Who Was the Hit-and-Run Killer"

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My wife told me to take our car to the dealership for maintenance. Shortly after I got home, the police called.

They said Id hit and killed someone while having sex in the car and was wanted for hit-and-run.

I rushed to the scene and was horrified. My car was by the road with a damaged bumper and shattered windshield. Three bodies lay nearby, including a two-year-old.

Witnesses accused me of speeding into a family, fleeing with a disheveled woman, and mocking the victim. Dealership cameras showed no sign of me, but roadside footage supposedly proved my guilt.

My wife Lisa slapped me, calling me disgusting. I was called a murderer. My parents were killed by the victims relatives. In prison, I was beaten to death by inmates.

I died confusedId properly dropped off the car and never driven on that road.

When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day I was supposed to take the car in.

1.

"Darling, there's a problem with a company project that needs handling. Can you take the car to the 4S dealership for maintenance by yourself later?"

Lisa had just taken a call and was rushing out the door.

Such a familiar scene made me realize I had been reborn.

In my previous life, after agreeing to Lisa, I drove to the dealership alone.

But as soon as I got home, I received a call from a service representative.

"Mr. Edwards, your appointment time has passed, and you haven't arrived. Should I cancel and reschedule for you?"

I was puzzled. I had clearly handed him the keys myself moments ago.

The service representative on the other end was also surprised.

"Mr. Edwards, you didn't even come to our dealership today. How could you have given me the keys?"

Before I could figure out what was going on, the police called, saying I had killed someone.

The dealership's surveillance hadn't captured my entry or exit, but the city's roadside cameras clearly recorded my arrogant behavior and the hit-and-run.

In the end, I was wrongly accused of being a malicious murderer, meeting a terrible end.

Lisa saw me looking down, silent, and knelt in front of me.

"Are you upset? Your face looks so bad."

Her voice was gentle, as if coaxing a child.

Looking at her unwavering gentleness after ten years, my heart sank.

After marrying Lisa, our relationship had always been good.

To make the company bigger and stronger, I overworked myself and once fainted. The doctor advised me to rest for a while and recuperate.

So, I handed the company over to Lisa to manage, while I retreated to the background.

But why, when we'd agreed to get the car serviced together, did she suddenly have something come up?

And then such an unbelievable incident occurred. Was it a coincidence, or...?

Suppressing the doubt in my heart, I slowly spoke.

"No, I just feel a little unwell. Maybe we should reschedule the car maintenance?"

Lisa immediately placed her hand on my forehead, concerned, wanting to take me to the hospital.

I refused, saying it was probably just a chill from last night, and I'd be fine after some rest.

She led me back to the bedroom and lay me down.

"You sleep a bit more. If you're really not feeling well, call me, and we'll go to the hospital."

"As for the car maintenance, you can just cancel the appointment online later."

Throughout, I observed her reactions and expressions, but couldn't find anything amiss.

The more normal she seemed, the more confused and lost I felt.

After Lisa left, I went to the underground parking garage.

Seeing the car parked there, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This car was a gift from Lisa last month for our tenth wedding anniversary.

But I didn't go out often, so I drove it very little.

Yet, I never imagined that the one rare time I drove it, my whole family would meet such a terrible end.

In this life, no matter who wants to harm me, as long as I don't touch the car, surely nothing bad will happen.

2.

Thinking this, I took the car keys and went back inside.

After a quick meal, I lay on the bed, replaying all the events of my past life.

Before I could even sort through my thoughts, the phone rang abruptly.

Seeing the number ending in 911, my heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

Steeling myself, I answered.

"Mr. Ethan Edwards, correct? Your car has struck and killed three people and you're wanted for hit-and-run. Please surrender immediately and cooperate with the investigation."

The police officer's stern words sent a chill down my spine.

"Ho... how could that be?"

"Officer, are you mistaken? My car is safely parked in the garage, and I haven't driven it out today at all."

The officer, hearing my words, thought I was trying to evade responsibility, and his tone grew even colder.

"The vehicle involved in the accident is registered in your name. After an incident, you have a responsibility and obligation to cooperate with the investigation. As for whether you were driving, the officers on site will investigate."

I hung up and ran to the garage. The sight that met my eyes made my heart pound.

The spot where the car should have been was now empty.

Both sets of car keys were still in my hand. Why was the car gone?

Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone and immediately called my cousin, Marcus.

"When did Lisa arrive at the company today, and when did she leave?"

"She got there at 10 AM this morning and has been in a design meeting ever since. I heard she hasn't even eaten, hasn't left at all."

Lisa had left home at 9:30 AM. She would have arrived at the company around 10 AM. The accident, according to the police, was half an hour ago.

Marcus is my cousin, and our company's head of security. He wouldn't lie to me.

If it wasn't her who drove the car, then who was it?

Seeing my silence, Marcus lowered his voice to advise me.

"Cousin, do you really need to keep such a close eye on Lisa?"

"Don't be so paranoid. From what I've seen, she's very virtuous and always talks about you. You wouldn't believe how many people envy you..."

But at this moment, I couldn't listen to any of it.

"It's nothing, just asking."

Looking at the disconnected call, I felt a pang of frustration.

I needed to calm down as much as possible right now.

No panic. Panic leads to confusion, and confusion leads to falling into traps others have set for me.

Remembering the police officer's words, he only said my car hit people, not that it was definitely me.

In this life, I hadn't even left the house. Perhaps things would take a different turn.

I quickly hailed a taxi and rushed to the accident scene.

The result, just like in my previous life.

As soon as I arrived, I saw the exact same horrific scene as before.

Someone in the crowd of onlookers recognized me.

"That's him, Officer, that's him! He was speeding incredibly fast, plowing directly into that family of three, without even slowing down."

"Yes, we knocked on the window for a long time before he and a woman, both disheveled, got out of the driver's seat. They were practically on top of each other, who knows what they were doing!"

"After getting out, he didn't call the police or an ambulance. He actually picked up his phone and asked a lawyer on a live stream how many years he'd get. When he heard the lawyer say seven years at most, he even laughed."

"What's even worse, that poor child, decapitated. He actually said the child had a hard head for breaking his car's windshield."

Facing the same accusations, I silently steadied myself.

In my previous life, seeing this scene caused me to panic, leading to utter confusion later on.

3.

The police officer, seeing my arrival, walked over and asked if I was the car owner.

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, his tone became noticeably displeased.

"Please tell us what happened, and cooperate with the investigation."

I answered seriously.

"I don't know, because I wasn't the one driving."

But that simple statement ignited the crowd's fury.

"What do you mean it wasn't you? I witnessed the whole thing, it was you who got out of the car. Don't think I don't recognize you just because you changed clothes."

"With so many pairs of eyes watching, you still want to argue? You're truly unrepentant."

"This kind of person, who thinks driving a luxury car and having a bit of money makes them above the law, I think he intentionally murdered them out of spite. He must be arrested and sentenced to death!"

By this time, Lisa, having received the news, also rushed over. Though her face was bewildered by everyone's accusations, she still tried to defend me.

"Are you mistaken? My husband has a lot of driving experience and drives very steadily. How could he intentionally hit someone?"

Her words were immediately countered.

"With so many pairs of eyes watching, how could we be wrong? Not only does he look the same, even his voice is identical!"

A loud-mouthed woman in the crowd sneered at Lisa.

"You're his wife?"

"Then watch the video I recorded, and then decide if you want to defend him."

With that, she showed the footage on her phone to everyone.

In the video, despite people frantically pounding on the window, I slowly got out of the car, adjusting my clothes and saying impatiently,

"What are you doing? Do you know how expensive this car is? Can you afford to pay if you break it?"

"It's just hitting a few people, what's the big deal? My family has money, and my insurance is high, it's not like we can't afford to compensate."

"Good dogs don't block the road. It's their fault for getting in my way, they deserve to die!"

"Even in death, they had to damage my car window. How unlucky!"

After my outburst, I quickly pulled the woman who got out with me into my arms.

"Sweetheart, that wasn't satisfying at all. How about we find another place to continue?"

In the video, the woman bashfully rubbed against my chest.

"Mr. Edwards, playing such a high-stakes game? Is this what you meant by seeking thrills?"

"This is nothing. I have bigger games, do you want to play?"

By the time the footage and the surrounding people reacted from their shock, I had already left with the woman in a taxi.

The video ended there.

Lisa's eyes were red with fury. She had lost all reason.

She slapped me hard across the face.

"Ethan Edwards, are you even human?!"

"How could you do something so disgusting and deranged?"

She had put all her strength into that slap, but the pain resonated in my heart.

It was the same in my previous life. Her initial defense turned into fury.

She didn't even ask what was going on with me, instead joining everyone in branding me a murderer.

The onlookers, who hadn't known the full story, now pointed fingers and cursed at me.

"Why don't you just die? No remorse for killing people, and then saying such things!"

"Not only vicious but shameless! Married and still messing around with other women. I bet the two of them were doing something in the car that caused it to lose control and hit people."

"He's worse than an animal! How does such a person deserve to live? I want to beat him to death just looking at him!"

They grew more and more agitated. Some even clenched their fists, ready to charge. The police, fearing the situation would spiral out of control, had already set up a cordon.

The officer spoke to me sternly.

"We've already reviewed the roadside surveillance footage, and the images are largely consistent with what the public has reported."

"All the evidence now points to you. So please cooperate honestly and provide contact information for the other person in the car, to facilitate further investigation."

4.

Needless to say, even if I asked the police to extract fingerprints from the car now, it would surely be futile.

The party trying to frame me must have prepared thoroughly.

In this moment, I felt like I was back in my previous life.

That despair of being unable to defend myself enveloped me deeply.

I stood up and said with unusual firmness.

"I was at home the entire time and didn't leave. I also don't know the woman in the footage."

"Officer, you should investigate this thoroughly. My arrest isn't the issue, but the real culprit will go free, and the family of three who died will not rest in peace."

Hearing this, the officer looked at me as if I were an unrepentant criminal.

"There are so many witnesses and material evidence, including the dashcam in your car, all clearly recording you."

"In such a short time, do you think someone could fake this?"

"If the perpetrator isn't you, then who is it? Or do you have an identical twin?"

Yes, I wanted to know too, who was it?

If I had an identical twin, this situation could be easily explained.

But I was absolutely certain that I was an only child.

In fact, after my mother nearly died giving birth to me, my father had a vasectomy, so it was impossible for me to have even an illegitimate child who looked exactly like me.

Then who was impersonating me, and even mimicking my voice?

This question, even now, I couldn't understand.

Seeing me shake my head helplessly, the surrounding crowd started cursing again.

"The evidence is so clear, and he's still trying to argue his way out of it. I think he's just like those ancient villains, a walking beast."

"I wonder what kind of parents raised such a son. If I were his parents and knew he was like this, I'd have smothered him at birth!"

"Exactly! Parents who raise such a son probably aren't good people themselves. If I knew who they were, I'd spit at them in the street to vent my anger."

"Officer, hurry up and arrest him. And investigate thoroughly, maybe he took some illegal drugs when he fled, otherwise how could he be so shameless? In time, it might metabolize."

...

The police, seeing several people about to charge past the cordon to attack me, had no choice but to take me to the police station.

I knew by now that this incident must have spread online.

Even netizens had probably dug up information on me and my parents, preparing to show up at their door to 'deliver justice.'

In my previous life, after I was taken away, my parents were besieged at home.

They suffered various assaults and verbal abuses. One day, when they went out, they were run over and killed by the victims' family.

And I didn't fare much better during my detention. My cellmates heard about my case.

Though criminals themselves, they transformed into righteous avengers, beating me to death.

I didn't want to live this life over again only to meet the same end.

This time, I had to protect my parents and clear my name.

My mind raced, fragments of memories from both lives flashing.

There must be something I overlooked before.

Just as the officer was about to put handcuffs on me, I urgently called out.

"I know who the real perpetrator is!"