The rain fell relentlessly, blurring the city skyline beyond the office's top-floor windows.
Lightning crackled across the night sky, casting jagged shadows through the room where Leon Vercetti stood alone, his crisp, white shirt stained red.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he staggered back, one hand clutching his abdomen, the knife still buried deep within him.
"You..." Leon's voice was hoarse, disbelief trembling through it. "You were like a brother to me."
Across the room, Gabriel Kane adjusted his sleeves, as calm as ever. "I know," he replied coldly, his eyes showing no remorse. "That was your first mistake."
Leon's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, his breathing coming in short, painful gasps.
The boardroom, once a space for shared dreams, now reeked of betrayal. Gabriel approached, crouching before him. "You had everything, Leon. Power, wealth, loyalty. And you thought none of it would ever slip through your fingers."
"Why?" Leon choked out. "Was it money? Status?"
Gabriel smiled faintly. "It wasn't about money," he assured. "It was about what you refused to see. You made enemies, Leon. And I was just smart enough to stand on the winning side."
Leon tried to speak again, but his vision was failing. Darkness crept in from the edges.
Gabriel rose to his feet, stepping over him as if he were nothing more than an obstacle. "You trusted the wrong man," Gabriel said, almost gently. "But it's too late to fix that now."
Just like that, Leon's world plunged into darkness. There was no light, no sound. Just a slow awareness that something had changed.
If the universe gave me a second chance... then I'll use it to burn the world that betrayed me.
Then suddenly, air, noise, and pain. Leon gasped violently, his lungs burning as if he had just surfaced from underwater. He sat up with a start, his heart thundering in his chest. He wasn't dead.
He wasn't bleeding. He wasn't...
He looked around the room, dimly lit and modest. Familiar, far too familiar. Panic surged through him. He pushed out of bed and stumbled toward the mirror on the wall, flipping on the light.
Staring back at him was not the sharp, worn face of a 36-year-old tycoon. It was him, but a younger version.
Twenty-six, maybe. No gray streaks, no fine lines, no haunted eyes. "
No," he whispered.
On the nightstand, his old phone blinked. He picked it up, his hands trembling. The date on the screen read August 15, 2015. Ten years ago. The same month, he signed his first major deal. The same year, he founded Vercetti Global.
The beginning of everything.
Or the beginning of the end. He dropped the phone, breath catching.
"I'm back…" Flashes from the night he died
Gabriel's betrayal, the cold gleam in his eyes, and the pain slammed into him.
This wasn't a dream.
It wasn't a hallucination.
He'd been given a second chance. But why? And how? He didn't know. All that mattered now was what he would do with it.
Leon straightened up, eyes narrowing. He remembered every mistake. Every fake smile. Every name that had smiled at his face and plunged a knife in his back later.
He would not make those mistakes again.
And as for Gabriel... "I'll find out why you did it," Leon muttered, his voice low and cold. "And this time, I'll make sure you pay."
Leon paced the small room, every breath he took sharp with adrenaline. The creak of the old wooden floor beneath his feet reminded him that this place—this version of his life—was real. He hadn't seen this apartment in years. Back then, it had been a symbol of hope, of humble beginnings. Now, it was a monument to everything he'd lost.
He stopped by the window, pushing the curtain aside to peer down at the street. Cars rolled past. People hurried along with umbrellas. It was the same view he remembered, right down to the flickering streetlight at the corner that never got fixed.
Ten years ago.
It still didn't make sense.
Why him? Why now? Was it fate? Divine punishment? Or something else entirely?
His fingers tightened into fists. No. It didn't matter. What mattered was what he'd do with this chance.
He turned back toward the room, eyes scanning the space with sharper intent now. The desk is in the corner. The stack of old business plans. The notebook with his first pitch drafts. A younger version of himself had spent countless nights here, chasing dreams without knowing the price he'd pay for achieving them.
A knock at the door startled him.
His heart jumped into his throat, instinctively flashing back to blood and betrayal. He shook it off and approached slowly, every step measured.
He opened the door.
A familiar face greeted him—Daniel, his old college friend. The same guy who helped him incorporate Vercetti Global. Loyal, until the end.
Leon stared at him like he was seeing a ghost.
"Dude," Daniel said, grinning. "You look like you've seen one."
Leon blinked. "You're... early."
Daniel frowned. "Early? You said we were meeting at nine. It's nine-thirty, man."
Leon swallowed hard. "Right. Sorry. Lost track of time."
Daniel stepped inside, eyeing him. "Are you okay? You look like hell."
Leon gave a small, forced laugh. "Just a rough night."
"Are you sure? You've been jittery lately. Too much stress?"
If only he knew.
Leon clapped him on the shoulder, masking the swirl of emotion inside him. "I'll be fine. Just needed to clear my head."
Daniel nodded. "Well, today's big. Are you ready to leap? The bank meeting is at eleven. They want to hear the pitch again before finalizing the loan."
Leon exhaled slowly. This was it—the exact day he made his first official move as a business owner.
"I'm ready," he said.
More than ready.
Because this time, he wouldn't just build an empire.
He'd uncover every snake that slithered through it.
He'd protect the ones who had truly stood by him—and cut out those who never deserved a seat at his table to begin with.
The past had fooled him once.
But now?
Now he was playing with knowledge no one else had.
And he wasn't going to waste it.