Chapter 3

“Blackridge needs workers for its mines. I think you two will do nicely.”

The two women drew a sharp breath.

At that moment, they finally seemed to realize one thing.

I was the one in charge of the Ashford family.

I could humble myself and curry favor with them.

But if I truly wanted them dead, I had more than enough power to make it happen.

I couldn’t understand how that transmigrated man had managed to turn himself into a pathetic man despite holding absolute power and having the final say.

“A… Ac…”

Alice’s voice trembled.

She was terrified of snakes, insects, rats, and other vermin.

Blackridge was crawling with them.

“Ace…”

She finally managed to say his name when a cold voice rang out.

“Save Mr. Shaw.”

“Anna!”

Alice and Abby’s eyes lit up.

“Anna! Save us!”

I looked up.

The tall woman in a suit was approaching me with a cold expression.

“Anna…”

Cade lay weakly in Anna Ashford’s arms. She wrapped him in a large towel and gently dried him.

She applied ointment to the dark bruises covering his body while working the blood clots out of them. Then she spoke coldly.

“Ace, apologize.”

She acted like the head of the family, so I sneered.

“When did the people living under my roof start thinking they could challenge me? “

She looked up. Her eyes remained calm, but they held a clear threat.

“If that’s the case, we’ll have no choice but to remove you from the Ashford family business.”

I thought I had misheard her. “Remove me from the Ashfords?

“Ha. Miss Ashford, are you insane, or am I—the legal heir to Ashford Enterprises—the one who’s lost his mind?”

“Oh?”

She arched a brow. “Have you forgotten? I’m the Ashfords’ largest shareholder now.”

A share-transfer agreement lay before me.

Forty percent of Ashford Enterprises…

I stopped breathing for a moment.

The forty percent of shares in my name had been transferred to Anna?!

The handwriting didn’t belong to me, but the fingerprints did.

It suddenly clicked. This was the work of the man who had taken over my body.

I searched my memories and finally remembered.

He had once been falsely accused of pushing Cade down the stairs. When no explanation could clear his name, he resorted to this nearly self-destructive form of self-abuse.

He threw the transfer agreement onto the table, then dragged his suitcase toward the door.

The outcome had been exactly what he wanted.

The three sisters softened when they saw how determined he was and chased after him.

It had been raining heavily that day.

The three sisters used their sports cars to block the car taking him to the airport.

The dramatic pursuit ended with them winning him back.

I laughed sarcastically.

A dog that bit the hand that fed it deserved to be put down. Why waste my breath explaining myself?

I flung the transfer agreement to the floor.

“The Ashford family has a rule. An insider must witness any transfer of shares. This agreement only has your signatures. How do I know it isn’t forged?”

Anna hesitated.

Then she curved her lips into a faint smile.

“Are you sure you want an insider to witness it?”

I lifted my chin. “Of course.”

I wanted to see which member of the family was arrogant enough to overestimate themselves.

But the person who soon walked in left me breathless.

“Ruby?”

I called out her name in disbelief.

Ruby frowned when she saw me, and the disgust in her eyes was impossible to hide.

She walked past me without acknowledging me.

Ruby Lowe was my fiancée.

She placed the finalized agreement in front of me.

Her clear signature and fingerprint made my heart tighten.

The woman who had once shielded me with her body from an enemy’s machete now stood on Cade’s side as well.

“I never thought it would be you.”

My voice trembled.

Ruby avoided my gaze. Her tone no longer held the love it once had.

“I know who my savior is now.”