Chapter 1

On the very first day my biological parents brought me home, the fake heir framed me for stealing and even got my fiancée to break off our engagement in front of everyone.

Then my entire family told me to get out and go back to the countryside.

Completely devastated, I wandered to the swimming pool, ready to end my life.

That was when the Ragdoll cat at my feet, the fake heir’s beloved pet, suddenly spoke.

【For fuck’s sake! Don’t jump, you idiot!】

【In our last life, that two-faced bastard drove you to your death, stole the multi-billion-dollar inheritance your grandmother left you, and then tortured me to death too!】

I froze, one foot already hovering over the water.

The cat smacked a paw against the ground impatiently, hatred blazing in its bright blue eyes.

【And that bastard’s biological parents are serial killers! The evidence is hidden inside the teddy bear in his room!】

【So quit trying to kill yourself, go find the evidence, and let’s take him down together!】

I stared at the cat, completely dumbfounded.

But after a moment, I changed my mind.

If my family wanted to throw away their real son so badly, then I’d make sure they lived to regret it.

I turned around, marched into the kitchen, grabbed the biggest meat cleaver I could find, and kicked open the fake heir’s bedroom door.

Chapter 1

The entire family was gathered around Ryan Spencer, fussing over him.

The moment they saw me standing in the doorway with a cleaver in my hand, their faces went white.

My oldest sister, Claire Spencer, reacted first. She shot to her feet and stepped protectively in front of Ryan.

“Ethan! Have you lost your mind?”

I glanced down at the cat.

The instant it caught my eye, it bolted from beside my feet.

It sprang onto the bed and swiped the teddy bear straight onto the floor.

Ryan’s expression stiffened.

For a split second, something vicious flashed in his eyes.

Then it vanished.

He calmly scooped the cat into his arms.

“Ethan, even if you’re angry with me, you shouldn’t be waving a knife around...”

The Ragdoll thrashed wildly in his arms.

【Get your filthy hands off me! You reek of fake innocence! Idiot, grab the teddy bear!】

I tightened my grip on the cleaver and started forward.

“Enough!”

My mother stormed over and slapped a train ticket against my face.

“You stole Ryan’s necklace and refused to admit it. Now you’re threatening your own family with a knife?”

“We don’t have a son as badly raised as you!”

“Take the ticket and get back to the countryside. Now!”

The ticket fluttered to the floor.

Light as air.

Just like the affection they had for me.

I gave a cold laugh and headed straight for the teddy bear.

The moment Ryan realized what I was after, his expression finally changed.

He cried out and threw himself over it.

“Don’t touch it! Lauren gave me that for our anniversary! Leave it alone!”

The cat’s voice exploded in my head.

【Hell yes, he’s panicking! The metal box is hidden near the seam by the bear’s butt! Cut it open!】

Gladly.

I raised the cleaver and brought it down hard across the teddy bear’s stomach.

The fabric split open instantly.

White stuffing burst everywhere.

“Ethan, you psycho!”

My father roared as he charged at me and grabbed me by the collar.

Claire seized the wrist holding the cleaver.

In the chaos, I ignored the fists landing on me and shoved my left hand deep into the torn teddy bear.

My fingers closed around something hard.

I yanked out a small metal box.

“Give that back!”

Ryan lunged for it.

As we struggled, the box slipped from our hands and crashed to the floor.

The lid popped open.

Inside was a stack of old, yellowed envelopes stained with dark, dried blood.

I had just bent down to read the writing when Ryan’s eyes suddenly hardened.

Then he threw himself backward.

His head slammed against the corner of a mahogany table.

He screamed and went limp.

“Ryan!”

My fiancée, Lauren Walker, rushed over like a madwoman and pulled him into her arms.

She turned toward me, disgust written all over her face.

“Ethan, if anything happens to Ryan, I swear I’ll kill you!”

I looked at her for a second.

She really was an idiot.

No wonder she and Ryan were such a perfect match.

I looked away and reached for the envelopes on the floor.

My mother slapped me across the face.

Then she snatched up the metal box without even glancing at what was inside and shoved it at Claire.

“Take this garbage out back and burn it!”

“I don’t want anything this disgusting anywhere near Ryan!”

Then she turned toward the servants.

“Someone drag this ungrateful bastard to the basement and lock him in!”

Chapter 2

The basement door slammed shut and locked behind me.

Not long after, footsteps sounded outside.

Ryan appeared on the other side of the iron bars with a bandage wrapped around his head, looking down at me from above.

My father didn’t even notice the malice on his face. He pointed at me and started cursing.

“You picked up every rotten habit imaginable out in the countryside. Stay down here and think about what you’ve done!”

With that, he turned and left.

The moment the hallway was empty, the wounded look vanished from Ryan’s face.

He walked over to the corner, grabbed the basement’s main heating valve, and twisted it hard.

Click.

The heat shut off completely.

“Ethan, did you really think destroying one stupid teddy bear would be enough to take me down?”

Ryan’s smile turned so vicious it sent a chill through me.

“You don’t even know where I hid my real secret. What makes you think you can beat me?”

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and stared coldly at him.

“Is dirty shit like this all you know how to do?”

“If it works, who cares?”

Ryan grinned smugly.

“I’m going to make this entire family hate you. By the time I’m done, you’ll be worth less to them than a dog.”

With that, he walked away.

It was the middle of winter.

Without heat, the basement temperature plummeted.

I shivered uncontrollably, my lips turning blue.

Just as I was starting to lose consciousness, something warm and furry burrowed into my arms.

The Ragdoll.

【Fuck! That two-faced bastard is actually trying to freeze you to death!】

The cat pressed itself against me, sharing its body heat.

Its voice was frantic.

【Hang in there! I’m going to get someone!】

With that, it sprang onto a high shelf and squeezed through the air vent.

A few minutes later, a tremendous crash came from the living room upstairs.

Then my father roared.

“My antique Ming Dynasty vase! What the hell is wrong with that damn cat?”

The cat had deliberately smashed my father’s favorite antique to save me.

Chaos erupted upstairs as the servants scrambled around trying to catch it.

Eventually, someone finally remembered I was still locked in the basement.

Claire was the first one down.

The moment she saw how pale I was, panic flashed across her face.

She quickly took off her coat and draped it around my shoulders.

“Why are you freezing? Who turned off the heat down here?”

Even my father’s expression softened.

He was just about to tell someone to bring me something hot to drink when Ryan suddenly widened his eyes and gasped.

“Oh my God! Ethan, did you turn off the heat yourself just to make Dad feel sorry for you?”

“Even if you hate me for taking Mom and Dad’s love away from you, you can’t gamble with your own life!”

“Were you really trying to threaten them by freezing yourself to death?”

Claire’s hands froze halfway through adjusting the coat around me.

My father’s expression instantly twisted with disgust.

“So now you’re pulling stunts like this for sympathy?”

He yanked Claire away from me.

“Leave him alone! Let him freeze! If he freezes to death, he’ll have no one to blame but himself!”

I watched them storm away.

I didn’t even have the strength to laugh.

The cat poked half its head through the air vent, practically grinding its teeth.

【Fuck! I’m so mad! These idiots are beyond saving!】

I pulled Claire’s coat tighter around myself.

“Ryan said something earlier. He said I didn’t even know where his real secret was hidden.”

“Those bloodstained letters were just a decoy, weren’t they?”

The cat’s blue eyes lit up.

【Exactly! That bastard has backup plans for his backup plans. The metal box only contained a list of the victims.】

【The real evidence is inside a waterproof bag hidden beneath the garden fountain!】

Late that night, the cat and I slipped into the backyard.

Gritting my teeth against the cold, I reached into the fountain and searched along the bottom.

Finally, my fingers brushed against something wedged into a crack beneath the statue’s base.

A heavy black waterproof bag.

I dragged myself out of the fountain and opened it with trembling hands.

Under the faint moonlight, I finally saw what was inside.

Photographs.

Photo after photo of the victims being tortured before their deaths.

And the background in every picture was unmistakable.

It was the Spencer family’s old estate.

Chapter 3

The next day was the reading of my grandmother’s will.

She had always loved me more than anyone.

Even after I went missing, she had made it clear in her will that all of her shares in the family conglomerate were to go to me.

When I kicked open the conference room door at the law firm with the Ragdoll in my arms, Ryan was just about to sign the share transfer documents.

The moment my mother saw me, her brows drew together.

“What are you doing here?” my father snapped, disgust written all over his face. “Haven’t you embarrassed us enough?”

I ignored him and slapped the gold heirloom my grandmother had left me onto the table.

“Grandma had a rule. Whoever holds this heirloom speaks with her authority.”

I looked coldly at Ryan.

“So an impostor like you has no right to sign anything.”

To my surprise, Ryan didn’t panic.

Instead, he sighed.

Then he pulled out an identical gold heirloom.

“Ethan, I know you hate me for taking Mom and Dad’s love away from you. And I know you want Grandma’s inheritance.”

His voice choked with emotion.

“But how could you have some cheap copy made and try to pass it off as something Grandma left behind? That’s incredibly disrespectful to her memory.”

Claire immediately pointed at me.

“Ethan, you’re unbelievable! How greedy can you get? You’d stoop this low just for money?”

Lauren gave a contemptuous laugh from beside her.

“I guess you can take the boy out of the countryside, but you can’t take the countryside out of the boy. You seriously thought you could show up with some cheap knockoff and fool everyone?”

The attorney looked troubled.

“Judging by the appearance and materials alone, these two pieces are identical. There’s no way to determine which one is genuine with the naked eye.”

He closed the file in front of him.

“To avoid any dispute, I recommend that both items be secured and the inheritance proceedings temporarily suspended. We can have an internationally recognized authentication expert examine them next week.”

The cat instantly arched its back in my arms.

Its frantic voice rang inside my head.

【Hell no! You can’t wait until next week! Ryan will have someone switch them before the appraisal. By then, your real one will magically become the fake!】

My eyes turned cold.

Wait?

Forget that.

I was settling this today.

I walked straight toward Ryan.

Before he could react, I ripped the gold pendant from around his neck.

Then I picked up mine from the table.

“Ethan, what are you doing? Put those down!” Claire shouted as she rushed toward me.

I stepped back.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, I smashed both pieces against the floor.

Everyone froze.

I pointed at the shattered pieces and gave a cold laugh.

“No need to wait until next week now.”

I looked at the attorney.

“Take a good look.”

Everyone lowered their eyes.

Ryan’s pendant had been crushed completely flat.

There was nothing inside.

Mine was different.

When its outer gold casing split apart, a small signet seal rolled out from inside.

The Ragdoll smugly licked one paw in my arms.

【Ha! Your grandmother was a genius when it came to hidden mechanisms. Let’s see that two-faced bastard talk his way out of this one!】

The attorney’s hands began to shake with excitement.

He carefully picked up the seal, pressed it into an ink pad, then stamped it over the concealed security mark at the bottom of the will.

A perfect match.

“There’s no mistake!”

The attorney raised his voice.

“Ethan Spencer is the sole legal heir to the entire Spencer family business empire!”

Ryan’s face drained of color.

He stared at me with pure resentment.

Claire and Lauren looked just as awful.

I took a moment to enjoy their expressions.

Then, feeling better than I had in days, I picked up the cat and walked out.

Chapter 4

After inheriting Grandma’s estate, I moved out of the Spencer house for good and into the hillside mansion she had left me.

The moment I walked through the door, the longtime housekeeper, Mr. Dawson, and the gardener, Mrs. Dawson, hurried over to welcome me.

Mr. Dawson looked to be in his fifties, with a warm, kindly face. Mrs. Dawson was a sturdy, plain-looking woman who seemed honest and hardworking.

“Mr. Spencer, you’re finally home!”

Mrs. Miller’s eyes reddened. She wiped her hands on a dish towel and looked at me with concern.

“Your grandmother would be so happy to know you’ve come home. I made you a special herbal tonic to help you rest. Drink it while it’s still hot.”

She picked up a steaming bowl and offered it to me.

The dark broth gave off a strange medicinal scent.

I was just about to take it when the Ragdoll in my arms suddenly puffed up.

【Fuck! Don’t drink that!】

【These two old assholes aren’t innocent at all! They’re Ryan’s biological parents! The serial killers!】

My hand froze in midair.

Holy hell.

I’d almost walked straight into my death.

Good kitty.

Very good kitty.

The Ragdoll proudly puffed out its chest.

【That soup is loaded with a high dose of hallucinogens. One bowl and you’ll start acting completely insane!】

【Then the Spencer family can have you committed to a psychiatric hospital, declare you mentally incompetent, strip you of control over the inheritance, and put Ryan in charge of everything!】

I lowered my eyes, hiding the murderous chill in them.

I accepted the bowl but didn’t drink.

Instead, I slowly stirred it with the spoon.

Mrs. Dawson stood beside me, a hint of impatience creeping into her voice.

“Drink up, Mr. Spencer. It won’t work as well once it gets cold.”

I suddenly smiled.

“Mrs. Dawson, this smells wonderful.”

I looked up at her, my smile faintly mocking.

“Ryan used to drink your tonics all the time too, didn’t he?”

Her eyes darted away.

She gave an awkward laugh.

“Mr. Spencer, you must be joking. Mr. Ryan is far too important for someone like me to personally make things for him.”

“Is that so?”

I shot to my feet and grabbed her by the collar.

“Well, you’ve worked so hard for the Spencer family all these years. Something this good shouldn’t go to waste.”

I shoved the bowl toward her mouth.

“You drink it first.”

Mrs. Dawson violently twisted her head away, both hands pushing against my wrist.

“No! I can’t! I’m just a servant. How could I possibly drink something prepared for you?”

My gaze turned icy.

“If you’re too scared to drink it, then you must have something to hide.”

Seeing things spiral out of control, Mr. Dawson hurried forward.

“Please calm down, Mr. Spencer! My wife doesn’t know her place and upset you. I’ll take her away and deal with her myself!”

He pried my hand loose and pulled Mrs. Dawson behind him.

The two lowered their heads, but not before shooting me a hateful glare.

Then they practically fled the living room.

I watched them disappear before pouring the poisoned tonic straight down the drain.

Once they were gone, the Ragdoll gracefully jumped onto the dining table and began licking one paw.

【Meow. Don’t celebrate yet, idiot.】

【That worthless fiancée of yours, Lauren, may be stupid, but she’s holding on to a scandal from your grandmother’s past that could destroy everything.】

【Ryan convinced her to expose it at the company gala tomorrow and ruin your reputation in front of everyone.】