Framed for a Hit-and-Run Reborn to Expose My Wife and Her Ex

Chapter 2

Seven Days Later

I stepped out of the detention center, stretching my limbs as I took in a deep breath of crisp morning air. The rising sun painted the sky in soft hues of gold and pink, but all I felt was relief.

Seven days. Seven days locked away, completely off the radar.

I had avoided every disaster from my past life—or so I thought.

I had barely taken two steps when a hand clamped onto my arm, fingers digging in like a vice.

"It's him! This bastard killed my pregnant daughter!"

A man with bloodshot eyes screamed, his voice hoarse from rage.

Before I could react, a wall of reporters surged forward, cameras flashing in my face, microphones shoved against my skin.

"Zach Sullivan, are you here to confess to the hit-and-run?"

"Why did you kill an innocent pregnant woman?"

The commotion attracted bystanders. Whispers turned into sharp accusations as they recognized me.

"That's him! The guy who ran over that poor pregnant lady and took off!"

"Jesus, he killed two lives in one hit."

"Monsters like him don't deserve to live."

I stood there, muscles tensing, my mind racing.

What the hell is going on?

I had been locked up for the past seven days. How could I possibly be involved in this?

"You've got it all wrong!" I shouted. "There's no way I—"

A reporter cut me off, shoving a phone into my face.

"Then explain this."

I glanced down—and my blood ran cold.

It was dashcam footage.

Me. Behind the wheel. Grinning like a goddamn maniac. The car speeding up, aiming straight for a pregnant woman on the sidewalk.

I watched in horror as the vehicle struck her, her body flung into the air before crashing onto the pavement.

Then, a voice—my voice—played from the video.

"Oops, sorry! Guess today's just not your lucky day!"

My stomach twisted.

The footage continued.

Hannah—my wife—was in the frame now, yanking open the driver's side door.

"Zach Sullivan! What the hell are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!"

In the video, I shoved her to the ground, climbed back into the car, and sped off.

The clip ended.

Silence rang in my ears, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.

This… this was exactly what happened in my past life.

But how?

I had been locked up. There was no way this could have happened again.

The victim's father trembled with fury, veins bulging along his temple.

"You still think you can talk your way out of this?" His grip tightened on my arm, his fingers pressing against my bones.

The crowd swelled, their hostility thick in the air.

"It's him! There's no doubt about it!"

"What kind of sick freak runs over a pregnant woman and laughs about it?"

"I heard he didn't just hit her—he reversed over her again."

"She might've survived the first hit, but after that? No chance. He deserves to rot in hell."

Sweat trickled down my spine.

"I was in detention for the past seven days!" I gritted out. "How the hell could I have done this?"

The victim's father suddenly lunged at me, his forehead slamming into mine.

Pain exploded across my skull as I stumbled back, gripping my throbbing head.

"The man in the video is you!" he roared. "If it wasn't you, then who the hell was it?"

I clenched my fists.

"It's Liam Reed!" I shouted. "Hannah's so-called soulmate. He's the one who did it! He's framing me!"

Before I could say another word, a cold, familiar voice sliced through the chaos.

"Zach Sullivan, stop running from this. Do you really think hiding in a detention center was going to fix everything?"

Hannah.

She stood a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes blazing.

I turned to her, disbelief crashing into me like a tidal wave.

Before I could respond, a sudden, brutal force struck my ribs.

Hard.

I gasped, stumbling forward from the impact.

I turned sharply—

And there he was.

Liam Reed.

His lips curled into a sneer, his eyes filled with mockery.

"Zach," he drawled, tilting his head. "How much longer are you going to keep lying?"