Chapter 1

On my younger brother's 18th birthday, our parents book the most expensive revolving restaurant in the city to celebrate with him.

But all because a waiter accidentally splashes a bit of water on the edge of his sneakers, my brother, Samuel Stone, blows up on the spot.

"Do you have any idea how rare these are? They're limited-edition worldwide! Not even your life is worth as much as them!"

The waiter, Rowan Lane, shakes in fright and bows his head, apologizing profusely.

But Samuel just keeps going and makes a mountain out of a molehill. He even orders Rowan to get on his knees and lick his shoes clean.

Our parents, who have always spoiled Samuel rotten, jump in to back him up. They yell at Rowan like he's committed some unforgivable crime.

When this happens in my last life, I can't stand it. I step in and talk my family down, finally ending the farce. Unbeknownst to me, someone films the entire thing and posts it online.

People on the internet call me kind and brave. By comparison, Samuel's tantrum makes him look like an entitled, vicious brat. He gets torn apart across every platform.

He holds a grudge against me for it. After tricking me up onto the rooftop of a 30-story building, he shoves me off without a second thought.

From that height, I hit the concrete and die on impact.

When I open my eyes again, I'm back in that restaurant—right at the moment Samuel is pointing at Rowan and cursing him out.

What Samuel doesn't know is that this "nobody" he's screaming at is actually the only son of the city's richest man, who went missing years ago.

All the humiliation and insult Samuel dishes out that day is going to come back as one hell of a revenge.

Chapter 1

Samuel Stone, my brother, glared at the waiter in front of him and snapped, "Are you blind? You just ruined my entire birthday celebration!"

The waiter froze, then quickly lowered his head and apologized. "I'm so sorry, sir. It was my mistake. I can pay for the cleaning, if that's okay?"

Samuel shoved him, his voice rough and aggressive. "Are you kidding me? These are a global limited-edition pair with a superstar's autograph. A drop of water on them and they're done for!"

He lifted his chin, full of swagger. "Where's your manager? Get him out here, now!"

My mother stepped up and patted his shoulder, soothing him. "Don't get so worked up, sweetheart. It's bad for your health."

She then turned to the waiter and shot him a vicious look, her voice as sharp as a whip. "How dare you upset Sam like that! Just wait—you're getting fired!"

My father frowned, his face icy as he stared the waiter down.

In my last life, this was the exact moment I'd stepped in and talked them down, doing everything I could to stop things from getting worse.

And what had I gotten for it? Samuel's resentment and getting pushed off a building.

The poison-laced words Samuel had whispered before shoving me off the building were still ringing in my ears. "It's all your fault for pretending to be some saint and wrecking my reputation, Jeremiah. You deserve to die!"

The terror of free-falling from the 30th floor, the agony of bones shattering on impact—that pain was still seared into my memory. I couldn't help trembling.

My arm brushed against a chair, making it rattle.

Samuel turned and glanced at me, his expression full of mockery. "Didn't you used to work at a hotel, Jeremiah? Do you feel sorry for this guy, seeing him like this? Are you thinking of sticking up for him?"

Before I could answer, my mother shot me a furious glare and barked, "Jeremiah Stone! Sam is your brother. Don't you dare take a stranger's side against him!"

I clenched my fists tightly, a bitter taste rising in my throat.

I did pity the waiter, but if I helped him, I knew I'd just be repeating the same nightmare. After a long moment of silence, I concealed all my emotions and said calmly, "I'm not. I'm just hungry, and I'd like to start eating."

Samuel snorted, looking contemptuous. "Ugh. The fact that you grew up in the sticks is really showing. You're so easy to impress that it's pathetic. Never seen anything nice in your life, have you? All you care about is food."

My father's expression turned impatient, and he let out a cold, annoyed huff. My mother rolled her eyes and snapped, "How did I end up having a kid as useless as you? You're an embarrassment to our family. You and Sam are both my children, but you can't even compare to him!"

My fists, hanging by my sides, clenched even tighter. My parents had brought me into this world, yet they hadn't spent even a second raising me.

For as long as I could remember, they'd left me in the countryside to grow up with my elderly grandmother. Later, when my father's business took off and money started pouring in, they had Samuel. They treated him like the family's lucky charm and spoiled him rotten.

It wasn't until after Grandma passed away that my parents finally brought me back to live with them. Even then, they'd never been kind to me. Even the hired help felt free to snap their fingers at me and order me around.

Now, my mother was calling me an embarrassment to the Stone family.

I sneered inwardly.

I wondered what the looks on their faces would be like when they realized their so-called lucky charm was the one who would drag the Stone family to its downfall.

Chapter 2

When the manager hurried over, Samuel jabbed a finger at the waiter, puffed up with arrogance. He barked, "Your waiter ruined my new shoes. I want an explanation, and I want it right now!"

My mother folded her arms across her chest and snorted coldly. "My precious son was having such a nice birthday celebration, and now your waiter has ruined it. You and your restaurant had better make this right, or we're not letting this go!"

The manager's face went pale. He hastily bowed and scraped as he apologized, then spun around and glared furiously at the waiter. "Rowan, what the hell is wrong with you? How useless can you be? Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Samuel!"

The young man, Rowan, went as white as a sheet. His voice shook as he explained, "I've already apologized, Mr. Wade. I swear I didn't do it on purpose. Mr. Samuel suddenly bumped into my tray, and that's when—"

Before he could finish speaking, Samuel punched him squarely in the face. "What, are you trying to pin this on me now?"

Rowan clutched his cheek, his eyes burning red.

My father shot the manager, Mr. Wade, a cold, threatening look. "Look at how even a lowly waiter dares to talk back to a customer. Is this what passes for customer service in your restaurant, Mr. Wade? It looks like we'll have to move all of Stone Group's business dinners somewhere else in the future."

All color instantly drained from Mr. Wade's face. He whipped around to bark at Rowan, "Apologize to Mr. Samuel right now, Rowan!"

Under the weight of every pair of eyes in the room, Rowan bowed stiffly. "Mr. Samuel, I'm sorry."

Samuel stared at Rowan's naturally handsome face, and a flash of jealousy flickered in his eyes. "If saying sorry fixed everything, why would we need the police? You think a half-assed apology cuts it?"

Rowan pressed his lips together. "Then what do you want me to do, sir?"

Samuel's lips curved in a cruel smile, and his voice turned icy. "Get on your knees and lick my shoes clean."

Rowan's head snapped up, humiliation filling his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Samuel, but I can't do that. Please pick something else."

Rage flared in Samuel's eyes. He grabbed a glass of red wine from the table and flung it straight into Rowan's face. Scarlet liquid streamed down Rowan's hair, soaking into his collar and shirt.

Samuel looked at him imperiously, his lips twisted in open contempt. "Who do you think you are, some kind of saint? You're a nobody who carries plates for a living, and you think you're in any position to negotiate with me? Trash like you isn't even worthy of worshiping at my feet."

Rowan stood there, soaked and humiliated, his hands balling into tight fists.

Mr. Wade's expression turned dark as he warned, "Rowan, if you don't do exactly as Mr. Samuel says, you can get the hell out of this restaurant right now. And don't even think about seeing a paycheck this month!"

He paused, then dropped his voice low. "I heard your grandmother's still waiting on money for her treatment. You sure you want to gamble her life for a little bit of pride?"

Rowan jolted. What little color he had drained from his face. With his jaw clenched, he slowly loosened his fists, and his knees began to bend.

Samuel laughed in triumph, lifting his foot to hook the toe of his shoe under Rowan's chin. "Hurry up. Lick it clean for me."

The filthy shoe pressed against Rowan's cheek. He shut his eyes, shame swallowing him whole.

I couldn't take it anymore. I shot to my feet and wedged myself between them, blocking Rowan from Samuel's view. "That's enough. He already apologized, so let it go."

Samuel arched a brow and glared at me. "What's this? Have you suddenly grown a conscience and decided that you want to stand up for him after all?"

Chapter 3

I ignored Samuel's taunt, shrugged off my jacket, and draped it over Rowan's shoulders.

He flinched, then looked up at me and said in a small voice, "Thank you."

People all around the restaurant were staring. Samuel gritted his teeth, then spun toward our parents and wailed, "Mom, Dad, look at Jeremiah! He's taking a stranger's side and bullying me!"

My mother's face went dark. She pinched my arm hard. "So your loyalty's to outsiders now? I swear you're nothing but an ingrate! Sam is your brother, yet you're helping some nobody instead. Do you have any idea how expensive his shoes are?"

I gritted my teeth through the pain. "Just let the waiter go. I'll pay for the shoes."

My mother snorted and tore into me. "You'll pay? With what? Doesn't your money come from our family? Acting generous with our cash now, are you?"

I shook my head and pulled out my wallet. "This is money I earned from my job."

The moment Samuel heard that, his tone turned sarcastic. "Mom, Dad, what does Jeremiah mean? He's the Stone family's eldest son, yet he went and got a job for pocket money. Does he want people to hear about this and think that we're mistreating him?"

My mother's expression frosted over. She snatched my wallet and hurled it to the floor, jabbing a finger in my face as she shrieked, "I get it now. You went out and got a job so you could make everyone pity you and think we're abusing you, didn't you? How can you be this manipulative?"

My wallet hit the ground and burst open, a few sad bills fluttering out. Samuel stepped right onto them, grinding his sole against the money, sneering. "Wow. All this big talk, and all you have are these few lousy bills. This wouldn't even cover the tax on my shoes!"

He turned back to Rowan, his eyes even more malicious than before. "I'll say this once more—lick my shoes clean!"

Rowan's fingers twisted in the hem of his shirt, his lips pressed so hard together that they'd gone white.

Mr. Wade was beside himself with rage. He hissed, "What are you waiting for? Do it! You wanna keep this job or not?"

Rowan shook all over, his eyes turning red from unshed tears.

My chest tightened. I wanted to step in, but my mother shoved me hard and snapped, "Are you still trying to play the hero, Jeremiah? You open your mouth one more time, and you'll be disowned from this family. As far as I'm concerned, I never gave birth to an ingrate like you!"

I stumbled into the corner of the table, a sharp pain shooting through my waist.

My father frowned at me, then snapped, "You're a disgrace!"

Then, he turned to Mr. Wade, his tone turning cold and heavy. "Mr. Wade, our patience has its limits. If you don't deal with this matter to our satisfaction, don't expect us to ever do business with you again."

Sweat beaded on Mr. Wade's forehead. He grabbed the back of Rowan's neck in a vice grip and tried to force his head down.

As Rowan struggled with everything he had, a small gold pendant slipped out from inside his collar.

Samuel's eyes flashed with greed. He lunged forward and grabbed it. "What's this?"

I recognized it instantly. It was an heirloom passed down in the Graham family, the city's wealthiest family. In my last life, it was how they'd tracked Rowan down and reunited with him.

The pendant glowed with a soft, warm sheen under the lights. One look at it was enough to tell that it was worth a fortune.

Rowan hurriedly clutched at his collar and cried, "That's all I have left from my parents!"

Samuel yanked hard on the chain, leaving an angry red mark around Rowan's neck. The gold pendant dropped straight into his palm.

Rowan lunged to grab it back, but Samuel kicked him away. Turning the pendant over in his hand, Samuel's lips curled with satisfaction.

"Not bad," he drawled. "Didn't expect a broke waiter like you to be hiding something this nice."

He tied the broken chain in a knot and slipped the pendant around his neck, tilting his chin arrogantly. "Since you can't afford to pay me back for dirtying my shoes, this will cover the debt. It's worth maybe a fraction of what these shoes cost, so you should thank your lucky stars I'm willing to settle for this."

Rowan's eyes turned bloodshot as he tried to get to his feet. "I'm begging you, please give it back. It's the only thing my parents left me!"

Samuel stared down at the pendant, admiring it. He didn't even spare Rowan a glance. "You're just a broke waiter. Your parents probably dug through trash just to survive. No way they could afford a gold pendant like this."

His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Unless… Don't tell me you stole this."

Chapter 4

My mother leaned in too, staring hard at the gold pendant. "With quality like this, it's worth at least tens of thousands of dollars. How can a nobody like him have something like this? He definitely stole it!"

My father frowned, his tone turning icy as he spoke to Mr. Wade. "Your staff is stealing from guests, Mr. Wade. Your reputation is going to be ruined if this gets out."

Mr. Wade broke out in a cold sweat. He grabbed Rowan by the arm and snapped, "That pendant you stole is Mr. Samuel's to deal with as he sees fit. Hand it over and apologize, now!"

Rowan shook his head desperately, his voice already hoarse. "I didn't steal it! It really was left to me by my parents!"

Samuel toyed with the pendant, then lifted his foot and ground his heel down on Rowan's fingers, looking down at him from above. "You say you didn't steal it and we're just supposed to believe you? Fine, then. Let's call the cops. Let them figure out who it really belongs to. However…"

He paused, pressing down harder with the tip of his shoe. Rowan let out a muffled groan of pain.

"Once the cops are here, that theft charge is going to stick, and you're going to prison." Samuel said with relish.

Rowan's lips trembled, and his face turned ashen.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I lunged forward and shoved Samuel away. "That's enough, Samuel! Give him back the pendant! Or do you want everyone to think the Stone family throws its weight around and bullies others?"

He stumbled back a couple of steps from the force of my push, then exploded with rage. He threw himself at me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back. He snarled, "Who the hell do you think you are, Jeremiah? You think you get to lecture me?"

His grip tightened, sending a sharp, tearing pain across my scalp.

Off to the side, my mother screeched, "How dare you push my darling Sam! Are you out of your mind?"

Blinded by the pain, I swung my fist up on instinct and punched Samuel hard. The sound of my fist coming into contact with his jaw echoed through the restaurant, and the room went dead silent.

Samuel clutched his jaw and stared at me in disbelief. Then, he let out a furious roar. "Jeremiah Stone! Did you just hit me? How dare you!"

He pounced on me like a madman. I wasn't in time to dodge, so he slammed right into me, knocking me to the floor.

My hand landed on shattered glass, slicing a long gash across my palm. Blood immediately began pouring out.

My mother acted like she didn't see it at all. She rushed to help Samuel to his feet before turning to shriek at me, "You ungrateful traitor! How dare you side with an outsider against your own brother! Sounds to me like you don't want to be part of this family anymore!"

I stared at the blood streaming from my hand and let out a bitter laugh. "Was there ever a place for me in this family?"

I looked up, meeting my parents' enraged gazes head-on. I said, my voice flat and final, "In that case, I'm done. I'm cutting ties with the Stone family right here and now. From this moment on, I'm no longer one of you."

My father let out a cold, mocking snort. "Fine by me. I'd love to see how you manage without us. And let me make one thing clear—don't expect a single cent from this family from now on!"

Rowan struggled to his feet, looking at me with worry. "Sir, don't bother about me. Don't fall out with your family because of me…"

Samuel arched a brow, his tone dripping with fake sympathy. "My, my, how touching. Tell you what—I'll be generous today. You don't have to pay for the shoes anymore."

Rowan relaxed just a little, only for Samuel to smirk cruelly as he changed his tune. "But you're going to get back on your knees and prostrate yourself at my feet. Do that, and I'll let you off the hook."

Samuel paused, then jerked his chin in my direction. "Oh, and I'll let your little knight in shining armor here off the hook, too."

With that, he lifted his foot and stomped down hard on my bleeding hand. His sole dug into my torn flesh, and a jolt of pain shot through me.

I gritted my teeth and slowly shook my head at Rowan.

His eyes filled with despair and guilt. In the end, his knees began to bend.

Just then, the restaurant's front doors flew open with a bang. A group of professionally trained bodyguards streamed in and quickly fanned out, surrounding us.

Right after that, a commanding voice rang out. "Who dares make my son kneel?"