Chapter 1

I walked away from a multi-billion-dollar inheritance, publicly severing ties with the Thorne empire. My ex-girlfriend coughed up blood, my best friend had a meltdown, but I just smiled, moving my 'home' under a bridge.

All because, in my past life, that ex-girlfriend and 'best friend' had colluded, using a 'Life-Exchange System' to siphon away my good fortune. The better I lived, the worse my body became. The healthier and longer they lived.

I inherited billions.

But I contracted an incurable illness, sought doctors everywhere to no avail, and died young at 35. My ex-girlfriend and friend, meanwhile, had it easy, not only securing my inheritance but living to a ripe old age.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back – three days before I was set to inherit everything.

The crystal ashtray overflowed with cigarette butts. My gaze was locked on the signature line at the end of the will. My pen hovered, and a drop of ink fell, blooming into a menacing, spider-like stain.

I snapped my head up, gasping for air. A sharp pain lanced through my temple, and dying memories flashed before my eyes:

The acrid smell of disinfectant. I was lying in an ICU bed, tubes snaking into every part of my body. My once muscular frame was now just pale skin stretched over bones. Tiffany leaned in, her freshly manicured acrylic nails tracing the hollow of my cheek.

"The doctors say your liver is still good, you know." Her sweet voice was like a viper's hiss. "Sterling will put it to good use."

I tried to struggle, but I couldn't even lift a finger. The heart monitor on the screen flatlined. Sterling stood in the shadows, the cold gleam of a scalpel in his hand.

One second I was in that tube-ridden ICU, the next, I was back in the Thorne family study. The ominous flatline of the heart monitor still echoed in my ears.

Was this… a do-over? A second chance?

"Mr. Thorne?" The lawyer adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. "Mr. Richard Thorne said once you sign, you'll have access to the trust fund."

The reflection in his lenses hid his quick glance at the surveillance camera.

My body tensed. This was… the day I inherited everything, seven years ago?

Suddenly, lines of translucent text flickered into existence before my eyes.

[DON'T SIGN IT! That's the contract that killed you last time, Alex!]

[The male lead's girlfriend and friend tied him to a 'Life-Exchange System.' The better the protagonist lived, the worse his body became, and the healthier and longer they lived. The more miserable the protagonist was, the better his body became, and the more agonizingly they suffered.]

[He's been reborn, but is the protagonist really going to repeat his mistakes?]

I stared, transfixed, at the words, my fingers trembling uncontrollably.

In the reflection of my pen's metal cap, Tiffany was in the hallway, meticulously wrapping a red string, adorned with an old copper coin, around a small wooden doll. The heavy, cloying scent of her expensive perfume wafted faintly toward me.

"No rush," I said, sliding the pen back into the lawyer's chest pocket. "Don't I have three days?"

The ink cartridge suddenly burst, staining his three-million-dollar custom suit black.

In the hallway, Tiffany gasped. The red string snapped, and the copper coin slowly rolled to my feet. I picked it up. The coin felt cold in my palm, etched with a grotesque, gaping maw.

I handed the will back to the lawyer. "Let me think about it."

A life exchange, huh? This time, I'll make sure you exchange more than you bargained for!