My Second Chance
Copyright© 2026 by BillMax
Chapter 10: Mother and Daughter
Bryce Thornton was an orphan. She’d never had elders to speak of, so how could she owe Marcus Hale a favor?
Clearly the man was bold in action and reckless in speech. Nothing special about him.
Remembering how she’d briefly valued him, Bryce felt a rush of annoyance. Watching his taxi pull away, she muttered, “Bastard. Play me like that and we’ll see if you’ve got the guts to come back for that million.”
Right after she spoke, her phone rang. An anxious voice said, “Boss, something bad happened. One of the models at the company injured someone at a bar—”
In the back of the taxi, Marcus was sorting through memories from his previous life.
Pork prices were indeed falling and had been for some time, yet he knew that in two days a highly infectious swine flu virus would begin spreading quietly around the world.
A week later, when it erupted into a major outbreak, it would draw the attention of governments everywhere. By then it would be too late.
The hardest-hit regions in the country would be the Southeast and the northern grain belt. Millions of pigs would be culled and buried. Domestic pork prices would triple within days. International live-hog futures would surge nearly fivefold.
This was his best chance to expand his capital rapidly, and he couldn’t let it slip.
As for the license issue, those were excuses. Trivialities any trade intermediary could resolve—and certainly no challenge for Marcus.
He’d approached Bryce because her biological father had been his mentor in prison in his past life. Much of his rapid rise after incarceration had come from that man’s guidance.
It was a debt of gratitude. Even though it hadn’t happened in this life yet, he wouldn’t forget it.
While he was thinking, his phone rang. Unknown number. Elena’s voice came through the speaker.
“Mr. Hale, I hope I’m not disturbing your rest.”
Marcus curled his lip. “Disturb or not, you’ve already called. What’s the matter?”
Elena’s eye twitched on the other end.
This was the first time a man had answered her call with such a terrible attitude. If he didn’t seem unnervingly prescient, she wouldn’t have bothered contacting him at all.
“Actually, it’s not me looking for you. It’s Serena. He doesn’t have your number.”
Marcus’s brows shot up. “He didn’t get stabbed by Mengmeng, did he?”
Half an hour earlier, after parting with Elena, Serena Blake had gone to a nightclub to meet his friends as planned.
As high rollers, they received VIP treatment everywhere. Drinks had barely arrived when a dozen hostesses were sent to their table.
All were attractive, figures varying. Serena’s eyes settled on a girl with large eyes and waved her over with a smile. “What should I call you?”
“Hi, big brother. My name is Mengmeng.”
Her smile bloomed sweetly, her voice cloying. To Serena, it felt like a snakebite. He sprang up.
His friends asked what was wrong, but not knowing how to explain, he claimed he felt unwell and asked Mengmeng to leave.
“So you don’t like a pretty girl? Has Serena’s taste changed? I heard there are plenty of handsome guys here too. Want me to call one over for you?”
“Shut up. If I were into that, I’d have those guys blow up your asses.” Serena cursed while his friends laughed. One of them, a guy named Zhang, pulled Mengmeng back to his side as she was leaving.
Serena felt uneasy through the rest of the revelry, sneaking glances at Mengmeng while tuning out the toasts and booming music.
Something was off. Did Marcus actually have a gift for prophecy?
No. Mengmeng sounded like a stage name, and a common one. Probably a fluke. Street-fortune-teller luck. Nothing to fuss over.
After consoling himself, Serena finally calmed down, cursed himself for being cowardly, and raised his glass for another round.
Then he glanced at Mengmeng again and saw her pull a shimmering knife from her handbag.
“Watch out!”
Without thinking, Serena hurled his wine glass at her. Mengmeng yelped. Her hand jerked. The knife missed Zhang’s body but sliced a long gash across his chest.
The hostesses screamed and scattered. Chaos erupted. Only Serena stepped forward and pinned Mengmeng to the floor.
Turning back and seeing Zhang drenched in blood, Serena felt a chill of real fear.
If Marcus hadn’t warned him, would he still be alive?
He’d seen clearly—the knife had been aimed straight at his friend’s heart.