The entire preschool was under lockdown, held by kidnappers. “No cops! We release children based on who pays the most!” a voice roared through a megaphone. In my previous life, I paid double the ransom, desperate for my daughter, Lily, to be the first one safe. But my husband, David, the leader of the rescue team, insisted on “fairness,” placing her last on the list. Lily died. After I was reborn, one of David’s teammates stopped me, bowing deeply. “Sarah, you’re truly selfless, agreeing to swap your child with the one at the very end of the list.” I cried, yelling, “Don’t you dare switch them!” But David slapped me hard. “As the team leader, I can’t let people think I’m playing favorites and deliberately saving my own child first!” I was on the verge of a breakdown. “What if something happens to Lily?” David remained unmoved. “Nothing will happen. Don’t be a jinx.” My body trembled with rage. “David, you don’t deserve to be Lily’s dad!” “Lily is only five! Watching all the other kids get rescued one by one, leaving her alone at the end, how terrified she must be!” “What if the kidnappers get agitated? Have you even thought about what could happen to our daughter?!” The memory of her pleading eyes just before she died in my previous life made my heart ache, stealing my breath. David was still unyielding. “I’m the rescue team leader. Lily might be my daughter, but she has to be treated fairly.” “What would people say if Lily was released first?” “David!” I tore my hand from his grip and slapped him across the face. “Our daughter’s life is hanging by a thread, and you’re still thinking about your reputation? Are you even human?” The slap echoed sharply, making David’s teammates turn their heads. That blow ignited David’s fury. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the ground. “You have no sense of the bigger picture!” “What about my reputation if Lily is saved first?” I froze. For the first time, I saw his true colors. Turns out, from beginning to end, in his eyes, Lily’s life was never worth as much as his ridiculous reputation! I struggled, crawling towards the other team members, my voice choked with sobs, but every word was clear. “I paid double the ransom precisely so my daughter could be out of danger sooner!” “But my husband secretly changed the list! He swapped Lily with the little boy whose family paid the least!” Everyone froze. After a brief silence, an older team member, John, spoke first, his voice filled with disappointment. “Sarah, we truly overestimated you.” “Captain David is doing this for the greater good!” Another teammate, Kevin, immediately chimed in, his brows furrowed tightly. “He’s sacrificing his own daughter for the rescue team’s reputation. How selfless is that? Why can’t you understand, Sarah?” “Exactly, Sarah,” a younger team member muttered, his tone dismissive. “If you keep making a scene, you might anger the kidnappers. Not only will Lily be in danger, but all the other kids will be affected too! How can you be so selfish?!” “Selfish?” I looked at them in disbelief, shaking with anger. “So I’m supposed to be ‘great’ enough to sacrifice my daughter’s life to uphold your reputation?!” “Enough!” David roared. “Take her to the back. Don’t let her cause trouble here and hinder the rescue!” The teammates immediately responded. Several of them surrounded me, ready to grab me.
“Get away from me!” I fought back with all my limbs. “David, you cold-blooded monster! You’ll get what’s coming to you!” The kidnappers heard the commotion. A coarse roar came through their megaphone. “What’s all that noise?! If you keep making a goddamn racket, nobody’s leaving today!” David’s face paled. He clapped a hand over my mouth. “Shut up! Do you want to kill everyone?!” Consumed by rage, I bit down hard on David’s hand. “You bitch!” David kicked me in the stomach. “Ugh! You… you actually dared to hit me!” I curled up in pain. He showed no hesitation, looking down at me. “That’s a lesson for you. If you cause trouble again, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” Then, he turned towards the megaphone and yelled. “Sorry! My wife is worried about our child, she’s having a mental breakdown! I’ll handle it right away!” The kidnappers’ voice came back, full of disdain. “You better handle it quickly! If you don’t, the kids’ release will be delayed!” At those words, the surrounding parents instantly erupted. “What’s wrong with Sarah? Her child is precious, but ours aren’t?” “Exactly! Delaying our kids’ release, how selfish!” Accusations and curses, like countless sharp knives, stabbed into my heart. I fought desperately. “No, the order is wrong! My daughter is supposed to be released first—” The people around me cut me off. “The list has been announced! Whoever paid more gets their child released first, it’s not up to you!” “If you keep delaying and anger the kidnappers, what if they kill all the kids?” Just as I was about to explain, a burly man grabbed my throat. “You bitch, I’m telling you, if anything happens to my son, I’ll make sure you die a terrible death!” I couldn’t breathe, casting a pleading look at David. But he was completely unmoved. It was as if I, his wife of six years, was a stranger! Cold tears streamed down my face. The grip on my neck tightened, and I was on the verge of blacking out. I faintly heard my daughter’s voice. “Mommy, Mommy, help me!” I snapped my eyes open, seeing Lily being pushed forward. A grim-faced kidnapper held up a megaphone and shouted. “To prevent anyone from secretly calling the police, the child last on the list will now serve as our hostage!” Just like in my previous life, I could almost see the kidnapper’s sharp blade slice across my daughter’s pale throat— “No—”
I let out a desperate wail, tearing myself free from the crowd. The whispers around me started again. “Oh, so she’s the hostage’s mother. No wonder she’s so emotional!” “Pfft, whose fault is it if she wasn’t quick enough with the ransom? Just don’t drag our children into it!” “One daughter dying to save all our other kids? Worth it!” I trembled with anger, charging forward and grappling with a passerby. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my back. David, who had been watching coldly, couldn’t sit still anymore. He hit me with a stick, knocking me down, then apologized to the people around him. “I’m so sorry, everyone. My wife is being unreasonable. I’ll take her away right now!” The anger of the crowd subsided by half. “Her man really knows how to prioritize the bigger picture!” “If anything really happens to your child, we’ll all pay our respects to her.” David put on a look of profound sorrow. “If my daughter’s death can pave the way for other children to live, then her death will have meaning!” I lay on the ground, my consciousness fading, tears silently falling. “Tie her up and take her to the back room!” David stood up and instructed his teammates. They immediately complied, turning to grab some rope. I struggled frantically, flailing my arms and legs, hoarsely screaming. “Let go of me! David, you beast! You’ll get your comeuppance! Lily is your daughter!” But how could I, a powerless Sarah, possibly resist several strong team members? The rough rope cut harshly into my wrists, the pain nearly making me faint. “Take her away!” Two team members grabbed my arms, dragging me like a dead dog towards the back room. I looked at the tightly shut preschool gate, And could almost hear Lily’s heart-wrenching cries. “Lily… Mommy is so sorry…” I choked, a metallic taste rising in my throat. I was dragged into a dark room, the door slamming shut with a “bang.” My wrists were raw and bloody from the rope. I twisted my body desperately. “Let go of me! I need to save Lily! David, you animal!” The force on my wrists suddenly intensified. David himself stepped forward, Snatching an electric baton from a teammate’s hand and unhesitatingly jabbing it into my side. Current surged through my limbs, making me convulse, my bones feeling like they were being pierced by countless needles. I curled up on the ground, foaming at the mouth, but my eyes remained fixed on the closed door, In that direction, was where Lily was being held.
“Sarah, I advise you to calm down.” David’s voice was icy. “If you keep making a scene, not only will you not save Lily, but you’ll ruin the entire rescue team’s reputation.” “Reputation?” I laughed, tears streaming down my face from the effort. “Your reputation, it needs my daughter’s life to uphold it, does it?” David’s eyes turned vicious. He raised his hand and landed another brutal slap across my face. A sharp “smack,” and my cheek instantly swelled. “Hit her! Hit her until she can’t make any more trouble!” The teammates exchanged glances. Seeing me covered in blood, yet still glaring defiantly at David, some subconsciously recoiled. “Captain, if we keep hitting her, Sarah might…” “What are you waiting for?!” David snarled. “She’s a lunatic right now! I’m her husband, I’ll take responsibility if anything happens.” At his words, the teammates had no more reservations. Fists rained down on my back and legs, The pain almost made me pass out. I bit down hard on my tongue, my consciousness blurring, All I saw was Lily lying in a pool of blood in my previous life. I can’t faint! I can’t faint! If I collapse, no one else can save my daughter. I suddenly lifted my head and spat a mouthful of bloody foam onto the face of the nearest teammate. “You bunch of accomplices! If Lily dies, I’ll never forgive any of you, not even in death!” The teammates were enraged and hit me harder. Someone picked up a steel pipe from the corner and smashed it onto my knee. A soft “snap,” the sound of bone breaking. The excruciating pain made my vision go black. David walked forward and pinched my jaw. I gathered all my strength and bit off his finger. “Ah— you bitch!” David clutched his finger and kicked me away. “I’m telling you, everything you’ve done today, I will expose it to the public! I’ll make sure everyone sees that your rescue team is nothing but a bunch of beasts!” David sneered, turning to his teammates. “Get that thing out.” A teammate rummaged through a toolkit and pulled out a glass bottle. It contained a pale yellow liquid, emitting a pungent, sour odor. My pupils contracted sharply. A chill shot straight from my feet to the top of my head. “David! What are you trying to do?!” “What am I trying to do?” He sneered, stepping closer to me. “You’re so good at yelling, aren’t you? I’d like to see how you’ll spread rumors outside once your throat is ruined!” The teammates swarmed me, pinning down my arms and legs, covering my mouth. I struggled desperately, tears mixing with blood, streaming down my face. But my strength was pitifully small against these strong men.
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