Chapter 2

Even the smallest mistake would earn me a beating and a barrage of insults from my adoptive parents.

Education was my only chance at a better life, so I studied harder than anyone else and always ranked first in my class.

But none of that mattered. When I was in eighth grade, my adoptive parents forced me to drop out, claiming they couldn't afford to keep paying for my education when my two younger brothers still needed to go to school.

I was only 14 and still growing, but I had no choice but to join the adults in my village on construction sites, hauling steel bars and mixing cement. I also took jobs at restaurants, washing dishes and waiting tables.

Every penny I earned went straight to my adoptive parents, who spent it all on my two younger brothers.

Then one day, a police officer investigating my parentage tracked me down and told me I was the biological son of the Ashfords, the richest family in the country.

At first, I could hardly believe it. I'd thought my years of suffering were finally over. I'd finally be free of my adoptive parents and their constant exploitation.

More than anything, I would finally have a family who genuinely loved and cared about me.

Instead, I'd walked straight into another nightmare.

I watched Josh trembling as he clutched Evelyn's arm, struggling to speak through his tears. "Mom, Dad, I know Asher is your biological son, and I know I'll never be as important to you as he is. But that doesn't mean he can just lie about what happened..."

He was deliberately making it sound like I hated him for taking my place in the family. Worse, he was implying that I'd made up the story about never attending high school just to cover up what I'd done to him.

Graham took the bait and exploded. "Asher! You're still denying it? After all this? I can't believe I have a son like you!"

Evelyn joined in. "You may have grown up poor, but that's no excuse for being such a rotten person! Apologize to Josh right now, or don't even think about coming home with us!"

The murmurs around us grew louder. People pointed at me, making no effort to hide their contempt.

"What do you expect from someone raised in the middle of nowhere? No manners, no decency. He should go right back where he came from!"

"He bullied the Ashfords' adopted son, and now he's lying about it! I can't believe that's the son they went to all that trouble to find!"

"Poor Josh. First he gets bullied, and now that same bully is trying to turn everyone against him…"

Hearing the insults and watching Graham and Evelyn stand there defending Josh, I finally lost all hope of ever having a family with them.

They were my birth parents, but neither of them had even tried to hear me out. They'd refused to believe a single word I said.

I gave a bitter laugh, fighting back tears. I looked them both in the eye and said, "Why should I apologize for something I didn't do? You keep calling me your son, but you don't know the first thing about my life.

"You haven't even tried to get to know me, and you won't believe a word I say. If this is the kind of family you're offering me, I want no part of it!"

Graham was furious. He raised his hand, ready to slap me. "You ungrateful little brat! Say that again! I dare you!"

But just as he was about to slap me, Josh rushed forward and threw himself between us.

"Dad, please don't hit him!" he sobbed. "It's all my fault! I shouldn't have brought up what happened back then! Please don't be mad at him!"

Josh pretended to defend me, but he deliberately angled his face toward the cameras, making sure everyone saw just how upset he was as he stood up for his supposed bully.

Sure enough, the reporters rushed to get a better shot of him, and the crowd's comments grew even nastier.

Everyone was calling me an ungrateful brat, accusing me of bullying someone as kind as Josh and saying I didn't deserve to be an Ashford.

I wanted nothing more than to walk away from all of it. But I knew I couldn't leave without clearing my name. If I didn't prove my innocence now, I'd be labeled a bully for the rest of my life.

By the time I tried to defend myself again, everyone would have already made up their minds, and no one would bother listening.

I'd had enough of Josh's act. I looked him straight in the eye and said coldly, "Josh, you keep saying I bullied you in high school. Then tell me, what class was I in? Who was our homeroom teacher? And who sat next to me in class?"