Chapter 2

Even now, I could vividly remember the inhuman torture I had endured in that underground room with no sunlight.

My aunt’s lover, Ryan, was a monster.

Whenever my aunts frustrated him, he used me as an outlet for his anger.

He would heat metal branding rods until they glowed red and press them against my body.

The instant the burning metal touched my skin, the smell of charred flesh filled the room. The pain shot through me like electricity, driving me nearly unconscious.

After drinking, my older aunt would use the heel of her high-heeled shoe to crush my fingers.

Every stomp came with another vicious curse.

“You walking disaster! If it weren’t for you and your short-lived parents, we would have gotten the family formulas years ago! Your whole family should have died sooner!”

My younger aunt would stand nearby and laugh as she watched.

“You still think you’re the precious heir of the Carter family? Stop dreaming. You’re nothing but a useless piece of trash now, and anyone can torment you.”

When they decided I no longer had any value, they sold me to a human-trafficking operation overseas.

On that freezing operating table, I felt part of my body being cruelly cut away.

The despair and agony were so overwhelming that I wished I could die immediately.

At the time, I had loved my girlfriend with all my heart. I had never been on guard around her.

I used to believe she was the warmest person in the world to me besides my grandfather.

We had shared so many beautiful moments.

But I never imagined that behind those sweet memories, she would be the one to suggest sending me overseas to be trafficked.

Once, I returned home from a business trip with a carefully chosen gift, excited to surprise her.

Instead, I found her lying intimately on the bed with Ryan, laughing and chatting as if they were the happiest couple alive.

My world collapsed.

When she saw me, panic flashed through her eyes. But it was quickly replaced by cold indifference.

Only later did I learn that she had loved Ryan from the very beginning.

She had approached me solely to help him obtain our family’s medical formulas.

While I worked day and night for my medical career, she secretly helped Ryan. She passed along information and assisted them with their schemes.

Whenever I wasn’t paying attention, she would sneak a look at the notebook where I recorded my family’s medical knowledge, then hand the information over to Ryan.

Looking back, she had been behind all of it.

Her betrayal was like poison. It slowly corroded every part of my life and dragged me into endless pain and despair.

After I died, my spirit witnessed the rest.

To seize complete control of the Carter family, my two aunts and the impostor conspired to poison my grandfather’s medicine.

My grandfather had lived an upright life and devoted everything to medicine.

Yet this was the miserable fate he ended up with.

Their plan had begun long before that. It was the real reason my grandfather had withdrawn from public life after falling ill.

I only learned the truth after my death.

Perhaps even heaven couldn’t stand watching it happen.

That was why I had been given another chance at life.

This time, I wouldn’t just reclaim everything that belonged to me.

I would protect my family and make sure every one of these villains paid the price.

While the crowd continued whispering, Ryan clearly hadn’t expected me to be so defiant.

His face twisted with humiliation and rage. He rolled up his sleeves and snarled, “You still dare to run your mouth? Today, I’ll teach you what happens when you cross me!”

He raised his fist and swung it toward my face.

I shifted aside and dodged easily.

Then I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

The force sent his head snapping to the side. He stood there stunned, completely dazed.

My older aunt let out a shriek as if she had gone insane.

“You hit him? You filthy little bastard! How dare you act like this in front of me?”

She rushed toward me, apparently intending to attack.

I stepped aside.

She missed and nearly fell to the floor.

Humiliated and furious, she steadied herself. Her eyes were filled with venom as she charged at me again.

This time, I didn’t dodge.

I grabbed her arm and flung her away with all my strength.

She slammed into a chair like a rag doll.

“Ah!”

My older aunt screamed.

My younger aunt’s eyes turned red. She shrieked, “How dare you lay a hand on me, you worthless animal! Bodyguards, get him! Beat him half to death!”