Blurb：
After dying a brutal death in my past life, I’ve been reborn as dispatcher Shirley with all my memories intact. My firefighter husband Chris and his lover Lily framed me for sabotaging a wildfire response by replacing helicopter water with diesel—getting me beaten to death by angry orchard owners while they stole my $10 million lottery winnings. This time, when Chris calls for backup from the ridge fire, I remember everything: their conspiracy, the swapped fuel, their teammates burning alive. Now I control the dispatch console with cold precision. Instead of sending the doomed helicopter, I deploy ground units strategically while gathering evidence of their plot. The fire rages, but fate twists differently as I ensure Chris and Lily face justice for their crimes against me and their fallen brothers.
Content：
My firefighter husband was trapped in the fire and called me for help.
As a dispatcher, I hummed Happy beside the console.
In our previous life, he went up the ridge to fight the fire, and I immediately dispatched a helicopter for support.
But the fire only grew bigger.
When he returned to the station, I ran toward him, only to be met with a full-force slap.
A bright red handprint instantly appeared on my face.
“You sent the chopper and had it dump diesel on the blaze? It was just a regular fire, but you made it spread instantly—it couldn’t even be put out with water!”
“All my brothers burned to death trying to save me!”
Seeing that everyone was furious, his old flame, a paramedic named Lily, hurriedly spoke up,
“Everyone, please calm down. Be careful, don’t go too far.”
The apple growers lost all reason and beat me to death with sticks!
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment the alarm sounded.
“Assemble in one minute—everyone, move now!”
I stood on the firehouse lawn watching my husband, Chris, gather the crew.
After the team quickly boarded the engine, he walked over and hugged me.
“How come no kiss for luck this time?”
He leaned in to kiss me.
I always used to kiss him before every call.
This time, fighting back nausea, I covered his mouth and said coldly,
“Be safe. Try not to get roasted out there.”
As the lead dispatcher, I was in charge for coordinating pumps and assessing the fire so it could be put out as fast as possible.
In our previous life, not long after Chris entered the fire, he called me for help.
My eyelids started twitching like crazy.
I immediately queued a firefighting helicopter to ferry water to support him.
But the fire suddenly blew up, burning thousands of acres of orchard to ash.
I saw Lily tending to Chris’s wounds back at the station when the growers surrounded us,
“Are you useless? What do we pay taxes for? Everything’s ruined—all our trees are gone!”
Trying to steady my shaking, I pushed through the crowd to help Chris.
But as soon as I got close, he grabbed me, and gloved, slapped me hard across the face.
“You told us the fire was under control? My brothers burned to death saving me!”
“Not a single one made it out!” Chris yelled, jabbing his finger in my face.
“Do you know what was in that chopper? Diesel! It was full of diesel! Even water couldn’t touch it!”
In front of all the growers, Chris laid out my sins—I felt like I was freezing from the inside.
“Honey, what are you talking about?” I was totally bewildered.
“How could the helicopter…”
Before I could finish, Lily wiped her tears and shoved me aside.
“Shirley, I know you won the lottery yesterday—0-00 million. But you can’t just try to kill your husband to keep all that cash. Two firefighters are dead because of you—do you know how many families will collapse?”
After Lily spoke, the crowd grew even more restless.
The townspeople ignored anything I tried to say.
They grabbed branches and tools meant for fighting flames and swung them at me.
I hit the dirt, covering my head, too scared to fight back.
“Everyone, please stay calm—be careful not to go too far.”
His sweetheart Lily kept fanning the flames while my husband watched coldly.
I died under their clubs—my husband and his childhood sweetheart lived happily ever after with my ten million dollar.
After I died, I learned they were the ones who swapped the water in the chopper for diesel to make the fire worse.
They crouched behind the firebreak and watched their own teammates burn alive.
They killed those people just to ruin me—so they could emerge as heroes.
One rose to be a celebrated fire chief, the other an internet darling medic.
The memories of that life are still sharp—I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms.
Just like before, not long after my husband reached the scene, he called for backup.
“Dispatch, the fire on the ridge is too strong—our squad can’t break through!”
I heard his panicked, coughing voice over the radio.
I walked away in a light mood, humming “Happy.”
A few hours later, drone footage showed the ridge charred and barren, just like in my previous life.
This time, I drove straight to the base of the hill to meet him.
When Chris saw me, he charged over like I was his worst enemy,
“Shirley, what the hell are you doing as senior dispatcher? Is this how you pull your weight?”
Hearing that, I replied calmly,
“I dispatched every available resources to protect lives and property.”
“Then why did you misreport the fire? I was boxed in almost as soon as I got there.”
Then his iron hand came down on me—I stumbled and hit the ground hard.
He stared coldly as I lay there, then pointed at me, vicious, in front of all the orchard owners,
“She’s the one who lied about the blaze! We didn’t have enough gear—my team almost burned to death because of her!”
The firefighters who died before—they didn\t deserve to be sacrificed for Chris and Lily.
This second chance let me try to change their fate.
But the orchard still couldn’t be saved—everything burned.
I watched the locals ready their tools, then finally looked at Chris’s grim face.
“I’ve been in the service for 10 years. I’ve fought countless fires—I don’t make mistakes like that. Besides, my husband was in there—of course I wanted the fire put out.”
After I said that, crowd paused, waiting to hear more.
Before I could speak again, Lily cut in,
“Shirley, we’ve known each other for more than a decade, but as a first responder, I can’t cover for you.”
She sighed, heavy.
“No one can fully predict how a fire will behave—but your choices affect this whole town’s livelihood and the lives of firefighters. These families depend on this land, and every firefighter has someone waiting at home.”
Watching Lily play the righteous card, one of the villagers shouted,
“Wait, are you saying she made the blaze worse on purpose?”
“You might not know this, but she won 0-00 million in the lottery yesterday. That’s shared marital property. Who wouldn’t want to keep that kind of money?”
Lily seemed to say nothing, but really, she said everything.
She even dabbed at her eyes and drew a deep breath,
“If Captain Chris hadn’t risked his life with the crew to dig a firebreak, she would’ve gotten her wish—and we’d all be gone.”
At that, dozens of townspeople erupted, hoisting branches and clubs toward me,
“You witch! You monster! Let’s take her down!”
I turned and ran for the station, barely keeping ahead of the mob.
Chris and Lily stood with their arms folded, smirking like they were watching a show.
But just then, the main crew coming back from cleanup rolled toward us.
Several engines flashed red and blue, sirens wailing.
The crowd froze under the headlights.
The door swung open, and a middle-aged man in a navy uniform stepped out,
“What’s going on here? Chasing a young woman—she didn’t start the fire.”
“What are you trying to do?”
A dirt-smudged farmer stepped forward, pointing at me,
“This woman misreported the blaze and made it worse—what’s the difference between that and arson?”
“You look like you’re in charge—arrest her and make her pay for our trees!”
Chris and Lily hid behind the crowd, not daring to show themselves, but the man in uniform called for Chris.
“I’m the fire chief. Sir, please calm down first.”
“Where the hell is Chris? He was on the front line—where is he? Find him now!”
“He was here just a minute ago—not sure where he went now,” a firefighter replied.
Hearing that, Chris didn’t dare hide any longer—he and Lily squeezed out of the crowd.
Watching Chris and Lily shuffle forward nervously, I trembled, clenching my fists tightly.
“You cold? Why are you shaking so badly?” The chief looked at me curious.
“They said you misreported the fire—care to explain?”
I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
In front of the brass, I kept my composure,
“Chief, they can accuse me all they want—if they have proof, I’ll cover the damages.”
After hearing the whole story, the chief took a drag of his cigarette and turned to Chris,
“When did Shirley tell you about the fire conditions?”
Chris was panicking inside,
“On… on the way there, she said… she said the fire was small… under control.” He stammered, nervy and evasive.
He thought I had no evidence and started spinning a tale.
The chief immediately saw the hole in his story, “If the fire was small, why didn’t you put it out? Even if the wind kicked up, you should’ve been able to control it!”
Facing the chief’s sharp questioning, Chris grew more flustered but forced himself to sound steady,
“When we got there, the wind suddenly picked up and the fire exploded. But we didn’t have enough gear—I sent some men to fight it and others back to fetch more equipment and dig a firebreak.”
In my past life, Chris ignored my orders and hid like a coward.
When the ridge blaze was tiny, and I told him to contain it.
But he acted like he knew better—he ditched his team, hid with Lily, and claimed they were digging a firebreak.
The teammates he left behind burned alive, and I took the blame.
This time, I wasn’t going to spare his dignity,
“That fire was tiny—if the whole crew had worked it over, they could’ve put it out in a couple of hours. But someone didn’t listen and ran off to dig a firebreak.”
Lily stepped forward to argue,
“As the frontline medic, I was with Captain Chris the whole time. Shirley gave us wrong info—when we hit the ridge, the fire was huge. We didn’t have the kit, so we had to pull back. By the time we came back, the whole hill was on fire.”
One of the growers chimed in, “Yeah, the fire jumped like crazy—if I hadn’t run, I would’ve been toast.”
Faced with all those accusations, I felt like a defendant waiting for a verdict.
Just then, the fire commissioner and department brass arrived with a gaggle of reporters.
“Don’t worry, folks—the department will give everyone a satisfactory answer.”
Chris and Lily had only wanted to stir the growers into beating me—they wanted me dead.
As for the truth—no one except those two really cared.
The growers just wanted someone to pay.
But they never imagined things would reach the top.
They both turned pale, sweating through their shirts.
Now that it had, their only move was to double down and pile everything on me.
The commissioner frowned at Chris,
“You said the fire was already out of control when you arrived—is that right?”
Chris shuddered, “Y-yes…”
Lily spoke up righteously,
“Leaders, as the medic on site with Captain Chris, I swear on my honor—I can vouch for him!”
No one answered. The only sound was the crackle of dead wood.
All eyes were on them—whether he noticed or not, Chris seemed unnerved by glare.
Especially the pilot, Alex, standing behind the commissioner—he was clenching his jaw.
I shook my head at Alex, signaling him to be patient—we just had to watch Chris dig his own hole.
Alex worked in the department’s inspection wing, he’d been sent to check the chopper.
In my past life, the inspection got postponed, and the helicopter had been loaded with diesel instead of water—the firefighters were drenched and burned alive.
This time, after Chris’s crew left, I had Alex inspect the chopper.
He found the water had indeed been swapped for diesel. The helicopter was refilled with water before it took off.
Chris stared daggers at me, “As soon as we arrived, I radioed that the fire was too strong. I don’t know if the dispatcher misjudged or had other motives—she ordered us to charge in, like our lives didn’t matter. She almost got us all killed.”
“Thankfully, Captain Chris made the call to pull back and dig a firebreak—he saved the crew and contained the fire.”
Lily didn’t miss a beat praising Chris in front of the brass.
“Captain Chris saved the team and millions in property—he should be celebrated by the press.”
“As a firefighter, it’s my duty to serve and protect the public,” Chris added with shameless poise.
“But this liar—incompetent and dishonest—should be fired and forced to pay for all the damage!”
As Chris finished, Alex stepped forward and snapped,
“After all these years, you’re still shameless—and now you’ve lost your brains too?”
“Alex? What right do you have to criticize me?” Chris flushed purple with fury.
I narrowed my eyes at Chris, then cleared my throat,
“Captain Chris, Dr. Lily—allow me to introduce this gentleman.”
“Alex works in the department’s inspection division. He happened to be inspecting the helicopters today.”
“And he found that the water meant for firefighting had been replaced with diesel.”
The scene went stone-silent.
Chris gaped, but Lily reacted fast.
She pointed at Alex, eyes wide, looking horrified at me,
“Why would he inspect? And the department brass were here the whole time? How?”
I nodded, a hard little smile on my lips,
“Of course. A dispatcher has to see the big picture. It’s a critical role—I had to prepare for every contingency.”
“The fire was controllable at first, but with so much on the line, I notified the department. Half the leadership was watching you handle it.”
Faced with the stern chief, the skeptical brass, and the bewildered growers…
Lily stood frozen.
Suddenly, she went pale, foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the pavement.
Those who understood were already shaking—now Chris was left exposed on the stage.
Chris glanced at Lily and sagged to the ground too.
Alex moved quickly, stepping forward to “help” Chris up.
Chris leaned on Alex’s arm, his legs wobbling,
“It’s… all a… misunderstanding.”
Chris could barely get the words out—he had no choice but to shut down.
No amount of silvered speech could spin this.
The growers started to turn—the man who’d demanded I pay for the trees glared disgusted at Chris.
Before the department brass could decide, our chief spoke up for me,
“You delayed the response, then tried to shift the blame. Someone like you doesn’t deserve to wear that badge!”
Under Chris’s hopeless gaze, the chief announced,
“Chris, you’re fired. Don’t show up tomorrow. The press has been recording—you’ll be on the evening news.”
The grower who’d demanded compensation glared at Chris, gripping his club,
“So it was you all along! The fruit was almost ripe—my son was counting on that money to get married! Now it’s all ruined. Your bosses punished you—now it’s my turn.”
He swung his club at Chris.
Chris turned to run, but Alex stuck out his foot and tripped him.
By the time Chris realized, it was too late—the club hit him hard.
The firefighters who’d been with him stood aside, smoking, as if they hadn’t seen a thing.
The other growners were just as furious,
“You monster! How could you do something so evil?”
“You were too scared to fight the fire—but you didn’t have to let her take the fall!”
“You’re not just a coward—you’re a liar who let your wife be blamed. You were after her lottery money, you trash!”
“Let’s get him! Make him pay for what he did!”
The villagers charged forward with their tools.
Chris was too stunned to even call for help.
Finally, the chief stepped in, afraid they’d kill him outright,
“Alright, folks—I get how you feel. Let the law handle this—press charges and sue if you must. Stop now—if you seriously hurt him, you’ll be on the hook for medical bills. It ain’t worth it.”
The growers saw the sense in that and dropped their clubs.
Chris was loaded into an ambulance.
Before it pulled away, I stood on the blackened ridge.
Smoke and ash whipped against my face in the sharp wind—whether from smoke or something else, tears ran down without my permisson.
They fell onto the cinders like tiny beads, rolling and vanishing.
This time, I’d escaped my doom and taken Chris and Lily fdown or good!
Alex walked over and handed me a tissue, half-joking,
“Shirley, why hang on to a loser like that? When are you gonna dump him and make room for me?”
Alex and I had known each other since college—back then, Lily also had a crush on Chris.
I’d been so obsessed with Chris, terrified someone would steal him away, that I never ignored how good Alex was to me.
I never thought he’d still like me after all these years.
The first thing I did after coming back was call Alex for backup.
Otherwise, as senior dispatcher, I couldn’t have bent the chain of command to get the chopper mobilized.
I took the tissue and wiped my tears,
“I can’t divorce him yet.”
“What? After all this, you’re giving him another chance? You’re too kind—a real saint!” Alex said, then sighed,
“They say you can’t help someone who’s determined to die. It’s not just that Chris doesn’t deserve you—he wanted you dead. If we’d been any later, who knows what those growners would’ve done to you.”
“And the way he and Lily teamed up against you—it’s obvious they’re together. I told you in college they were trouble—but you didn’t listen.”
He had warned me back then, but I brushed him off and told him to mind his own business.
I didn’t bother arguing now, “That’s why I’m not divorcing him yet. If I do, he’ll get half of my 0-00 million lottery win—not to mention the rest of our joint assets.”
Chris and Lily had covered their tracks well—there was no evidence they’d replaced the water with diesel.
The case was on shaky ground.
If I hadn’t remembered the last life, I might’ve let Chris slide.
But this time, I won’t rest until he’s destroyed—and I’ll drag Lily down with him!
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