Chapter 2

"Alex, forget all that. Just get my grandson to the hospital," Sally snapped, voice dripping with entitlement. "You owe us that much."

Owe? The word hit me like a slap. I'd dragged a kid out of a burning building and lost my dog, my Benny, because of her. And I owed her?

The neighbors circled closer and started murmuring again.

"Come on, Alex, you've come this far. Finish what you started."

"Yeah, and your hand's fried anyway. Kill two birds, right?"

My arm throbbed, skin blistered and weeping. I needed a doctor. So, jaw clenched, I caved.

We hopped in a cab and headed to Citycore Medical Center.

Sally fumbled with her flip phone. She couldn't even spell Venmo. So I swiped my card at the desk.

They wheeled Benny away. I trudged to the burn unit.

I was still getting gauzed up when his parents blew in like a hurricane.

I figured, being younger, they'd be more reasonable and easier to talk to.

I was wrong. The moment they realized I was the one who'd saved their son and brought him in, they didn't thank me. Not once. Instead, they demanded I pay for his medical bills.

I refused, obviously. It was insane.

But what really blew my mind was that they sued me.

Between filing, court acceptance, evidence gathering, and all the legal red tape, the case dragged on for a full year.

I won in the end, but it cost me time, money, and energy.

Just when I thought it was finally over, Sally's family stirred the pot again.

Benny's mom, Jessica Reed, was a small-time internet influencer. She twisted the story, painted her kid as a victim, and milked it for all it was worth.

People saw the photos of her scarred child and flooded her with sympathy. Guided by her sob story, they turned on me.

I didn't sit back. I posted the court ruling and showed them the evidence and the truth.

But it didn't work. Jessica hit back with one line: [What mother would lie about something like this?] That was all it took.

The online storm grew worse.

My company fired me. My girlfriend left. Friends stopped answering my calls. Even my family kept their distance.

No matter how much I explained, no one believed me. Everyone cursed my name.

Some extremists even found my address. They threw eggs and rotten vegetables at my door.

Sally and her gang of elderly friends showed up every few days to harass me.

Thanks to them, even my neighbors started avoiding me.

Online, offline, it didn't matter. Everyone blamed me.

I thought I was mentally strong, but with everyone betraying and abandoning me, I couldn't hold on anymore. I fell into depression.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. I did the right thing. Why did everyone treat me like this?

Did I really make the wrong choice?

The physical symptoms of depression kept me up all night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Benny. My dog, Benny.

An immense regret welled up in my heart. I should have saved my Benny. I felt that my own actions had been worthless.

I had no one to talk to. My mood sank lower every day. My mind started to twist.

Finally, when Sally's family came to harass me again, I snapped.

I grabbed a knife and stormed into their house.

Ironically, Jessica and her husband, David Thompson, were live-streaming, hawking products to their followers.

Thanks to the scandal, they'd gone viral. Their sales were through the roof.

That only made me even more furious.

And so, in front of thousands of live viewers, I killed them.

Sally was the first to go.

Then David.

Benny.

And in the end, Jessica.

I placed their heads neatly on the table.

The comments exploded. They called me a monster. Demon. Psychopath.

But inside, all I felt was a strange, overwhelming calm. A sense of relief flooded through me.

The livestream got cut because of all the violence.

I lit a cigarette, wandered over to the window, and smoked in silence as my nerves finally began to settle.

By the time I'd finished the cigarette, I heard sirens in the distance growing louder. I knew my time was up.

Sally's new place was on the fiftieth floor. Without hesitation, I stepped onto the balcony and jumped.

As I fell, the past year flashed through my mind.

I kept asking myself. Did I regret it? How did it come to this?

Yeah... I think I did.

I regretted not saving Benny, my Benny. I regretted not taking revenge sooner. I let them break me.

I had a future. They took it.

As the ground rushed up to meet me, I closed my eyes and whispered, "If only I had another chance..."

Yet miraculously, the universe actually threw me a second shot.

I went back.

Right back to that fateful day, the day of the fire.