Chapter 1

Frowning, I stared at the body that was half buried under a wall. The right hand, burned to a crisp, was stretched out toward the door, while the left was holding onto the abdomen protectively.

The grotesque scene made me jump back in alarm, but as my soul slipped through the wall next to me, I came to the belated realization that I was dead.

That female corpse whose face was now unidentifiable after the fire was me.

Half an hour ago, I was elated as I came home with my pregnancy report in hand. However, before I even reached the front entrance, I saw black smoke billowing out of the blazing house.

Immediately, I thought about my son, Harrison Ellis, who should be sleeping in his room. Wasting no time, I drenched a piece of tissue to cover my nose and mouth before rushing in.

As soon as I entered the living room, I could feel the flames licking at my skin. The pain intensified as boils soon formed on my red, swollen skin.

Every time I breathed in, it felt as though I were inhaling burning hot coals. Even my throat felt like it'd been scalded, causing so much pain that I couldn't even speak. My tears flowed uncontrollably.

My instinctive reaction was to leave this place at once, but the thought of Harrison being caught in the fire upstairs made me grit my teeth and rush to him.

At last, with great difficulty, I made it to the room, but the doorknob was scalding hot too. Clenching my jaw, I grabbed the doorknob. Every inch of my skin that came into contact with it instantly turned red. I even saw smoke rising from it.

However, the room was empty. Before I could feel relieved that Harrison wasn't there, I heard his voice coming in through the window. Outside, he cried out in excitement, "Monica, you look so cool when you're putting out a fire. I bet you'll win the Firefighter Challenge this time!"

His childish exclamations made me a little dizzy, but at the very next moment, I was infuriated by how nonchalant he was about the fire—something dangerous enough to take lives.

I wanted to march down there at once to reprimand that immature son of mine, but as soon as I got to the door, the wall collapsed on me.

The searing pain shot from my back down to my abdomen, and I instinctively cupped it to protect my unborn child.

Nevertheless, I still felt something damp trickling out of me. I'd lost my child.

I felt even more lightheaded, but the voices that came from outside the house sounded even clearer to me now.

My husband, James Ellis, had always been a serious, no-nonsense man, but now he was praising another woman for her courage.

"You handled the situation very efficiently this time, Monica. I think you'll do well during the next Firefighter Challenge."