After the plane crash, I rejected the captain—my brother-in-law’s—final life jacket that he had as he handed it to me. Instead, I allowed myself to plunge a hundred meters from the sky.

In my previous life, I had survived after accepting his life jacket. But he died a tragic death in the crash.

After his death, I was consumed with guilt.

My husband proposed to take care of two households at the same time so that he could look after his sister-in-law. Out of guilt, I reluctantly agreed to his proposal.

I even had to give up my only chance of getting promoted to department head of the hospital to my sister-in-law, upon my husband’s insistence.

When I was seventy years old, I suddenly saw my brother-in-law, who was supposed to be dead, show up in front of me.

He said to my husband, “Bro, thank goodness you came up with that fake-death plan back then. I was drunk and caused the deaths of all the passengers after the plane crash. If not for that plan of yours, as the captain, I certainly could not have escaped scot-free and would have been sentenced to prison for life!

“It was too bad we had to keep her in the dark for her entire life.”

After a lifetime of sacrifices, I was so furious that I nearly passed out upon hearing my brother-in-law’s words.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the plane crash.

“Michelle, this is the final life jacket on the plane. Put it on now, quick!”

A chill ran through my heart as I watched Larrie hand me the life jacket.

When I did not take it, he looked anxious, and he urged me again, “Michelle, this plane is about to crash any minute. Hurry up and put on the life jacket!

“If something happens to you, how could I ever explain myself to my brother?”

In my previous life, I had accepted his life jacket. But in the end, after learning about the truth, I got so angry that I fell ill and died.

In this life, I would not be so foolish as to repeat the mistake. I flatly rejected his so-called kindness.

After pushing Larrie away, the plane began a rapid descent.

Amid the shrieks and the piercing roar of the wind, the plane crashed into the sea with a thunderous boom. The violent impact knocked me unconscious.

When I opened my eyes again, I was inside a ward. My body was heavily bandaged. I could only move an arm.

I realized I had broken several bones. By some miracle, I was still alive.

When Orlando saw me awake, he cried out in excitement, “Darling, you were unconscious for three days and three nights! Thank God you finally regained consciousness. You scared me!”

As he spoke, his swollen eyes brimmed with tears. He broke down and cried in grief, “But Larrie wasn’t so fortunate. There’s still no sign of him. I’m afraid he’s probably dead.”

I was stunned. Could Larrie really have died?

I had fiercely turned down his life jacket. How could he have died in this life?

Regardless of Larrie’s well-being, his family could no longer blame me for any mishaps. Moreover, I would not have to carry that guilt for decades.

While I was lost in thought, Orlando suddenly dropped to his knees beside my hospital bed with a heavy thud. Tears streamed down his face. “Darling, Larrie’s chances of survival are slim this time. He’s most likely not coming back.

“I pity my sister-in-law. She has become a widow at such a very young age. She still needs to raise a two-year-old child as well.

“Since Larrie gave you the very last life jacket before the plane crash, could we please take in his wife and child to live with us from now on?”

I was startled. I raised an eyebrow and asked, “How did you know that he gave me the last life jacket on that plane?”

In my previous life, Orlando had often leveraged my guilt for me to give in to him over and over again.

Upon hearing my words, Orland froze momentarily. His expression turned awkward as he stammered, “Well, I heard it from the survivors of the plane crash. Besides, I know Larrie would never abandon you at the moment of life and death. That’s why we shouldn’t leave his wife and child helpless, right?”

After eight years of marriage, I could see through his lies at a single glance, but I did not expose him.

As I recalled the miserable life I previously had, I let out a bitter laugh.

Meanwhile, Orland mistook my reaction for reluctance. His face darkened, and he snapped unhappily, “Michelle, do you even have a heart? Although Larrie’s death isn’t directly related to you, it’s a fact that he gave the very last life jacket to you. How could you be so heartless?!”

Tears welled up in my eyes as I laughed. Then, I stared at him coldly.

“Orlando, they haven’t found Larrie’s body even to this day. Why are you so certain that he’s dead?

“Why are you in such a hurry to declare him dead? Don’t tell me it’s because you want him to fake his death and escape the responsibility for causing the dozens of deaths of passengers on the plane with his drinking?”

Right after I finished my sentence, I felt a sharp pain on my cheek.

Orlando had stood up and slapped me hard. He cursed viciously, “Michelle, what nonsense are you spouting?! Larrie is a captain. How could he possibly be drinking?! If you say that again, I’m not going to play nice with you anymore!”

I bit the bottom of my lips hard. I swallowed the rage burning inside me.

If not for the multiple broken bones that kept me immobile, I would have fought back.

I cleared my throat and said gently, “Honey, it’s not that I’m refusing to help Catherine. The fact is, they haven’t even found Larrie’s body. We owe her an explanation.

“Larrie is a lucky man. My instincts tell me that he’s still alive.”

Orlando’s entire body stiffened. He subconsciously clenched his fists tightly.

“Darling, it’s already been three days, and there’s still no news about Larrie. He’s most likely not going to make it.

“While you were unconscious, I already discussed with Catherine. We decided to go to his company and seek help in processing his death certificate tomorrow.

“After that, Catherine and her child will move into our home, and we’ll—”

I interrupted him hastily. “Honey, what are you talking about? How can you give up on Larrie so easily?! He’s your brother!

“Don’t worry. I have friends from professional search-and-rescue teams. I’ll have them put their full effort into finding Larrie!

“Besides, we also need to lodge a police report about this. Then, we’ll reach out to the popular influencers to spread the word. The more people are out there helping us look for him, the better our chances are of finding him.”

Orlando’s expression kept changing. He said awkwardly, “Darling, this is Catherine’s idea too. She doesn’t want to keep searching for Larrie, so maybe we shouldn’t waste resources either, right?”

I gently held Orlando’s hand with my only mobile arm. My eyes reddened as I sobbed. “Honey, you’ve always cared about Larrie the most. Don’t you want to believe he’s still alive?”

“Of course I do! I just…”

Orlando was anxious. He withdrew his hand as he tried to explain himself.

I pretended to act as if my heart ached for him as I comforted him. “Honey, let’s not jump to conclusions yet. We’ll wait until the search-and-rescue teams and authorities give us an official result, alright?

“After all, Larrie is a captain. The airline won’t declare him dead too quickly to avoid unnecessary public backlash.”

Upon hearing my words, Orlando had no choice but to nod in agreement.

“Fine. But we mustn’t inform the police, and definitely not the social media.

“There’s no need to alert the search-and-rescue authorities either. We’ll just wait for the official results.”

Orlando remained beside me in the ward until my IV drip was finished. After that, he left.

In this life, I did not instantly agree to his request to allow Catherine and her child to live with us, as I had in my previous life.

I believed Orlando must have gone out to inform Larrie about this, along with concocting countermeasures with his family.

After he left, I dialed two numbers.

Not only did I want to lodge a police report about Larrie’s case, but I also wanted to reach out to popular influencers to get them to draw more attention to him.

As soon as the influencers uploaded their videos, Larrie’s case instantly went viral on local social media.

The story of the captain giving up his very last life jacket to the passenger in a moment of crisis instantly gained the public’s attention.

They did not even need to take three days to find out Larrie’s whereabouts. Three hours was already more than sufficient.

Before I died in my previous life, I had already discovered his hiding place. In this life, he was bound to be hiding there again.

When Orlando received the news, he quickly rushed back to the hospital. The moment he entered the ward, he rebuked me angrily. “Michelle, are you deaf?! Why did you contact the social media influencers without my permission?!

“You’re a wicked woman! You deliberately did this to get Larrie killed!”

His chest heaved violently. His body shuddered with anger.

Meanwhile, I felt a wave of satisfaction. I kept my expression calm and feigned confusion as I asked, “Honey, what are you talking about? I’m doing this so that more people could join the search-and-rescue efforts to find out Larrie’s whereabouts. I’m doing this out of good intentions.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re worried about Larrie being found? Do you actually want Catherine to become a widow and their child to be fatherless?

“Or do you actually have eyes on Catherine, and now you’re hoping to use this chance to claim her as yours?”

Orlando’s face turned as black as thunderclouds. He scolded me furiously, “Michelle, watch your mouth! If you keep spouting nonsense, trust me, I’ll divorce you!”

For the past eight years, whenever he lost his temper, he always used the threat of divorce to force me to give in and apologize to him.

I was not going to let them happen again. After all, I had already planned to divorce him.

I schooled my expression and stared at him calmly.

“Alright. Let’s divorce, then.”

Orlando had not expected me to say that. His lips parted in puzzlement, and he stared at me incredulously.

Before he spoke, my phone rang.

I picked up the call with one hand and put it on speaker.

“Ms. Michelle, here’s some good news for you! We’ve located Mr. Larrie’s whereabouts and are heading there right now!”

“Wonderful! I’ll have his family meet up with you right now.”

After hanging up, I sent the location to Orlando.

“Why are you still standing here? Are you too thrilled to know what to do? Let’s go and bring Larrie home now, hurry up!”

Orlando’s face turned dark. He pursed his lips tightly.

Without a word, he anxiously turned around and left the ward.

I sneered to myself. The only reason he was in such a rush was because he needed to reach Larrie’s hideout before the search-and-rescue team did.

As I expected, when Orlando came back at night, he looked sad. He said sorrowfully, “They found Larrie, but he’s already…”

Right on cue, a few drops of tears slipped down his face. His eyes were swollen.

“Darling, I won’t be able to accompany you for the next couple of days. I already hired a caregiver for you.

“I need to go back to my hometown to get Larrie a proper burial so that he could rest in peace.”

I frowned and forced a trace of sadness into my expression.

“Burial in the ground is illegal. They strongly encourage cremation these days, especially for families with public officials like you. How could you openly break the laws?”

But Orlando insisted on a burial in the ground. He said it was a custom in his hometown.

“Darling, this is going to be fine as long as no one reports it to the authorities. Besides, respect for the dead comes first. Who would actually go after a dead man?

“No decent men would stoop that low!”

The next day, before dawn, Orlando had already departed. Before the burial could take place, the police had already shown up.

Orlando had no choice but to curse under his breath as he dragged Larrie, who was playing dead, to the mortuary.

On the day of the cremation, I insisted on being there to see Larrie off.

Orlando refused to let me go. He rebuked me angrily. “Michelle, they’ve yet to discharge you. Why would you go and cause unnecessary trouble? Even if you want to make a fuss out of this, at least pick the right time and place!”

I turned his words against him.

“Larrie gave up his very last life jacket to me at the critical moment of life and death. As his sister-in-law, how could I not go and see him off one last time?”

Orlando was left speechless. He had no choice but to agree.

Inside the funeral hall, the Mendes family was already there.

After exchanging a few telling glances, Orlando prepared to send me away.

“Darling, Larrie definitely feels your presence and sincerity. You’re still recovering from your injuries, so you should head back and rest early.”

I frowned and said unhappily, “No way. I haven’t even seen his face for the last time. Where’s his coffin?”

Right after I finished my sentence, Orlando’s expression darkened.

“As I said earlier, Larrie has definitely felt your presence and sincerity. Get back to the hospital now. Once things get busy, I won’t have time to look after you!”

I lost my composure and shouted at him. “Orlando, what do you mean? Why are you stopping me from seeing Larrie for the last time?!

“Don’t tell me that he’s not inside the coffin at all? Are you planning to smuggle him out for a burial in the ground?”

Everyone turned around and looked at us. Even the workers caught wind of the commotion.

Orlando’s eyes turned cold and hostile as he fixed his gaze on me. After a moment, he said coldly, “Fine. I’ll take you to see him.”

He stalled for some time. After getting a phone call, he finally pushed me toward the innermost ice coffin.

I almost laughed out loud when I saw that Larrie’s lips had already turned purple due to the freezing temperature.

“Michelle, you’ve seen him. Can we leave now?”

I nodded. Orlando could not wait to get me out of there.

Just then, a few police officers came over and stood in front of the Mendes family.

“We were told that someone is planning to secretly smuggle the body away for a burial in the ground. That’s why we’ll need your cooperation to ensure that the cremation process is completed under supervision.”

Orlando’s expression turned pale. He quickly took out his phone to call someone.

But it was too late. Before he even finished dialing, I saw Larrie’s name appear on the display board as the next in line.

The Mendes family members standing behind the glass viewing area grew nervous. Orlando was so desperate that he immediately charged into that area.

“Wait, don’t cremate him!”

But it was already too late.

At the next second, they pushed Larrie’s ice coffin into the cremation chamber.

Immediately after, a noise came from the chamber and frightened everyone.