Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
My dad was the billionaire chairman of Vantage Group, and I was his only biological son.
Yet, my mother and sister let the charity case they sponsored pose as me.
At university, Brandon Cole bragged to everyone that he was the sole heir of the White family. He even dared to take my seat at today’s annual shareholder meeting.
He sat on the executive platform, looking down at me with a sneer.
"Ethan, stop embarrassing yourself. You’ve seen the luxury now, so go back to your gutter. This isn’t a place for trash like you."
"After all, I’m the only true heir to Vantage Group."
In my past life, my mother and sister had beaten all the fight out of me. Faced with Brandon’s mocking and threats, I had only bowed my head and endured it.
Too bad for them—I was reborn.
Right in front of the entire board, I stepped up onto the stage and slapped Brandon across the face.
"A stray dog begging at our doorstep dares to bark at his master?"
Every eye in the room locked onto me. Nobody expected someone as timid as me to lift a hand.
My mother, Eleanor, who had always doted on Brandon, ignored everyone’s stares and rushed forward to wrap him in her arms.
My sister, Chloe, lunged at me and kicked me hard in the stomach.
Her sharp stiletto heel dug into my gut. Pain exploded through my abdomen.
I fell to my knees on the cold marble floor, cold sweat beading on my forehead.
Chloe wasn’t satisfied. She grabbed a fistful of my hair, jerked my head back, and slammed her hand against my cheek over and over, screaming:
"You ungrateful piece of trash! Are you out of your mind? How dare you hit our young master!"
"Did my charity make you think you could walk all over us?!"
I didn't beg for mercy like I used to. I just stared at her coldly, my eyes filled with pure rage and disgust.
I had been so blind. I had actually treated her as my real sister, while she only used me as a punching bag.
I had actually dreamed of earning a shred of love from her.
I didn't cry. I didn't cower. I just looked past her shoulder and smiled chillingly at Brandon. The look in my eyes made him shiver. He immediately grabbed Chloe’s arm.
"Chloe, look at the way he’s staring at me. He’s insane! It’s terrifying!"
Chloe had never seen me look so ruthless. A flicker of unease crossed her face, but she raised her hand to hit me again out of habit.
"You dare glare at him? You dare call the family who feeds you beggars? Is this how you repay our charity?!"
I turned my eyes to Chloe.
"Charity? I am the sole legitimate heir of Vantage Group. Why the hell would I need your charity?"
My words set Chloe off. She grabbed my throat, her long acrylic nails digging straight into my skin.
Eleanor’s face hardened. She took the microphone on the podium and faced the entire boardroom.
"Everyone, Ethan is just a poor scholarship student our family sponsored out of pity. He didn’t do well in school, but we wanted to give him one more chance by showing him how the corporate world works."
"I never imagined he would become so twisted with jealousy over Brandon that he'd resort to violence. It's disgusting!"
I stared at the woman talking into the mic, completely numb. My voice trembled with bitter rage.
"You’re my mother. Does your conscience not hurt when you lie like that?"
Even though I had prepared myself for her betrayal, hearing her disown me in public still felt like a dagger to the chest.
Eleanor didn't care about what I said. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face.
"Shut your mouth, you beggar! How dare you speak to me like that!"
"Security! Drag him out! Teach him a lesson so he knows who really owns Vantage Group!"
"Let me tell you something, Ethan. Don’t get any crazy ideas. Did you really think receiving a few handouts made you part of this family?"
Brandon’s shoulders shook, tears welling in his eyes as he looked at Eleanor and Chloe.
"Mom, Chloe... I was always so nice to him. I never bullied him. Why is he doing this to me?"
Seeing Brandon play the victim pushed Chloe over the edge. She turned around, shouting at the guards to call the police.
"Security, get in here! Throw this lunatic out! Don't let him ruin our event!"A few security guards hesitated. They looked between me, Eleanor, and Chloe, noticing the unmistakable family resemblance in our faces.
Seeing their hesitation, Chloe snapped:
"If you don't drag this troublemaker out right now, consider yourselves fired tomorrow morning!"
I looked at the crowd, feeling a sudden surge of fierce authority. I shouted at the guards:
"I am the only heir to Vantage Group! I am Arthur White's only son! Let’s see who among you dares to touch me!"
My voice echoed through the massive boardroom.
To the wealthy shareholders sitting around the table, however, it sounded like a ridiculous joke.
Smirks spread across their faces. Cruel laughter broke out.
Their sharp, mocking chuckles pierced the air like blades.
"He got into college, yet he’s completely delusional. Next thing you know, he’ll claim he’s the President."
"The White family really drew the short straw. They sponsored an ungrateful leech, and now he wants to steal the family fortune."
Chloe stood by the podium, a triumphant smirk curling on her lips as she joined Brandon in mocking me.
"See? No one is stupid here. No one believes your pathetic lies."
I looked at Eleanor, desperately searching for a single trace of maternal warmth. There was none.
"Aren't you leaving yet?" she hissed coldly. "Everyone here is high society. If you keep making a scene, no one can save you."
Every word they threw at me cut deep.
"Where are the guards? Drag this psycho out! Don't let him spew nonsense in our boardroom!"
I tried to fight back, fighting for an ounce of dignity, but three massive guards pinned me firmly against the floor. I couldn't move an inch.
Seeing me pinned, Brandon grew bolder. He strutted over and kicked me viciously in the ribs.
"My kindness was wasted on a dog. I don't need to be nice to you anymore."
The shareholders watched the circus, some even clapping in amusement. Their cold indifference sent a chill through my spine.
I wondered if they would still be laughing when they realized I was the real young master of the White family.
A couple of younger associates tried to speak up for me, but the crowd's mockery quickly drowned them out, and security ushered them out as well.
I glared furiously at Brandon, but my words were directed straight at Chloe:
"Fine. Call me crazy. Say I have no right to speak here. But I wonder... does a bastard like you have any right to speak here, Chloe?"
Chloe had looked at me with pure disgust a second ago, treating me like a sacrificial lamb.
Hearing my words, her face paled instantly. She exchanged a panicked glance with Eleanor.
I knew the truth all along. Chloe and Brandon weren't White family blood. They were the illegitimate children Eleanor had with her secret lover, Charles Cole.
That was why they staged this coup today. In their eyes, I was just an obstacle to be wiped out.The shareholders didn't catch my drift, but the three of them knew exactly what I meant. Eleanor gave Chloe a subtle look. Chloe forced herself to look composed, though her voice shook:
"You crazy beggar, now you're questioning my identity? We gave you too much food, and now you don't know your place!"
Pinned against the floor, I forced my head up and laughed coldly. "I return those exact words to you."
Suddenly, Chloe noticed the pendant around my neck. It was an heirloom my grandmother had left me before she died—my most treasured possession.
She stepped forward in her heels, crouched down, yanked it off my neck, and threw it across the room.
The snap of the chain broke the last bit of strength holding me together.
Chloe still wasn't satisfied. She unlocked her phone, opened an Instagram Live stream, and aimed the camera at my face.
"Drama of the year, everyone! The charity case we sponsored went completely insane, claiming he's the sole heir to Vantage Group! How hilarious is this?"
At that moment, my dignity was trampled into dust.
I stared desperately at my grandmother's necklace on the floor. Chloe shoved the lens right into my face, broadcasting my tears and humiliation to tens of thousands of viewers.
I looked at Eleanor, feeling completely helpless. She was once the woman I trusted most in the world. I thought she would stop this madness.
Instead, she walked over coldly, pulled Brandon behind Chloe, and murmured:
"Stream him all you want, but don't show Brandon or the board members. It’ll hurt our public image."
Hearing those words, the last warmth in my chest froze over.
In this family, I wasn't even human to them. I was just trash to be stepped on.
She had never loved me. I had never mattered to any of them.
Lying on the icy floor, listening to the room's mocking laughter, my head spun.
It had been the exact same in my previous life. One voice against an entire room of liars.
Back then, I chose to endure it, thinking stepping back would bring peace. But that retreat was the start of my personal hell.
The shares my father had set aside for me were seized by Eleanor and Chloe, handed on a silver platter to Brandon.
Back then, I was naive enough to think sacrificing my inheritance would buy me a chance to survive.
Instead, reality drove a knife through my heart.
The moment they stripped me of everything, Chloe revealed her true colors.
She orchestrated my kidnapping, shipping me off to an overseas cartel-run compound in South America.
Locked in a shipping container, I finally understood that every sacrifice I made had been meaningless.
They had planned to silence me from the very start.
As they tied me up, I begged Chloe for an explanation. She smiled cruelly:
"Don't blame us for being ruthless, Ethan. You just know too much. For Brandon to secure the throne of Vantage Group, you have to die."I couldn't understand it back then. I was my mother’s son. I was Chloe’s brother.
That overseas cartel compound became my graveyard.
I endured unspeakable torture, living through a living nightmare every single day.
Just as my life was fading away, I saw an international news report on a broken TV screen—Brandon had officially been appointed CEO of Vantage Group.
He stood under the flashing cameras, basking in congratulations, while I lay in a filthy corner, waiting for death.
With my final breath, I asked the cartel boss why they targeted me.
The men laughed, calling me a pathetic fool who had no idea how the world worked.
"Since you're dying anyway, I might as well tell you. You really thought Brandon was just some charity kid? You thought he fought you on his own?"
"Your mother has been sleeping with her secret lover, Charles Cole, for twenty years. Chloe, your mom, and Brandon—they are one happy family. You were the only outsider. Who else would they throw to the wolves?"
In that final moment, my heart shattered into dust.
Maybe God couldn't stomach the injustice. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the past.
Waking up from that nightmare, I saw through all their lies.
I wiped out the last shred of sentimentality in my heart, turning cold and unyielding.
"Vantage Group belongs to my family," I spat at them. "What right do you three outsiders have to touch a single cent?!"
Brandon, who had been hiding behind Chloe, stepped up again.
"What are you screaming about?! Are you still delusional? This company is mine! I am the only heir!"
I sneered at him.
"You're nothing. And neither are Chloe and Eleanor. You three think you can divide the spoils right here, right now? My father isn't dead yet!"
A few board members paused, murmuring among themselves:
"He has a point... Both sides claim to be the heir. Shouldn't we wait for Arthur to return?"
"Yeah, once Chairman White gets back, the truth will come out."
Hearing this, Eleanor shoved the security guards aside, grabbed my hair, and slammed my head onto the floor herself.
"Wait for what?! There is no doubt here! Ethan is just a psychotic beggar we sponsored! Brandon is the only heir to Vantage Group!"
I screamed back through clenched teeth: "You don't make the calls! Vantage Group doesn't belong to you!"
Eleanor hauled me up by my hair and slammed me down again, shrieking hysterically:
"That old bastard isn't here! Vantage Group will belong to me sooner or later! I make the rules! Do you hear me?!"
As I fought against her grip, the heavy double doors of the boardroom were kicked open.
A squad of tall men in tailored black suits marched in, clearing a path on both sides.
Behind them came a commanding, thunderous voice.
"Who the hell dares to touch my son?!"
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
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