The air was thick with the scent of iron and fading life. My life.
I could hear the distant sound of footsteps rushing away, the soft echo of betrayal lingering in their wake. The world around me was spinning, fading, pulling me under. Pain radiated from the gaping wound in my abdomen, but it was not the pain that held me frozen. It was the face of the man holding the dagger that had ended me.
Leonard.
My younger brother.
His hands trembled as he stepped back, his wide, guilt-ridden eyes refusing to meet mine. His lips moved, trying to form words, but the silence between us was louder than any confession he could have uttered.
"You should've stayed dead in the shadows, Gabriel," Leonard whispered, barely loud enough to rise above the ringing in my ears. "I can't live under you anymore."
Each word sliced through me deeper than the dagger had. My brother—my blood—my last family—had chosen to be the blade that cut me down.
Behind him, my stepmother Maria, ever the puppeteer, watched with a smile curving at the edges of her painted lips. Her hand gently squeezed Leonard's shoulder, a silent signal of approval. She had been the architect of this betrayal, the mastermind who slowly drove the wedge between us until Leonard saw me as nothing more than an enemy.
My strength ebbed with each heartbeat. The world blurred, the edges darkened, but amidst the encroaching void, one thought screamed louder than the pain:
I will come back.
I wasn't ready to die.
Not by his hand. Not like this.
And as my body grew cold, I made a vow to whatever force was listening—give me another chance, and I would burn this house of lies to the ground.
Death is not the end. Not for me.
Not yet.
When I awoke, the ceiling above me was familiar in a way that sent a shiver down my spine. The old wooden beams, the faint crack running along the corner of the room, the scent of the pinewood furniture—I hadn't smelled this room in over a decade.
My eyes snapped open fully, and I bolted upright, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I looked around, my pulse racing. The posters on the walls, the trophies on the shelf—my boxing championship from school, my faded motorcycle magazine clippings—they were all here, untouched, frozen in time.
It couldn't be.
I stumbled to the mirror and stared.
The face staring back at me wasn't the hardened, cold man I had become. It was me—Gabriel De Luca—but younger, seventeen, untouched by years of war, betrayal, and power. My jaw was less defined, my hands smaller, no scars yet.
I pressed my fingers to my face, as if that would confirm I was real.
I was alive.
But I wasn't in my future. I had been sent back.
I was reborn.
The memories came crashing in—the deals, the deaths, the mistakes, the betrayals. My brother's dagger. My stepmother's cruel manipulation. My father's suspicious death that I had once believed was fate.
Not this time.
This time, I would not walk blindly into their trap.
This time, I would rewrite everything.
Breakfast in the De Luca mansion was always served at precisely seven-thirty in the grand dining hall. The long mahogany table, the polished silverware, the neatly folded white napkins—it was all exactly as I remembered.
Maria, elegant as ever in her silk robe, sipped her tea delicately, casting me the occasional glance over the rim of her cup. She wasn't used to me being present. In my first life, I avoided these mornings, buried in business meetings and street operations.
But not today.
I sat at the table, calmly buttering my toast, watching Leonard as he shuffled into the room, still groggy, his uniform slightly crooked. He was only fifteen now, young, impressionable, and unaware of the seeds Maria would soon begin to plant in his mind.
"Good morning, Gabriel," Maria chimed, her voice honey-sweet but sharp beneath the surface. "You're joining us this morning? How unusual."
I met her gaze with a warm smile.
"Family is important, Mother. I realize now that I've been distant. I intend to change that."
Her smile flickered, but she quickly recovered. She didn't expect this version of me. She knew me as cold, ambitious, focused only on power. This new Gabriel unsettled her.
Leonard sat across from me, avoiding my eyes. I could see the early signs of the fear that would one day fester into resentment. In my past life, I had ignored him, brushed him aside, thinking he was weak. I never noticed how desperate he was for my approval.
Not this time.
I passed him the butter. "You've got a boxing match coming up, right? I'd like to train with you after school."
He blinked, surprised. "You… you would?"
"Of course. You're my brother. I want to help you win."
For the first time, I saw his lips twitch into a smile. A real one.
Maria's grip on her teacup tightened ever so slightly. I caught it.
I was shifting the pieces. And she didn't like it.
The days that followed were a careful game of chess. I attended my father's meetings, watching his health, slowly adjusting the food his personal chef served, knowing that soon Maria would begin her subtle poisoning. I replaced key staff with loyal faces—people I knew from the future.
I began to pull Leonard closer—taking him to the gym, involving him in the small family businesses, showing him the ropes that I had once left him to learn alone.
"You don't always have to follow what others tell you, Leo," I told him one afternoon as we walked through the garden. "You can make your own choices. You can trust me."
He looked at me, his eyes uncertain but hopeful. "I want to be like you someday. Strong."
I ruffled his hair. "You'll be stronger."
But I wasn't doing this out of brotherly love. I was doing this because Maria's biggest weapon against me was his loneliness. I would not let her have that opening.
Maria moved faster than I expected.
One evening, as I returned from a late meeting with Father, she stopped me in the hallway.
"You've changed, Gabriel," she said, her voice soft but her eyes sharp. "Suddenly interested in family. Suddenly interested in your brother. Tell me, what brought this on?"
I tilted my head, feigning confusion. "I realized I've been neglecting what really matters."
She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "It's unlike you to care so much about your brother."
I stepped closer, my voice low and deliberate. "He's family. I trust him. And I trust you, Mother."
Her fingers grazed my arm, a mock show of affection. "Of course, darling. Family is everything."
I walked away, but I could feel her suspicion. I had disrupted her script. She would accelerate her plans now.
But I was ready.
I spent the next few months fortifying my world. I intercepted Maria's messengers, dismantled secret deals she had been arranging to weaken my father's influence, and forged alliances I had once been too arrogant to pursue.
I manipulated the social circles, painting Leonard as my closest ally. I made it clear—publicly and privately—that my brother was my right hand. I planted loyal men around him, ones who would protect him even from himself.
Slowly, Maria's grip loosened. I could see the frustration in her eyes when Leonard no longer sought her approval but mine.
But she didn't give up. She was too dangerous for that.
One evening, as I reviewed some documents in the study, Father approached me. He looked tired but healthier than he should have been at this point in my past life.
"You've grown, Gabriel," he said, sitting across from me. "You remind me of myself when I was younger. But you've become… softer. You were always ruthless before."
I met his gaze. "I realized I can be both, Father. Strong and careful. Ruthless and protective."
He chuckled softly. "A dangerous combination."
"One that this family needs."
He studied me, his eyes sharp. "Tell me, son. Are you planning something I should know about?"
I offered him a small smile. "Only to protect what's ours."
Maria made her move not long after.
She arranged an ambush, using old rivals she thought I wouldn't expect. But I did. I remembered this part of my life. I remembered the faces.
I turned her trap into mine. I fed her false information, set up a fake meeting, and when her men arrived, I was waiting—with the police and enough evidence to destroy her pawns permanently.
Maria's fury was ice cold.
She cornered me in the mansion's west wing later that night. "You think you've won?" she hissed, the sweet mask gone.
I leaned against the wall, calm. "Won? Mother, I'm just getting started."
She narrowed her eyes. "You've changed history. But let's see if you can change everything."
I smiled. "I intend to."
She stormed off, but I knew this wasn't the end. She would try again. She always would.
But this time, I wasn't the same Gabriel.
This time, I was playing to win.
And I would destroy anyone who dared to betray me again.
Even if it was Leonard.
Even if it was myself.
I had no intention of giving Maria another chance to catch me off guard. Every step I took from that moment forward was precise, calculated. She believed she still held power in the palm of her hand, but her grip was slipping.
I needed to make Leonard strong—not just physically, but mentally. He needed to see through people like her. I couldn't simply protect him from the shadows; I had to bring him into the light.
Our training sessions became more intense. Boxing in the mornings, strategic games like chess and poker in the evenings. I introduced him to the intricacies of negotiation, the value of loyalty, the danger of misplaced trust. Little by little, I watched him grow—not into the puppet she once molded—but into a man who could stand on his own.
"Gabriel," he said one night as we played chess, "why are you spending so much time with me now?"
I set my knight down carefully. "Because I failed you once, Leo. I won't make that mistake again."
He frowned, unsure of what I meant, but he didn't push. Not yet.
I visited Father daily, listening to his war stories, observing his interactions. He was sharper than I remembered, still cautious, still guarded. I subtly influenced his diet, his medicines, making sure none of Maria's plans could find their way to him. It was delicate work, but I was determined. His death had been the first domino to fall in my previous life. This time, I wouldn't let that happen.
One afternoon, as I watched Father reviewing documents in his study, I realized something. Back then, I had assumed he died because he was weak, because his enemies outplayed him. But now I saw the truth—he had simply trusted the wrong people.
Just as I once did.
I wouldn't repeat his mistake.
Maria's schemes escalated. She attempted to sway distant business partners, planting seeds of distrust, but I moved faster. I intercepted her letters, met with the partners personally, and flipped them to my side.
One of Maria's more subtle tactics was the manipulation of perception. She would leak rumors, whisper false stories to the right ears, letting doubt fester within our social circles. But I was ahead of her. I used my knowledge of the future to steer conversations, to place key allies in the right positions.
It became a game. A dangerous, thrilling game where every move mattered.
One evening, she sent me an invitation—a private dinner. Just the two of us.
I accepted.
When I arrived, the table was already set. The lights were dim, casting soft shadows across the long hall. Maria sat at the far end, her expression unreadable.
"Gabriel," she greeted with that honeyed voice, "I wanted us to have a little chat."
I took my seat without hesitation. "Of course, Mother. I always enjoy our conversations."
She poured us both a glass of wine. I didn't touch mine. "You've been… unpredictable lately. Involved. Caring. I find it fascinating."
I folded my hands, giving her a faint smile. "Perhaps I've matured."
Her gaze sharpened. "Perhaps. Or perhaps you've remembered what it's like to lose something precious."
Her words struck deeper than she realized.
"I've lost many things," I said softly, "but I'm learning to hold on tighter now."
We danced around each other with careful words, both aware of the invisible knives we carried. She was testing me, probing for weakness, trying to understand who this new Gabriel was.
She would never find him.
Because the Gabriel she thought she knew died the day Leonard plunged that dagger into my chest.
Days turned to weeks, and I began strengthening not just my family's empire but myself. I took risks I would have ignored in my past life. I built alliances with men who were mere shadows in my previous timeline, men who would rise to power later but were currently overlooked.
I reached out to Marcus Venti, a rising force in the shipping industry. In my past life, I had dismissed him as irrelevant. But this time, I saw his potential.
Over coffee, I secured a deal that would tie his loyalty to the De Luca family. By the time Maria realized what I was building, Marcus was already expanding our reach, tripling our influence at the docks.
Leonard thrived under my guidance. He laughed more, trained harder, and began to question the world around him. I taught him to read people, to see beyond the masks.
One evening, as we walked the garden paths, he turned to me. "You've changed, Gabriel. You're not the same as you were before."
I paused. "Is that a bad thing?"
He shook his head. "No. I just… I feel like you're finally my brother."
I rested a hand on his shoulder. "I always was, Leo. I just forgot how to show it."
Maria didn't let up. She sent bribes to my father's bodyguards, slipped false leads into our accounts, and when those failed, she orchestrated an 'accident' during one of Leonard's boxing matches.
A structural beam was loosened, set to collapse as Leonard entered the ring.
But I was waiting.
I had stationed my men nearby, watching for any unusual activity. When the worker moved to trigger the collapse, my men intercepted him, dragging him from the arena before the trap could be sprung.
I made sure Maria heard about the failure.
I wanted her to know I was watching. That I was always one step ahead.
Father noticed the changes too. He began relying on me more, asking for my counsel, trusting me in matters he would have once handled alone.
"You've become a man I can depend on, Gabriel," he told me one afternoon as we sat in his study. "You remind me of myself in my prime."
"I've learned from the best," I replied.
He smiled, but there was a shadow in his gaze. "Be careful. Trust is a dangerous thing in our world."
"I know. That's why I trust carefully now."
Maria's desperation grew. She tried to fracture the bond between Leonard and me, feeding him half-truths, painting me as a manipulator.
But Leonard came to me, confused and conflicted.
"She said you're using me. That you're just… pretending to care."
I looked him in the eyes. "What do you believe?"
He hesitated. "I don't know."
I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Then watch me. Watch my actions. Words can lie, but the truth always shows in what people do."
Over time, his uncertainty faded. He began defending me, challenging Maria's influence, choosing to stand by my side.
But fate doesn't like to be rewritten.
New enemies emerged—ones I hadn't faced in my previous life. Opportunities I never encountered before now appeared. It was as if the timeline was resisting my interference, throwing unpredictable variables into my path.
A man named Salvatore Romano, a cunning strategist who should have remained in the shadows for years, suddenly surfaced, challenging our hold on the city's western district.
I adapted quickly, forming unexpected alliances, using every lesson my past life had taught me.
But the more I changed, the more the world around me shifted.
It was no longer about simply correcting the past. It was about surviving a future that was now entirely unknown.
One evening, I found Maria alone in the library, her expression dark.
"You've woven quite a web, Gabriel," she said without looking up from her book.
I leaned against the doorway. "Did you think I would sit idly by while you destroy my family?"
Her fingers traced the spine of the book. "I underestimated you."
"Yes. You did."
She finally met my gaze. "But tell me, Gabriel… can you protect everyone? Forever?"
It wasn't a threat. It was a reminder.
This war would never end.
But I was prepared to fight. Again and again.
Leonard and I stood on the balcony overlooking the city one night.
"You've always been strong, Gabriel," he said quietly, "but you've changed. You're not just strong anymore. You're… careful. Different."
I looked at him, the boy who once killed me, the brother I had failed.
"I have a second chance, Leo. And I won't waste it."
In the weeks that followed, I made sure Leonard was prepared for every angle life would throw at him. I didn't just teach him how to fight—I taught him patience, strategy, when to hold back, and when to strike. I could see his trust in me solidify, slowly replacing the insecurities that once made him easy to manipulate.
One evening, as we sat in Father's old study, Leonard asked the question I had been waiting for.
"Gabriel, what do you really want?" His eyes searched mine, serious now. "You've rebuilt everything. You've made me stronger. But what's the end goal? What are you fighting for?"
I leaned back, the weight of my two lifetimes pressing against my chest. I had asked myself that question often.
"I want freedom," I said slowly. "Freedom from the chains that trapped us. I want to destroy every lie, every hand that pulls the strings behind our backs. I want you to grow without being a pawn in anyone's game—including mine."
Leonard's brows drew together. "Including yours?"
"Yes," I said firmly. "I don't want you to follow me because you owe me. I want you to walk beside me because you choose to."
His gaze softened, a flicker of the boy I once lost to Maria's poison shining through. "Then I choose to."
I nodded, but a storm still brewed inside me. The timeline was shifting. Some of my past enemies were showing up earlier, some alliances were harder to maintain, and yet—I felt alive. Every twist was a chance to fight, to rewrite the future.
But Maria was not finished. She was planning something far bigger now.
On a rainy afternoon, Father collapsed in his office.
It was supposed to be too soon. In my past life, he died two years later. But this time, the signs were different. There was no poison in his system. No tampered medication.
It was a stroke.
And yet—I couldn't shake the feeling that this, too, had been engineered.
I stood at his hospital bedside, staring at the pale man who had built an empire with iron fists and silent threats.
"You're not leaving me yet," I whispered. "I haven't saved us yet."
But Father's grip on my hand was weak. "You've… done well… Gabriel. Protect… Leonard. Protect the family."
"I will," I promised, my throat tightening.
He closed his eyes, as if the weight of the world had finally slipped from his shoulders.
He survived, but the doctors said his recovery would be long and uncertain. I didn't need them to tell me that he would never fully return to the man he once was.
The burden was mine now.
I left the hospital that evening with one mission—I would crush Maria before she could make her next move.
But she moved faster.
She summoned a council meeting with key allies, attempting to install her own puppet as the temporary head while Father was recovering.
She didn't expect me to show up.
I walked into that room with evidence of her manipulations, of her illegal dealings, carefully collected over the past year. I laid everything bare on the table—emails, financial records, secret meetings—all tied directly to her.
"You can't prove I authorized any of it," she hissed, trying to maintain her composure.
I smiled, dropping a final document on the table. "Actually, I can. This is your signature, Mother. Shall we test its authenticity?"
Her allies began to distance themselves. Fear flickered in their eyes. Maria's control was unraveling.
"This is your choice, Maria," I said softly. "Leave quietly. Or face the full weight of the empire you tried to steal."
For the first time, I saw cracks in her mask. Real fear.
She chose exile.
But I knew it wouldn't be the last time I'd see her.
The weeks after Maria's fall were turbulent. New enemies appeared, others circled like vultures, eager to test whether I could hold the empire without Father.
Leonard became my strongest pillar. He stood beside me in every negotiation, every meeting, every confrontation.
He was becoming the man I always hoped he'd be.
One evening, as we drove through the city, he turned to me and asked, "Do you ever think about what would have happened if things went differently?"
I stared out at the streets we now controlled. "Every day."
"If you had the chance to live everything again… would you?"
I smiled faintly. "I think… maybe I already am."
He didn't understand the depth of my words, and I didn't need him to.
I had been given this second life, this chance to rewrite the past, and I was going to see it through to the end.
But fate—fate is never satisfied.
Just as Maria disappeared, a new letter arrived. Sealed with a symbol I didn't recognize. A threat. A declaration of war from a name I had never heard in my past life.
It was clear now.
Changing the past didn't erase all the dangers.
It only created new ones.
I folded the letter and slid it into my coat pocket.
The game was far from over.
And I was ready to play.
Again.
And again.