Chapter 2

My heart sank, but before I could process the situation, the anesthesia took effect, and I sank into deep unconsciousness.

I'd thought that after three years, I'd long since stopped caring about the past. Yet in my dreams, I still found myself back in the villa owned by the Sullivans—the place that felt like hell on earth to me.

When I was seven years old, I'd been kidnapped. By the time Fiona found me, I was already 17 years old.

In those ten years, Fiona had to live through both my disappearance and our parents' unexpected deaths. The successive blows drove her into a breakdown. She developed severe depression and attempted to take her own life several times.

Her therapist advised her to find herself another brother, and that's how Zach came into her life as her adopted brother.

Zach was three years younger than me. He was an expert at wrapping Fiona around his little finger.

I'd returned to the family when Fiona and Zach's relationship had been at its best.

She kept warning me, "Caleb, Zach has a heart condition and can't handle any emotional distress. Keep your distance from him and don't provoke him.

"He's been by my side all these years. Although I can't send him away, don't worry. You're still my only younger brother."

I knew Fiona hadn't had an easy life either, so I put up with everything and tried not to make things difficult for her. But behind her back, Zach bared his fangs at me.

During the Sullivan family's gatherings, he said I was a country bumpkin and used that as an excuse to convince Fiona to leave me at home. He took away all of the gifts everyone gave to me.

Whenever I protested, he'd clutch his chest and complain that he felt unwell.

Once that happened enough times, Fiona began to express her disappointment in me.

"These are all just trivial matters! Must you go this far? Zach has a heart condition! Are you trying to kill him?"

Time and time again, I tried to just put up with Zach's schemes. Then one day, he "accidentally" knocked over the soup I made for Fiona.

It wasn't a big deal, but it was the final straw that ignited all of my grievances and rage.

"Fiona's feeling unwell because of all the business dinners she'd had to attend! Since you can't be of any help, you should at least avoid causing trouble!"

So, I punched Zach. The next second, he clutched his chest and collapsed to the floor. I would never forget the cold, menacing look Fiona gave me that day. All she said to me then was, "When I get back, I'm going to make you pay for this!"

She took Zach to the hospital, and I was a nervous wreck the entire night. Early the next morning, she came home and handed me my passport, along with a flight ticket.

"Zach had a heart attack—a serious one. You can't stay in this house anymore. Go to Ashberia and cool off for a couple of days."

I stared at her in disbelief. "If you send me away, I'll never acknowledge you as my sister again!"

Her expression darkened. Without giving me a choice, she dragged me straight to the airport.

"Ever since you came back, you've done nothing but cause trouble for me. You really think you can act like some spoiled rich brat now? If you can't get that temper of yours under control, don't bother coming back!

"I may be able to clean up your messes for you while you're here in Seagrove, but once you're abroad, no one is going to care about you!"

Even when I was about to board the plane, I still couldn't believe Fiona was actually abandoning me like this.

I stood ramrod straight and stubbornly repeated myself. "I didn't do anything wrong! If you send me away, I will never consider you my sister again!"

She pursed her lips and put an end to every last bit of hope I had.

"So be it. I don't care if you never acknowledge me as your sister again. You're going to Ashberia!"

After only returning to the Sullivan family for a year, I was shipped abroad to one of the most impoverished places on earth. It was a fate even worse than being kidnapped.

I couldn't even bring myself to recall what life had been like for me the past three years.

…

I woke with a jolt to find an intern doctor beside me. With a scalpel in hand, he said in a sympathetic voice, "All of the specialists in the hospital were summoned away by someone named Fiona Sullivan. She donated 100 million dollars to the hospital, so…"