That’s why the first thing I did upon my rebirth was to get myself locked up.
And the second thing was…
At that thought, I pulled out my phone and dialed a mysterious number.
Beyond the tightly packed crowd, a shrill ringtone pierced the air.
A man hung up his phone, pushed through the crowd, and walked toward us.
“I can prove that Melody is not a bad person. I have evidence!”
The mall manager and restaurant owner were not impressed. “Who are you? What right do you have to prove anything?”
But the victim’s mother pushed past them and rushed forward, her eyes red as she threw her arms around the man.
“Ethan! My son! You’re not dead!”
The scene erupted in an uproar.
And I… I curved my lips into a triumphant smile.
Everyone was stunned, staring wide–eyed at the man who had suddenly appeared.
“What? He’s the deceased, Ethan Cole? What is going on?”
“If he’s not dead, why hasn’t he shown up for the past two days? His family was going crazy!”
“What kind of game is this? I don’t get it.”
As the livestream chat buzzed with confusion, I smiled with interest and turned to look at Mark and Stella.
Their foreheads were slick with sweat, beads of it rolling down their chins.
Mark stared at Ethan in disbelief. “You are you a ghost? Why did you suddenly appear in front of us?”
He was clearly terrified, his voice trembling. In broad daylight, he was actually questioning if the man was real.
A few bystanders chuckled. “Of course, he’s real! We can all see him! There are no ghosts here!”
“What century are we in? How can someone be so superstitious? We’re right in front of a police station, and you’re talking about ghosts in front of an officer!”
Mark finally snapped back to reality, a guilty look flashing across his face. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained lamely, “I was just so shocked,! misspoke. Officer, please don’t mind me!”
Officer Davis glanced at him but said nothing
But I could tell from his expression that he now believed most of what I had told him during my three days in custody.
16:45 03
All it needed was one more push to send the scene into a frenzy.
The bigger the chaos, the better my chances of clearing my name.
So, I rushed toward Ethan, threw my arms around him, and started wailing, patting his back dramatically.
“Ethan, I can’t believe you’re alive! This is wonderful news!”
Ethan’s parents were stunned. They turned to look at me. “You know our son?”
I nodded eagerly and pulled out my phone to show them a group photo from our high school reunion. I held it up to the livestream camera so the viewers could see it
clearly.
“Yes! Ethan and I were high school classmates! We were even desk mates for most of our senior year!”
“Of course, we know each other! Ma’am, sir, look at this photo! We’re standing right next to each other!”
Ethan nodded along. “That’s right, Mom, Dad. I was terrible at math and science, but Melody tutored me all the time. That’s the only reason I got into a good univers-
ity.”
“And if I hadn’t gone to a good university, I wouldn’t have gotten this great job after graduation.”
