I was the only one in the world with the power to defy death, an innate conduit to life itself. Before a man’s body could fully stiffen, I could conceive his child. And as that precious life faded within me, the man would be brought back from the grave. In my last life, I used this very power to save my fiancé, Tristan Thorne, after a car accident left his organs failing. He awoke, overwhelmed with gratitude, vowing to marry no one but me. But on the very day I was about to give birth, he personally tied me to an operating table. Our child was forcibly cut from my womb. He branded our baby a “demonic spawn” and threw them into a shark tank, where they were ripped apart and devoured. I screamed, demanding to know why he betrayed me. His expression was chilling: “Now that Brooke is carrying my child, what use are you and this… *thing*?” “If you hadn’t faked being an innate conduit and meddled in our lives back then, Brooke and I would have been married ages ago!” He had someone yank out my oxygen tube, letting me suffocate to death. My family, too, was thrown into prison by him, where they died consumed by hatred. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Tristan was on death’s door, the day his mother begged me to save him. I heard Mrs. Thorne weeping, asking if the Life-Exchange Ritual truly could bring Tristan back. I bowed slightly, declining: “There’s no such thing as an innate conduit in this world, Mrs. Thorne. That’s just an old folk tale.”
I lowered my gaze, avoiding Mrs. Thorne’s desperate stare. “Mrs. Thorne, the idea of bringing someone back from the dead is far too fantastical. I truly can’t help you.” Disappointment clouded Mrs. Thorne’s face, but she clung to my hand desperately. “Skylar, our families have been close for generations. Please, have pity on me. Just save Tristan’s life!” The Thorne family wielded immense power. If I refused, they would find a way to make me bend. I was still trying to devise an escape when the room door burst open. “Mom, why are you wasting time talking to a con artist?!” Tristan, pale, leaned against the doorframe, his eyes sharp. “Don’t play coy! You’re just trying to play hard to get, to raise your own value!” The moment he spoke, I knew it for certain: Tristan had also been reborn. But Mrs. Thorne was still persistent: “Tristan, the doctors have given up all hope! Skylar is your last chance!” He sneered, his face etched with calculation. “I’ll find my own way.” “Besides, Brooke is the *real* innate conduit. With her by my side, I can overcome any challenge!” When he spoke of Brooke, his voice was filled with an undisguised fondness. In my last life, Tristan always said that if it weren’t for saving him, I wouldn’t have lost our child, and he would have cherished and loved me forever. He spoke of love, yet in his heart, Brooke was the only one. Now, he’d returned with his memories, and I was no longer useful to him. Naturally, he wouldn’t give me another chance to entangle myself with him. This time, I just wanted to protect my family and sever all ties with the Thornes. “The Life-Exchange Ritual, it defies the natural order. There’s always a price, a bitter backlash. Mr. Thorne, your wisdom is a blessing.” I spoke calmly, then bid Mrs. Thorne farewell. As I reached the elevator, Tristan’s voice cut through the air behind me. “Stop right there!” I didn’t pause, instead pressing the down arrow. The next second, he lunged, grabbing my wrist and pinning me against the wall. My heart pounded as I looked up at him, terrified. “Mr. Thorne, what are you doing?! I’ve already refused your mother. Just let me go!” He stared at me, a cruel curve on his lips. “Stop acting, Skylar. You instinctively touched your stomach just now.” “That movement was exactly like it was in your last life, right before you gave birth.” “You came back too, didn’t you?” Since I was exposed, I dropped all pretense, looking at him coldly. “So what? What do you want?” Tristan scoffed: “Everything you owed me in the last life, I’ll collect from you in this one.” “I’m warning you, stay away from Brooke, or I’ll make sure your parents spend the rest of their lives in jail!”
My heart sank. So he was afraid I’d disrupt his relationship with Brooke. In my last life, I was utterly devoted to him, and he still turned on me without a second thought. Why should their happiness be paved with my parents’ lives? Looking at his smug, self-satisfied face, I felt nothing but disgust. I forced down the tidal wave of hatred, just wanting to escape first. “Mr. Thorne, rest assured, I will never interfere with your and Ms. Brooke’s happiness. I only ask that you let me go!” The more compliant I was, the deeper the suspicion in his eyes grew, and the tighter he squeezed my wrist, as if trying to crush my bones. “Last life, you loved me so much you were willing to die for me, even sacrificing your child.” “Now you want to cut ties with a few words? Skylar, do you take me for a fool?” I sneered inwardly. Last life, I mistook a wolf in sheep’s clothing for a true gentleman, and that’s why I met such a terrible end. This life, I just wanted to be as far away from him as possible. I struggled with all my might. “Tristan, I told you I wouldn’t bother you again! What exactly do you want?!” He immediately called his bodyguards, who forcibly dragged me onto a cargo ship. “Last life, if you hadn’t rushed to get pregnant with my child, Brooke wouldn’t have been so angry she refused to contact me for half a year!” “This life, I will never let anyone have a chance to hurt her!” “You’ll stay on this ship. Once Brooke and I are married, I’ll have someone send you back.” I was thrown into a dark, cramped room, the door locked from the outside. “Tristan, you lunatic! There’s nothing in here! Locking me up, you just want me dead, don’t you?!” He responded coldly from behind the iron door. “You won’t die. Last life, you locked yourself in your room and starved for three days just to see me, didn’t you?” My body tensed. I remembered that time, I’d just had a high fever and missed our date. He’d decided I was throwing a tantrum and gave me the silent treatment for an entire week. And I, foolishly, had actually knelt on the floor begging for his forgiveness, starving myself for three days. I was utterly, hopelessly stupid. Tristan’s footsteps faded into the distance. I slumped to the ground, and in my despair, I shakily pulled out my phone from my jacket pocket. The signal was incredibly weak. Just as I was about to give up, a speedboat approached the cargo ship. The cabin door was forced open, and a tall man’s figure stood silhouetted against the light. “Ms. Skylar, don’t be afraid. I’m Leo Harrison.” Leo Harrison… The Harrison Group was the Thorne Group’s biggest rival. In my previous life, the Harrison Group was the first to be swallowed by the Thornes. And Leo, soon after that, mysteriously disappeared. Leo’s people rescued me. This time, for my family, and for Leo. The life I was meant to save, was his.
Before I even set foot on shore, Tristan’s call came through. “Skylar, are you really trying to go against me? Do you truly think I wouldn’t dare touch you?” I couldn’t fathom how he had the nerve to say such a thing. To avoid further trouble, I patiently replied. “I don’t want to go against you. I just want to live my own life.” But he didn’t believe a word, his tone harsh. “Too late! The moment you escaped, you should have known the consequences!” The Thorne family’s influence was indeed vast. Overnight, my dad’s old legal dispute was dug up. All the major media outlets and social networks were plastered with headlines: “Daughter of Notorious Con Artist from the City’s Elite Circles, Venomous Schemer Trying to Manipulate Her Way into the Thorne Empire.” I became the daughter of a fraudster. “Like father, like daughter, a whole family of con artists!” “This kind of person wants to marry into the Thorne family? Mr. Thorne would be crazy to even look at her!” “I heard Mr. Thorne and Ms. Brooke are getting married soon. Now *that’s* a match!” Our home address and my photos were leaked. A group claiming to be victims’ families from my dad’s past surrounded our house, smashing our windows with rocks. They weren’t satisfied. In the middle of the night, they dumped trash and sewage at our doorstep, even cutting off our water and electricity. I was trapped once again. Tristan’s call came again. “Skylar, this was just a small warning. If you dare pull any more stunts, I’ll send your parents back to jail for good!” I trembled with rage. How dare he! Just then, a commotion erupted downstairs. Several police cars and black sedans pulled up. Leo, accompanied by lawyers and police officers, swiftly brought everyone blockading our house under control. The man leading them was cool, dignified, and exceptionally poised. “Skylar, I’m here to take you home.” I followed him to the Harrison family estate. It was there I learned that Leo’s sister, Celeste, had once been my dad’s most capable business partner. When my dad’s company ran into trouble, Celeste was implicated and eventually died of depression. Leo had been secretly investigating the truth behind those events. I offered to use my ability to help him, but Mr. Harrison shook his head. “My dear, we Harrisons don’t believe in such things. But the truth of what happened back then, we *will* uncover.” “You’re a good child, I can see that. The Harrison family is weathering a storm right now. Would you be willing to get engaged to Leo, to become allies? Our two families, together, against the Thornes?” I stared blankly at Leo. He looked a little shy. In my previous life, my soul hadn’t dissipated after my death. I witnessed Leo, in his efforts to clear my name and my family’s, squander his entire fortune. He ultimately blew up the Thorne Group’s building, dying with Tristan. He traded his life for Tristan’s. It turned out, the person I was truly meant to save had always been him. This time, I wouldn’t choose wrong again. “I will!” Hearing my answer, the tension in his body visibly relaxed. I took the jade pendant I always wore close to my skin and placed it in his palm. “This is my pledge. From now on, I will save you.”
Tristan was utterly enraged when he learned of my engagement to Leo. The next day, I received a text message from Leo’s number, asking me to meet him at a suburban sanatorium. But when I arrived, it was Tristan I found. “What, couldn’t marry me, so you immediately found a replacement? Skylar, you con artist, are you that desperate, rushing to get a man to sleep with you?” “Who I marry, and when, is my freedom, Mr. Thorne. It has nothing to do with you, does it?” I glared at him with disgust. I turned to leave, but two bodyguards blocked my way. “Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, Skylar. Don’t you want to see what your fiancé has become?” Just as he spoke, a muffled thud echoed from within the sanatorium. My heart pounded with anxiety. I yelled at him: “What did you do to Leo?!” The smile on his lips deepened. He clapped his hands. Brooke pushed out a wheelchair. Leo was tied to the wheelchair, his chest bound with several bombs, their timers counting down. “You claim to be an innate conduit, capable of bringing people back from the dead, don’t you?” Tristan held up his phone, the screen facing us, and started a live stream. “I’ll let everyone see if you can truly save Leo’s life.” I bit down on my teeth in fury. Leo and I hadn’t consummated anything. How could I perform the Life-Exchange Ritual?! After a long pause, Tristan finally relented, looking at me as if bestowing a favor. “However, Skylar, considering our years of history, as long as you kneel before Brooke and apologize, admitting you were jealous and stole her place, I’ll let Leo go.” Looking at Leo’s pale face and the stark red countdown on his chest, I had no choice. My knees buckled, and I sank heavily to the ground. “Please, Ms. Brooke, I beg you, let us go.” Brooke’s face lit up with a triumphant smile. “Sister Skylar, you don’t have to do this. I’ll immediately plead with Tristan to let you both go!” But the very next second, Leo’s face turned ashen. Blood gushed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He clutched his face in terror, but he couldn’t stop it. I slowly stood up, a cold sneer forming in my heart. Before coming here, I had already sensed something was wrong and had called the police. The live stream’s comments exploded instantly. “Brooke, what are you waiting for?! Didn’t you say you could save Mr. Thorne?” “Quick, save him! You must be able to perform the Life-Exchange Ritual too!” Brooke was pushed into a corner. She could only pretend to pat him a few times, muttering something under her breath. A moment later, Tristan’s bleeding actually stopped. I rushed forward to untie Leo. Brooke was a fake innate conduit; her actions were nothing more than pathetic charades. I didn’t have time to bother with her. I looked at Tristan mockingly, a cold smile on my face. “Tristan, are you feeling a churning in your gut right now?” Tristan froze, then felt a sharp, twisting pain in his chest. Brooke patted his back, feigning innocence. “Sister Skylar, I know you’re jealous of me. But now the truth is out, you’re just a fraud! Why are you still trying to slander me?” Tristan clutched her hand, glaring at me. “Skylar, you’re incorrigible! Guards, tie her and Leo up!” The moment he spoke, there was a *gurgle*. A large mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering onto Brooke’s designer dress. Everyone cried out in panic. “Mr. Thorne, what’s wrong?!” The live stream’s comments section exploded again. “What’s going on? Didn’t Brooke just save him?”
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