Chapter 2

A knock sounded at the door.

My spirit drifted outside.

Mom and Dad were standing in the hallway, dressed in expensive suits and custom-tailored formalwear.

The diamond necklace around Mom’s neck alone was worth more than I could have earned hauling bricks for the rest of my life.

“Disgusting. Hurry up and get our son out here. Even a dog would not live in a place like this, and he actually managed to stay here.”

“These heels are brand-new. They cost more than five hundred thousand.”

Mom covered her nose and mouth. There was no sympathy in her gaze, no trace of remorse, only undisguised disgust and contempt.

I heard words like these countless times from the mouths of wealthy people.

Almost instinctively, I dropped to my knees and reached for her shoes.

‘I am sorry…’

My severed hand passed straight through her body.

Oh, I was already dead.

Compared to their mansion, this place really was filthy and miserable.

However, to me, it had been the only place I had to escape the wind and rain.

My family was poor. Mom’s chemotherapy cost thirty thousand a month, and Dad’s physical therapy cost another ten thousand dollars.

I never had time to complain about how dirty or foul-smelling it was. I certainly never had time to dwell on how hard my life was.

Now, my heart felt like it was drowning in a bitterness deeper than anything I had ever known. No matter how hard I tried, I could not push it down.

The poverty had been a lie.

Yet every bit of suffering I endured, every humiliation, every look of contempt had been real.

If only I had not been so obedient.

If only…

However, there were no ifs.

When there was still no sound from inside, Mom began to panic.

“Do you think something happened to him?”

“What could possibly happen? He has been running around on his own since he was nine. Nothing ever happened to him out there. What could possibly happen to him now that he is at home?”

Dad impatiently twisted the doorknob until it creaked.

“Landon, how long are you going to keep pretending you do not understand?”

“So what if we put on an act and deceived you for all these years?”

“We did it for your own good. That billion-dollar fortune is going to you, not some stranger. What right do you have to be angry with us?”

Still, there was nothing but silence.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Dad’s eyes.

“Do you really want me to become completely disappointed in you over something this trivial? You used to be so obedient. So sensible.”

I still said nothing.

Dad finally lost his temper and ordered his assistant to bring an axe so they could break down the door.

Mom stopped him.

“Enough. This was probably too sudden for him. He just needs some time to process it. Let us give our son a little more time. He will come around eventually.”

Dad took a deep breath.

When he spoke again, his voice was calm.

“Only weak and incapable people obsess over every little detail. Does the process really matter? What matters is the result. You are being handed a fortune that other people could not earn in several lifetimes without having to lift a finger. Do not be so ungrateful.”

After they left, my spirit followed them home.

The mansion was enormous. It was far bigger than anything I had ever dared dream of.

A maid brought a package to Mom.

I recognized it instantly. It was the birthday present I bought for her.

To afford it, I begged my supervisor for an advance on a month’s wages. In exchange, I promised to work two extra hours of overtime every day.

I never imagined that the machine would malfunction and tear both my arms apart.

I thought Mom would be as delighted as she had sounded on the phone.

“Thank you, sweetheart. I will treasure it.”

However, she barely glanced at the gift before tossing it into the trash.

“Cheap and poorly made, but at least it proves our trial worked. He endured hardship and bought it with money he earned himself. He did not get it for free. Unlike his older brother. He just sent me a birthday message, then casually blew two million on me.”

There was disdain in her voice. Yet her eyes were filled with unmistakable affection.

Suddenly, I understood that I was the protagonist of their little test, the heir they had placed all their hopes on, and the blade they had tempered through endless hardship until I became the sharpest weapon they could forge.

However, I was never the child they truly loved.