Chapter 4

Kelly rushed to the accident scene just as firefighters finished dousing the flames, pushing past police officers and firefighters despite their protests.

Though several vehicles had been burned beyond recognition, she somehow knew precisely which charred wreck was Ashley's car. As soon as she got close, Kelly collapsed to the ground, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

I noticed her phone on the ground. She must have dropped it in her rush. When I bent down to pick it up, a message notification popped up on the screen.

It was from a contact with a gray profile picture: [We checked the villa but couldn't get anything. Mom, see if you can squeeze more money out of Rylan.]

My fingers tightened around the phone. Ashley and Andrew had played their cards well, knowing I wouldn't abandon her only living relative. They were using my love for her to extort money from me. Years ago, after Ashley's death, when the victims' families were breathing down my neck, I still made sure to send her mother five thousand dollars every month for living expenses.

Whenever I had extra money, I'd send even more.

Now I realized all of it had been going straight into those two snakes' pockets.

"Mr. Langley, please keep your family calm. We need to focus on the rescue operation. I promise we'll do everything we can to save your wife."

I quickly slipped the phone back to its original spot before rushing forward to help Kelly up from the ground.

"Kelly, let's not interfere with the rescue team. People might think Ashley's already dead, seeing you crying like this."

Kelly looked up at me with bloodshot eyes, confusion mixed with anger. "Rylan, what's your problem today? Why do you keep opposing me? Are you cursing my daughter to death?"

"Of course not. I'm just worried about Ashley, too. Every second counts in a rescue operation."

She stood up uncertainly, and when I tried to help, Kelly stumbled and started falling toward the car.

"Kelly!" I shouted, grabbing her quickly. "Are you alright?"

Though I caught her in time, she showed no gratitude. Instead, she couldn't even spare me a friendly look.

"Don't touch me!"

Kelly shook off my hand, wiped her tears, and strode past the police line.

Her anger stemmed from my interference with her plan. She had wanted to secretly plant Ashley's phone in the car, hoping it would be discovered during the rescue operation.

That phone contained countless photos of Ashley and memories that belonged just to us.

When I first got the phone back, my desperate longing led me straight to a repair shop to recover all the data. During the restoration, I discovered a voice recording.

It was something Ashley had left behind before her death.

In my previous life, when I first heard that recording, I collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

The phone was filled with evidence of Ashley's love for me. She knew she was leaving this world and expressed such reluctance, hoping we'd meet again in our next life.

Every word she spoke felt like a knife twisting in my heart.

That's why I never doubted her love. I spent my entire life atoning for her, caring for her mother, and never married.

But this time, I deliberately stopped Kelly's attempt to plant the phone in the car, preventing her from taking advantage of the situation.

The rescue operation lasted an entire day before the police approached Kelly and me with Ashley's personal belongings, regretfully informing us they hadn't found her body.

The crash had been catastrophic. Her body was likely either blown to pieces or wholly incinerated in the blast.

The officer offered his condolences, telling us to stay strong during this difficult time.

The devastating news hit me like a ton of bricks. My hands trembled as I grabbed the officer's, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

Kelly promptly fainted on the spot.

I knew she was faking it, just like in my previous life, but I still took her to the hospital anyway.

In my past life, after getting Kelly settled at the hospital, I'd bought an urn and collected some ashes from the crash site.

This time was no different. After collecting the ashes, instead of heading straight to the cemetery like before, I went to the hospital. Just outside the hospital room, I heard Kelly's cheerful laughter ring out. "Ashley, you were absolutely right! The moment Rylan heard you were dead, he completely lost it. What an idiot! Don't worry. I'll squeeze every penny I can out of him. I've already sent people to rile up the victims' families to cause trouble. Rylan won't know which fire to put out first, so you better hurry home and grab all the valuables you can."

As I listened to their conversation, my fingers twisted together in rage.

After five years of marriage, I never would have imagined that even the victims' families were puppets in their scheming!

The truth hit me like a bolt of lightning, shattering everything I thought I knew.

But this time, they were miscalculated. Since Ashley's supposed to be dead anyway, I was going to make sure that became reality!

The Winthrop family's good times were about to come to an end!