Free Web NovelChapter 1: The Last Phone Call
Rain battered the city like a storm determined to wash everything away.
Liam Sterling sat alone in the corner of a hospital corridor, the fluorescent lights flickering weakly above him.
His clothes were soaked, his eyes bloodshot, his hands trembling around a wrinkled hospital bill.
[$187,000.]
Looking at it, the number felt like a death sentence.
A nurse walked past and sighed. "Mr. Sterling, your payment deadline has already passed."
Liam lowered his head with a sigh; "I know."
She felt his pain but hesitated, then walked away. There was nothing more to say.
Money. Everything always came back to money. At thirty-two, Liam had spent his entire life chasing it, working overtime, taking extra shifts, skipping meals, destroying his health.
And yet whenever he thought he was finally getting ahead, fate dragged him back into the mud.
His phone vibrated. The caller ID made his heart skip.
[Sarah.]
He answered immediately. "Aunt Sarah?"
Silence answered him for several seconds. Then a weak voice; "Liam..."
His grip tightened. Something felt wrong. Very wrong.Where are you?"
Liam, I’m tired.His pupils contracted. "Aunt Sarah? I’m sorry." The blood drained from his face. Aunt Sarah!
"You’ve already suffered enough because of me and Sophie."
The mention of Sophie’s name cut through him like a blade. Ten years had passed since the accident, ten years since he’d lost the woman he loved, and the wound had never healed. Not even a little.
"You still have a future," Sarah whispered.
"No! Don’t say that!" Terror exploded inside him. He shot to his feet, and the hospital bill slipped from his hand. "Aunt Sarah, why are you saying all this, stay strong!"
A faint sob came from the other end; "Sophie, I miss her so much..."
Liam’s vision blurred, his body shaking uncontrollably. Then the call ended, and the world went silent.
"No..."
He called back. No answer. Again, nothing. Again, still nothing.
Liam sprinted out of the hospital into a wall of rain. Cars honked, people shouted, but he ignored all of it.
His heart pounded wildly, and he knew only one thing: something terrible was about to happen, and he was too late. Just like ten years ago. Just like he always was.
A speeding truck burst through a red light. Headlights blinded him. Brakes screeched through the storm. Liam turned, and for one brief moment, time seemed to stop.
Then everything went black.
Darkness. Endless darkness. Fragments of his life drifted through the void.
His mother’s funeral, Sophie’s smile, Sarah’s kindness, the apartment he lost, the jobs that never paid enough, the dreams that never came true.
At thirty-two years old, he remained a complete failure in society’s eyes.
His grandparents had passed away long ago, and he had never known his father. His mother died in a tragic accident when he was just nineteen.
Misfortune had always seemed to hunt him down relentlessly.
Regret. Failure. Loneliness. They followed him everywhere.
’If I could do it again, if I had another chance, I wouldn’t live like this. I wouldn’t be powerless. I wouldn’t lose everyone.’
A mechanical voice echoed through the darkness.
[Detecting Host.]
[Conditions Met.]
[Ultimate Rebate System Activated.]
[Timeline Reversal Beginning.]
[Target Year: 2010.]
[Loading...]
Liam’s eyes snapped open. Bright sunlight struck his face. Laughter echoed nearby, and students walked across a familiar campus.
’I got a system?! What dogshit luck is this!’
For several seconds he could only stare, then his breathing stopped.
’This place... Westbridge University.’
His hands trembled. Slowly, he looked down. A bouquet of roses rested in his grip, a familiar pink card attached to the stems. The sight nearly made him choke.
’No way. Not this day. Not this memory.’
His fingers fumbled for the old flip phone in his pocket. The screen lit up: July 21, 2010.
Liam froze. Then he laughed, a broken laugh, half joy, half disbelief.
"I came back..." A voice beside him nearly made him jump.
"Liam!" Ethan Brooks threw an arm around his shoulder. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
Liam stared at his best friend. Young. Healthy. Alive. For a moment his eyes turned red.
Ethan blinked. "What’s wrong with you?"
Liam looked away. "Nothing."
Ethan pointed at the bouquet. "You actually plan to go through with it?"
Liam followed his gaze, the flowers, the confession, Olivia Hayes. One of the most embarrassing moments of his youth.
In his previous life he’d spent two years chasing her: two years of gifts, two years of rejection, two years of humiliation. Looking back now, he felt nothing. Not even a trace of affection remained.
His heart belonged to someone else. Someone he could never forget.
’Sophie.’
A sharp pain pierced his chest. She was still alive at this very moment, somewhere in this city.
Sophie’s accident hadn’t happened yet. Sarah was alive too. For the first time in years, hope ignited inside him.
Then the mechanical voice returned.
[System Notification]
[System awakening successful.]
[Random quest issued.]
[Quest: Public Confession]
[Olivia will embarrass you in the upcoming confession.]
[You’ve gotten the mission, Face slap that bitch by going for her Milf mom!]
’Wtf! Why is the system so vulgar??
[Mission Objective: Instead of confessing to Olivia as you’ve planned, confess to Olivia’s milf mother, Victoria Hayes!]
[Reward: $50,000 cash]
[Failure: Rebate System Shutdown.]
