Chapter 2

The police officer's grave voice crackled through my phone. "Is this Mr. Rylan Langley? It is Highway Patrol. Your wife, Ashley Winthrop, has been in an accident on the interstate. Please come to the scene immediately."

"Sir? Are you there?" the voice pressed when I didn't respond.

The officer repeated my name several times before I snapped back to reality. That was when the memories of my past life flashed through my mind like scenes from a movie.

In my previous life, I'd rushed to the crash site in a panic, only to find the scene engulfed in flames. I'd broken down entirely and spent the rest of my life wracked with guilt because we never recovered her body.

Little did I know there was nobody to find because she wasn't dead at all. The whole thing had been an elaborate scheme to transfer my assets so she could run off with her first love!

In this life, I would make sure those two backstabbers pay dearly for what they did. After a brief acknowledgment, I hung up and immediately called my lawyer. It was time to lay out every detail of their twisted plot.

The key to exposing this scam was threefold. I needed to prove Ashley was alive, find evidence of her affair to protect my assets in the divorce, and finally, reveal her hit-and-run accident that left four dead and one injured. Prison would be waiting for her.

Just as I gathered my thoughts and prepared to leave, the front door burst open.

Kelly Winthrop, Ashley's mother, threw herself into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Rylan, did you see the news? Did the police call you too? What am I going to do? She's my only daughter! I can't live if something's happened to her."

This scene was exactly like my previous life. I constantly tried to comfort Kelly after Ashley's accident.

Looking back now, it was almost laughable.

What kind of mother wailed about her daughter's terrible accident without shedding a single absolute tear?

If I hadn't been so emotionally invested, I would've noticed it sooner. Kelly already knew Ashley was safe, and she was well aware of the affair.

This family of hypocrites made me sick to my stomach, but I had to stomach my disgust.

They lived off my money, and that wasn't enough! They had to set up this elaborate trap to steal everything I own.

"Rylan, why are you so calm? Ashley was in a car accident!"

"It's interesting, Kelly. The police don't even know the full story yet, but you're acting like Ashley's already dead."