Chapter 1

I snatched up the fire extinguisher in the corridor and smashed open the locked-up door of the equipment room. The moment the door burst open, I felt my blood run cold.

Damian Stone, my son, was curled up in the corner, dripping wet and barefoot. He gripped the inhaler tightly, taking huge, strained gulps. A purplish tinge had already crept into his lips.

"Damian!" I threw the fire extinguisher aside and lunged forward, pulling Damian into a tight embrace.

"Dad…" Tears spilled from Damian's eyes when he saw me. His shoulders trembled violently. "Dad, the water's so cold… They held my head underwater, and I couldn't breathe…"

I stripped off my jacket and wrapped it around Damian, my hands shaking so badly that I nearly couldn't pull up the zipper. "Who locked you up in here?"

He cried to the point his breathing grew shallow and rapid, giving me bits and pieces of the truth until I saw the full picture.

He'd changed his clothes and was about to get in the water when his classmate, Timothy Olson, barged in with a few other boys. They pushed Damian into the pool and held his head underwater until he choked, thereafter stripping off his jacket and locking him in the equipment room.

I gritted my teeth and forced my tears back. Then, taking Damian's hand, I led him to the entrance.

Through the glass, I saw the boy named Timothy soaking in the pool. He was holding up a fruit platter and popping imported cherries into his mouth. The swimming trunks he wore were the same tailor-made pair I'd commissioned for Damian from a Forancian designer.

A few students surrounded Timothy, looking sycophantic as they handed him towels.

I kicked open the doors to the swimming arena, the thunderous sound startling everyone inside.

Timothy turned his head and froze upon seeing me. A beat later, he rolled his eyes. "Who are you? Are you blind? Didn't you read the notice on the doors that says this pool is for private use only?"

I fixed him with an icy stare. "Take off those trunks and get the hell out of the pool."

Timothy sneered at me, the contempt clear on his face. "Who do you think you are? How dare a penniless loser like you barge in here and tell me what to do?

"My dad paid five million dollars to have this private swimming pool constructed for me! Can you afford the damages if you mess up the place?"

A furious chuckle escaped me. "A private swimming pool? I paid for the construction of this pool. Last I checked, I didn't christen it as Olson family property!"

Timothy guffawed. "Are you out of your mind? Go and seek medical help for your delusions! Where's the security guard? I want this lunatic thrown out of my pool!"

I ignored his threats and looked around, searching for the safety officer I'd paid good money for. However, the officer was nowhere to be found.

I fished out my phone and dialed the safety officer's number, only to realize she'd switched off her phone.

Timothy grinned like a wolf when he noticed I hadn't said anything despite holding my phone. "Trying to shake me down but failed, huh? Quit acting like you matter, peasant!"

Damian, whom I'd been shielding this entire time, tugged on my sleeve at that moment. Timothy spotted him at once, his eyes like a hawk's. "I see the freeloader's out."

With that, Timothy picked up an empty water bottle by the pool and hurled it at Damian. It clattered on the floor beside Damian's foot. "Thick-skinned sicko! You're lucky I didn't drown you after you freeload off my pool every day!"

The sycophantic students around Timothy burst into laughter to please the little tyrant. "Yeah, what's a poor loser doing in someone else's private pool anyway?"

"That asthma of his is contagious, right? He's so gross!"

Frightened, Damian ducked behind me, his eyes turning red with fresh tears.

Realization dawned upon me when I registered the fear in Damian's eyes. This wasn't the first time such an incident happened; Timothy and his lackeys had been bullying Damian at school.

Damian was shy and easygoing. I'd wanted him to grow up happily without constant fanfare and attention, so I never told his school about my identity. I didn't think that Damian would end up getting picked on because of my choice to stay low-profile.

I stroked Damian's hair. "You've nothing to be afraid of. I'm here."

Lifting my gaze, I surveyed Timothy and the others. "Get your homeroom teacher here right now. No one is leaving this place until I get to the bottom of this."

No sooner had I said this than a staccato of footsteps sounded from outside the pool. The homeroom teacher, Lionel Hall, had heard about the commotion and hurried over.