CHAPTER 1 — "THE MAN WHO SHOULDN'T EXIST"
Ethan pushed both hands against the armrests.
His entire body trembled.
The elegant rooftop restaurant fell into complete silence as hundreds of eyes locked onto him.
"No..."
His whisper barely escaped.
His right leg—motionless for seven years after a devastating spinal injury—had just answered him.
Not once.
Twice.
He could still feel it.
Every nerve.
Every muscle.
Like something sleeping deep inside him had suddenly awakened.
His breathing became uneven.
Doctors from three countries had examined him.
The world's most expensive specialists had told him exactly the same thing.
Permanent damage.
No recovery.
No miracle.
Yet...
A little girl no older than eight had touched his feet...
Counted to three...
And suddenly...
His leg responded.
The crowd erupted into confused whispers.
"Did everyone see that?"
"It moved!"
"That wasn't fake."
Someone pulled out a phone.
Another started livestreaming.
The restaurant manager looked completely frozen.
Ethan slowly raised his shaking eyes toward the little girl.
"...Who are you?"
She smiled.
Not proudly.
Not excited.
Almost...
Sad.
"My name is Lily."
"And my daddy said you'd ask that first."
A chill spread across Ethan's body.
"What..."
"...what is your father's name?"
The little girl answered without hesitation.
"Daniel Carter."
The wine glass slipped from Ethan's fingers.
CRASH.
Red wine exploded across the marble floor.
His face turned completely white.
"No..."
"...Daniel died."
"Ten years ago."
Every person nearby exchanged confused looks.
Lily tilted her head.
"No."
"He came home last night."
The air disappeared from Ethan's lungs.
Impossible.
Daniel Carter had been his closest friend.
His medical partner.
The only man who knew about Ethan's experimental spinal research.
Ten years earlier...
Daniel's car had plunged into a river.
The police never recovered his body.
Everyone believed he was dead.
Everyone.
Except...
This little girl.
Ethan grabbed the table for support.
"Take me to him."
Lily slowly shook her head.
"He said you have to walk first."
Another silence.
Then...
For the first time in seven years...
Ethan forced both feet beneath him.
His body shook violently.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then—
He stood.
The restaurant exploded.
People screamed.
Phones rose into the air.
Someone started crying.
Because a man who had been trapped inside a wheelchair for nearly a decade...
Was standing.
But Ethan wasn't celebrating.
His eyes remained fixed on Lily.
Because he suddenly remembered the final sentence Daniel had whispered the night before disappearing.
"If I ever come back...
don't trust anyone wearing my ring."
Ethan slowly looked around the restaurant.
Then his blood froze.
Across the room...
May you like
His fiancée...
Was quietly wearing Daniel's wedding ring.
