at him, as if making sure he’d heard right. “Nate.” Ethan chuckled, trying to brush it off. “Come on, don’t joke like that.” “I’m not joking.” Nate leaned back in his chair. “I’m not giving you the position.” Ethan stared at him, his grin stiff. “You’re serious?” “Yes.” The table fell silent. Nate never said no to Ethan. Never. But this wasn’t the same Nate. The tension in the air thickened, but Nate didn’t care. He was done being their fool. He stood up again. “I need some air.” Before anyone could stop him, he walked outside. The cool night breeze hit his face as he stepped onto the pavement. His mind was racing. Then… Flash. Pain. Sharp, unbearable pain. The memory slammed into him. The impact of the car. His body hitting the ground. His ankle twisting unnaturally. His elbow dislocating as he crashed onto the pavement. He staggered, gripping his forehead. Then… The car. His head snapped up just in time to see the same car speeding down the street. His blood turned ice-cold. It was happening again. But not this time. He moved…fast. But in his haste, he bumped into someone. A woman. She lost her balance, and her infant slipped from her grasp. Without thinking, Nate lunged forward, catching the child before she could hit the ground. The mother gasped. Nate steadied her, then gently placed the baby back in her arms. “I’m sorry. Are you alright?” The woman, still shaken, nodded quickly. “Yes… Thank you.” Nate barely heard her. His eyes were on the car. It was getting away. But he caught the plate number. His fists clenched. He knew that car. He had seen it before…parked right outside his company. And the man who had stepped out of it… “Liam Grant,” Nate muttered. Ethan had introduced them. Had called him a friend. But now, Nate knew the truth. Liam was the one who had run him over. And Ethan…Ethan had sent him. His entire body shook with rage. These people had been torturing him for so long. Playing him like a fool. Destroying him from the inside out. His teeth clenched. Not this time. He swore under his breath. He was going to teach them a lesson.
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That night Ethan stepped into the hospital room, his jaw tightening the moment his eyes landed on Liam Grant. The man was unrecognizable. Bandages covered his face. His right eye was swollen shut. His lips were busted, stitches lining his cheek. His legs were raised, both wrapped in thick casts. His arms, too, were covered in bandages, and from the way he lay there…motionless, hooked up to machines…Ethan knew it was bad. He slowly turned his gaze to the men standing by the window. They looked battered, their faces bruised, arms in slings, but they weren’t nearly as bad as Liam. Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets, his voice sharp. “What the hell happened?” The men exchanged nervous glances. One of them, a stocky guy with a deep cut on his forehead, let out a bitter breath. His voice was shaky, like he was still rattled by what had happened. “It was an ambush,” he muttered. Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Ambush?” The man nodded stiffly, licking his dry lips before speaking
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Nate stepped into the conference room, and just as expected, the entire room fell silent. They had been talking, discussing, whispering, probably scheming…until he arrived. Now, all eyes were on him. He could feel their confusion, their unease. They weren’t looking at the Nate Aldric they had once dismissed. They were looking at someone else entirely. And sitting at the far end of the table, looking as if he owned the place, was Lucas. His cousin. The same man he had put in that position. The same man who had betrayed him. Nate’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t let his smirk slip. No, he wouldn’t give them that satisfaction. Lucas sat there, back straight, hands folded in front of him, trying to keep his expression neutral. But Nate saw the hint of discomfort in his eyes. Good. This was the same man he had once trusted. The same man he had supported, defended, treated like a brother. And yet, when Nate had walked into his own bedroom, Lucas had been there…with
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018
Nate smiled like a man with time on his side.Owen stood beside him, arms crossed, shifting ever so slightly when Nate turned his head. That smile…it wasn’t the old Nate smile. This one had teeth. It was calm, too calm. Like he knew exactly where this was going.“You mind if I talk to the CEO alone?” Nate asked, his voice easy.Owen blinked. “Alone?”“Yeah. Just for a few minutes.”There was something in Nate’s tone…too casual, too cool…that made Owen’s chest tighten a little. He tried not to show it. Gave a tight laugh instead. “Sure, of course. Just don’t steal him from us, alright?”Nate looked at him. A quiet second passed.Then he stepped forward.He pushed open the door to the corner office without waiting for permission, like he owned the place. Which, funny enough, he probably could have…if it wasn’t a damn scam.Inside, the man behind the desk looked up fast. Too fast. He was thin, dressed in a stiff black suit that didn’t fit right. His tie was crooked. His chair looked too
017
Owen had always thought Nate was a fool, the kind of guy who walked around with a target on his back, just begging to be taken down. But now? He couldn't help but feel a little impressed…just for a second.Nate had changed. No more beards, no more thick glasses. His clothes were sharp, crisp. He had an aura around him now, something that made him look like he actually belonged in the world of billionaires. Owen had to admit, for a moment, he wasn’t sure who he was looking at. Was this the same guy who once bumbled through board meetings, looking like a deer caught in headlights?Still, Owen wasn’t worried. He’d been with Nate since high school. He knew Nate's type…the guy who wanted to play with the big boys but didn’t have the stomach for it. Owen could smell weakness, even if it was buried under layers of expensive suits.“Hey, Nate,” Owen greeted, his voice smooth, that easy smile on his face like he was welcoming an old friend. He walked into Nate's office with a swagger, his team
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Serena hadn’t seen Nate in three days. Three days of silence, of not knowing what he was planning, of fear crawling under her skin. She and Lucas had driven out to a hotel deep in the city. It wasn’t about luxury anymore…it was about hiding. About breathing away from his shadow. But even here, he felt close. Lucas was pacing. Back and forth. The window was open, but the air was still hot. He looked over at her, eyes sharp. “He’s not who he used to be.” Serena sat on the bed, arms wrapped around herself, her legs pulled close. Her lips trembled before she could stop them. “You don’t know the half of it.” Lucas frowned, slowing his steps. “What do you mean?” She didn’t answer immediately. She stared at the floor like she was trying to dig through it with her eyes. “It started the night he came back,” she said finally. “The first night I poisoned the tea.” Lucas stilled. “I set everything up perfectly. Got the dose right. It wouldn’t kill him, just weaken him. Bit by bit
015
Nate didn’t sleep. Not that night. Not the next. He sat in front of a wall of monitors, eyes fixed, arms folded tight, barely blinking. His team worked behind him, silent. No one dared speak unless they had something that mattered. No coffee runs. No useless updates. Just surveillance tapes, call records, and a mess no one wanted to say out loud. Then something pinged. “Sir,” one of his guys said from behind a desk. “We’ve got something on the footage. Rear exit. Two hours before the hit.” Nate turned his head slightly. “Show me.” The screen changed. There he was again. The masked man. But this time, outside. Moving fast through the alley, head down. But Nate didn’t care about his pace. It was what he did next. He stopped. Pulled out a small phone…burner type. Dialed. The feed had no audio. But you didn’t need sound. His body told the story. He waited. Ten seconds later, he nodded once. Like he got the greenlight. Then tossed the phone straight into a drain an
014
The footage spread through the elderly home like wildfire. A masked man. Caught on camera. His movements were sharp…deliberate…each step echoing a quiet confidence, like he’d rehearsed it. There was no hesitation in the way he turned corners or how he avoided the line of sight from the nurse’s stations. It was like he knew the layout intimately. Like he belonged there. Like he’d done this before. The hallway lights cast long shadows behind him, but he didn’t flinch. His figure moved swiftly, purposefully, until he reached a particular turn…one that led straight to Room 106. Then, abruptly, he stopped. A pause. Barely a second, but enough. The masked man tilted his head upward, and for the first time, his body language faltered. He’d noticed something…or rather, someone. He was being watched. From a sharp, unexpected angle, Nate Aldric stood just out of direct view, his presence casting a heavy silence across the hallway. Their eyes didn’t meet, not exactly, but something passed
013
The Stranglers’ Golden Brown played faintly from the corner speaker in Nate’s office. Soft sounds of the bass and electric guitar, the gentle beat of the drum. That haunting voice. Then… The ringing in Nate’s ear came out of nowhere. It was sharp. Loud. Piercing. He sat still in his chair, staring blankly at the papers spread out in front of him. His fingers loosened, and the pen slipped from his hand without a sound. His jaw clenched. His heartbeat slowed, then kicked up again. He looked up. The clock on the wall said 10:32 a.m. No. No way. Not today. His chair scraped hard against the floor as he pushed back and stood. The sound echoed off the glass walls of his office. His chest felt tight. The buzzing in his ear wouldn’t stop. Then he remembered. Today. Her. Marjorie Blake. The old woman. The blood. Her neck. The scream. He’d been there a year from now, standing in the hallway of the nursing home as a nurse covered her lifeless body. His throat had burned
012
The car ride home was silent. Not the comfortable kind. Not the kind where two people were simply tired or lost in thought. No, this silence was sharp. It was full of things left unsaid, of truths hanging just beneath the surface. Tense didn’t even begin to describe it. It was the kind of silence that wrapped around Serena’s throat and squeezed. She sat rigid in the backseat, not leaning against the plush leather, as if even touching anything around her might give her away. Her fingers were laced tightly in her lap, knuckles white, nails pressing into her own skin like she needed to feel something real. Her heart had not stopped racing since the curtains dropped at the opera. Her eyes were locked on the world outside the window, where city lights smeared against the glass. But she wasn’t seeing anything. Her mind was somewhere else. With Lucas. With Nate. With everything spiraling out of her control. Nate sat beside her, legs crossed at the ankle, one arm lazily thrown along th
011
Serena was still trying to wrap her head around everything when Nate took her out to dinner. He had insisted, and she hadn’t been able to refuse. She thought they were just going to a regular restaurant. Instead, he led her to a venue that felt more like a theater than a restaurant. The place was grand, with towering red velvet curtains and low lighting that hinted at something more formal than what she was used to. It was like something straight out of a movie…a place where opera singers acted, their voices soaring dramatically in a performance she didn’t understand. Nate, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease. He had a smirk on his face, like he was watching her, waiting for her reaction. Serena didn’t know what to make of him anymore. The man she thought she had married seemed so far removed from the person sitting next to her now. He was cold, distant, and more dangerous than she could have imagined. She tried to focus on the play, but her mind kept wandering back to Nate
010
Serena’s heart pounded when Nate walked into the room. She barely had time to process what she was seeing. The man who used to wear sloppy clothes, whose glasses were perpetually falling off his face, was now someone completely different. His hair was neatly styled, his face clean-shaven, and his clothes…designed to perfection…made him look more like a business tycoon than the man she once knew. The transformation was staggering. She barely had time to react before Nate’s voice cut through the air, cool and calm. “Serena.” His gaze locked onto hers, intense, unblinking, and the air around them seemed to tighten. Serena froze. This wasn’t the same Nate. The one who used to follow her every command was now standing in front of her with a strength that was almost palpable. He looked… different. Powerful. Intimidating. But it was his eyes…sharp, calculating…that unsettled her most. He had changed, and she was still trying to catch up. Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she quickly a
