Chapter 1

With a deafening shatter, the villa's floor-to-ceiling shattered into pieces as a group of fierce, menacing men barged inside. Reeling from shock, I recognized the leader. He was the man in the photo my sister, Noelle Brown, had sent me a few days ago—Faris Smith, my future brother-in-law.

Before a greeting could even form on my lips, his face twisted with pure malice as he swung the iron rod in his hand straight into my face. Searing pain shot through my nose, and I felt something warm oozing down. I reached up and touched it; my fingers came away bloody.

The sudden blow caught me completely off guard, sending me into vertigo.

"Gotcha, you pathetic boy toy. I knew I'd catch you eventually! And here I thought you'd stay hidden overseas forever like a total coward!" Faris snarled. Taking advantage of my dazed state, he swung his rod again, raining brutal blows down on my head and body.

Shielding my head as the sheer agony ripped through me, I stumbled backward and tripped, crashing to the ground. "You've got it all wrong! I'm—"

Before the words could leave my mouth, Faris jammed the iron rod straight into my mouth and shoved it wildly a couple of times. A sharp, excruciating pain erupted inside my mouth, and the metallic, sweet taste of blood flooded my throat, causing me to choke and spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Like hell I've got it wrong! I know exactly how you sweet-talked Elle into buying you this place. You must've found out about our engagement, so you came back to insert yourself into our lives.

"Even if you failed, you figured you could still be her kept man, right? Right here and right now, I'm going to show you exactly what happens to homewreckers!" He brought his foot down, kicking me flat onto the floor.

The back of my head slammed violently against the sharp edge of the coffee table, and I felt my skin split open on impact. Desperate and enraged, I swallowed the blood pooling in my throat and forced out, "You seriously have it all wrong! I'm Noelle's biological younger brother. She literally texted me a few days ago, asking me to fly back for the engagement party…"

Faris froze. One of the brutes behind him stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "I actually did hear that the Boss has a biological younger brother who's been living abroad for years. None of us knows what the guy looks like, though. Word is, they're fraternal twins."

Faris glanced at my face. "Fraternal twins? This kid doesn't look a damn thing like Elle."

Right at that moment, another heavily built man with a prominent facial scar walked in. It was Blaine Dawson, Noelle's trusted subordinate.

He was an old-timer who had been by Noelle's side for years. He would definitely recognize me!

"Blaine, it's me, Noe!" I forced the words out of my throat.

Blaine was caught off guard for a moment. Then, he looked over at me. "Who is this kid? How does he know me?" he asked, confused.

Faris, however, raised the iron rod in his hand once more, cracking it hard against my jaw. Clutching my mouth, I was in too much agonizing pain to utter another word.

"He's that boy toy I told you about. He must have caught your name when the guys greeted you."

Blaine shook his head. "That can't be. I could've sworn he just said he was Noe. Noe is Mr. Brown's nickname. There's no way a random stranger would know that."

He strode up to me, forced my face up, and tilted it side to side as he studied me. "He looks nothing like Mr. Brown."

My heart sank. Blaine had never seen me since I had my plastic surgery.

"Wait a minute! Mr. Brown was sent abroad specifically to undergo plastic surgery back then," Blaine remembered out loud. "Did you have work done on your face?"

I nodded frantically, pouring all my hope into my eyes to plead with him. "Yes, I'm Noelle!"

Faris sneered, refusing to buy it. "He's a boy toy who makes a living off his looks. Isn't it normal for someone like him to have plastic surgery?"

Blaine raised his hand, stopping him in his tracks. "Faces can be changed, but identities can't. Search his pockets for his ID; that'll settle it."

At his order, two heavy-built men stepped forward and pinned me down to rifle through my pockets. I writhed and tried to break free from their grasp, only to be slapped across the face by Faris. "Hold still! Let's tie him up."

Bound tightly, I endured the sheer humiliation of being patted down. Blaine grew anxious. "Why did you beat him up this badly? What if he really is Mr. Brown?"