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 again. “We were
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Nate stood, gripping his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. The cold night air bit at his skin, but he barely noticed. His mind was set.He scrolled through his contacts, his thumb hovering over a name he had never dared to call before.Vincent Blackwell.A man with men.Men who didn’t ask questions.Nate had known about him for years. People whispered his name in the darkest corners of the city. He was the kind of man you only contacted if you wanted something done.Before, Nate had always believed in handling things the right way. The legal way.But that version of him was dead.Without hesitation, he pressed the call button.The phone rang twice before a deep voice answered. “Aldric.”No greetings. No fake pleasantries.“I need something handled,” Nate said, his voice steady.Vincent chuckled. “Well, well. Didn’t think I’d ever hear from you.”“I want Liam Grant dealt with.”A pause. Then, “Who the hell is Liam Grant?”Nate’s grip on the phone tightened. He took a slow bre
Three
Laughter.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 p
