Chapter 1

As soon as the call ended, I heard shouts behind me.

Jonathan Larson suddenly floored it, ramming into the hearse carrying Dad's body. Seeing its front all dented and half of it about to fall into the river, I hurried over frantically to stop him.

The next moment, the car slammed into me, sending me crashing to the ground. My right leg was in so much pain that I couldn't even move.

With a cigarette between his teeth, Jonathan got out of the car and arrogantly flicked ash into my face. "If you know what's good for you, get out of my way. Otherwise, next time, it won't just be your leg!"

I glared at Jonathan. "Do you know whose body is in this hearse? If anything happens, you won't be able to handle the consequences!"

Dad dedicated decades of his life to national scientific research. Not long ago, he even led the development of a rocket artillery system capable of taking out targets anywhere in the world.

If Dad hadn't died in an accident while helping others, he would now be receiving honors at the national hall. For that reason, the leaders gave special approval for his body to be placed at the National Memorial Hall.

I came back this time just to escort Dad's body. However, I didn't expect roadwork nearby, so the road was reduced to a single lane.

Initially, I didn't want to hold up the bride and groom, so I got out of the car earlier to talk things through and let them pass. I didn't expect them to be so unreasonable.

Before I could even tell Jonathan who my dad was, he had already stepped on the back of my hand, smiling smugly.

"He's just some dead old man, right? Let me tell you. The bride in the wedding limo behind us is the chairwoman of Nexora Group. Even if the king were here, he'd have to give way!"

His groomsmen spat at me too. "Jonathan, I bet this guy's trying to scam us out of our money. We should just hand him over to the police and let him rot in jail for life!"

I struggled to push myself up from the ground as my eyes swept over the wedding banner behind them.

I froze in shock. The bride was actually my wife, Josephine Thompson, who was supposed to be abroad on a business trip.

Last night, she even called me, saying she was overseas and couldn't make it back for my dad's funeral. I had been understanding, thinking she was tied up with company matters. I never imagined she would marry another man behind my back.

And yet these guys were still acting smug, holding up their phones and threatening to call the police.

I stared at the wedding limo behind them and asked coldly, "Is your wife Josephine Thompson, the chairwoman of Nexora Group? Tell her to get out of the car. I want to see her!"

Jonathan froze before bursting into laughter. "Who do you think you are? You really think you can see my wife whenever you want?"

I didn't bother arguing with him and went straight for the wedding limo.

In the past, Josephine kept telling me that women could have careers too. I didn't want her to burn herself out, so I handed Nexora Group to her and stepped out of the spotlight.

I never expected Josephine to use the position I gave her to boss people around out there.

I had only taken a couple of steps when someone struck the back of my head with an iron rod. My vision went black, and I collapsed into a heap on the ground, warm blood trickling down my forehead.

Jonathan waved the iron rod he had taken from the car and swaggered over to me.

"Bastard, are you trying to take my bride away? If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know who's really in charge in Kova!"

With that, he signaled to his groomsmen to pin me down on the ground from both sides.

I gritted my teeth and tried to fight back, but there were too many of them. I watched Jonathan raise the iron rod high. He was about to bring it down on my head when I heard a familiar voice ring out.

"What are you doing? Stop that!"