Introduction

The last thing I remembered was the cold, sterile air of the prison visiting room.

Sarah' s face, twisted into a mask of contempt, spewed venomous words at me.

"Ethan, that data-exfiltration device was clearly planted by you; you were just jealous of Alex and wanted him dead!"

Her voice was sharp, cutting through the thick glass.

"I truly regret leaving Alex for a simpleton like you; you deserve to rot in prison for what you did to him!"

Then the guard pulled me away, the clang of the steel door sealing my fate: life in prison.

For a crime I didn't commit, framed by my own wife.

It all started with a ring, a smart ring Alex Thorne, her "mentor" and my rival, gave her.

My FBI instincts screamed security risk, but Sarah, blinded by his charm, wore it anyway.

That night, I found a sophisticated data-exfiltration device hidden inside, an espionage tool.

I tried to protect her, to buy time, to frame it as a vulnerability in Thorne' s tech, sacrificing my career.

But she betrayed me, leaking classified files, framing me with meticulous precision.

The evidence was overwhelming, and I was arrested.

The day in the visiting room, her final, venomous blow, shattered the last fragments of my soul.

If I could do it all over again...

Then, a wave of warmth, the scent of coffee, not prison food.

I opened my eyes to sunlight in my living room.

Sarah sat on the couch, her face lit with that same excited glow.

In her hands, a small, sleek black box.

"Ethan, look what Alex gave me!" she said, her smile bright and guileless.

Time hadn't just rewound; it had given me a second chance.

This time, I wouldn't be a fool.

I wouldn't save her.

I would save myself.