Chapter 2

"Impossible. Even if you didn't have money, you still stole from the house, didn't you?" Bella recovered quickly, frowning as she spoke.

The rest of the Vance family followed her lead. Denise nodded vigorously. "That's right. I bought a brand-new set of makeup, and it went missing. We found it in your drawer. Ronan, you really brought all those filthy orphanage habits back home with you. If you didn't have money, you could've said so, but you chose to steal!"

"Exactly. My wallet disappeared too. I'm sure you took it," his third sister, Carmen Vance, added.

"And my limited-edition shoes—the pair that cost thousands. I loved those shoes. The day I wanted to wear them, they were gone. You must have taken them and sold them," Denise said angrily.

On the sofa, Thomas's lips twitched with a fleeting, shadowy smile as he watched Ronan, as if enjoying a private show.

Ronan let out a short, cold laugh. "Right. Anything that goes missing, you pin on me. If one of you dropped dead someday, I'm sure you'd blame it on me too."

"So you're saying we're framing you?" Bella replied icily.

"What else could it be?" Ronan asked, almost amused. "I'm genuinely curious. Since you all despise me so much, why did you bring me back in the first place?"

His mother, Linda Hilbert, frowned. "How could you say that? We brought you home, and somehow that's our fault?"

Ronan's voice sharpened with mockery. "I would've been better off never coming back."

If he hadn't returned, he might have lived to old age. Coming back only got him killed.

"Enough!" Dominic exploded. "You ungrateful brat! Since you think you shouldn't have come back, then get out of this house!"

"Dad, Mom, sisters—don't be angry," Thomas said quickly. "Ronan only said that because he's upset. He didn't mean it. Let's just sit down and eat. Mom, Dad, you've both had a long day—you must be hungry."

"Thomas, you're so considerate it breaks my heart," Linda said, stroking his head affectionately.

His sisters looked at him with equal warmth in their eyes.

"Hmph! If that ungrateful brat had even half of Thomas's sense, I wouldn't be this angry," Dominic muttered, settling back on the sofa, breathing deeply to calm himself.

Then he opened his eyes and glared at Ronan. "Go back to your room. You're not allowed to eat tonight. Reflect on your behavior!"

A smug smile flickered across Thomas's face, his gaze filled with meaning as he looked at Ronan.

In the Vance household, he was—and always had been—the favored one. Nothing had ever changed.

Ronan glanced at him and suddenly laughed. He had to admit, Thomas's scheming ways truly expanded his understanding of the word manipulative—his tricks were endless.

After Ronan died on the operating table, his spirit had wandered for more than ten years, watching the Vance family. He eventually pieced everything together—every misfortune, every betrayal had been orchestrated by Thomas.

The funniest part was this: after destroying him, Thomas turned the same methods on his sisters, one by one, until each of them met an even worse end.

"What are you laughing at?" Dominic snapped.

"I'm laughing at all of you," Ronan said coolly. "Being fooled so easily by someone like him."

He looked straight at Thomas. "Your acting is pathetic. But these idiots still believe every word you say."

That was the final spark that ignited Dominic's rage. He grabbed the teacup on the table and hurled it at Ronan.

The cup shattered against Ronan's forehead. A wave of dizziness swept through him, his head buzzing as warm liquid trickled down his face.

A chorus of gasps filled the room.

For a split second, the Vance family looked startled by the sight of blood running down his brow.

But soon enough, Bella and the others felt a rush of satisfaction.

Ronan deserved the lesson.

Even Dominic froze, startled that his aim had been so accurate—and that Ronan didn't even try to dodge.

"Ronan!" His eldest sister, Allison Vance—silent until now—shot up from the sofa. She grabbed a packet of tissues and hurried toward him.

"No need." Ronan blocked her hand and walked toward his room without expression.

Allison's hand hovered in the air, her eyes fixed on his back.

The old Ronan had never behaved like this. He used to answer her with warmth every time she spoke. But now… his cold indifference made her chest tighten with an inexplicable panic.

Suddenly, Ronan stopped, turned back to Dominic, and said, "For now, you're still my father. I'll let this go. But if you lay a hand on me again, don't blame me for what happens next."

"What did you say? How dare you talk to me like that?" Dominic roared. "Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

Dominic's furious voice echoed behind Ronan as he returned to his tiny bedroom and leaned against the door, steadying his breath.

The room, barely six or seven square meters, contained only a small single bed pushed against the wall, a narrow desk, and a one-meter-wide wardrobe. Even those essentials made the room feel cramped.

It had originally been a maid's room.

After he returned to the family, it became his.

Ronan let out a faint, bitter laugh.

He didn't care about living conditions—truthfully, he only needed a place to sleep.

But the adopted son, Thomas, enjoyed a fifty-square-meter bedroom, complete with a dedicated room for storing figures and collectibles.

Meanwhile, he—the Vance family's biological son—got this.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was the adopted one.

He wiped the blood from his face in front of the mirror. The broken cup had only cut a shallow wound, so the bleeding wasn't severe.

He took a bandage from the drawer and pressed it to his forehead. Then he pulled out a sheet of stationery and a pen, sat at his desk, and wrote without hesitation.

It was time to leave this house.

If he stayed, he would end up dead again—just like in his previous life.

His luggage was still in his school dorm. As for the belongings here, he'd come back for them tomorrow.

When he opened the door, he could still hear Dominic raging downstairs.

Ronan descended the stairs with the paper in hand.

The family was still trying to calm Dominic, insisting that Ronan wasn't worth getting angry over.

"What are you doing down here?" Dominic barked the moment he saw him. "Get back upstairs!"

Ronan slapped the paper down in front of him. His expression was cold. "Sign this."

Frowning, Dominic snatched it up. He scanned the first line, and his face changed violently.

"An agreement to sever ties? What is the meaning of this?!"

Sever ties?

The Vance family stared at Ronan in shock.

"You saw it," Ronan said. "Sign it, and we'll be strangers. There will be no relationship left between us—ever."