Chapter 1

The entire family was gathered around Ryan Spencer, fussing over him.

The moment they saw me standing in the doorway with a cleaver in my hand, their faces went white.

My oldest sister, Claire Spencer, reacted first. She shot to her feet and stepped protectively in front of Ryan.

“Ethan! Have you lost your mind?”

I glanced down at the cat.

The instant it caught my eye, it bolted from beside my feet.

It sprang onto the bed and swiped the teddy bear straight onto the floor.

Ryan’s expression stiffened.

For a split second, something vicious flashed in his eyes.

Then it vanished.

He calmly scooped the cat into his arms.

“Ethan, even if you’re angry with me, you shouldn’t be waving a knife around...”

The Ragdoll thrashed wildly in his arms.

【Get your filthy hands off me! You reek of fake innocence! Idiot, grab the teddy bear!】

I tightened my grip on the cleaver and started forward.

“Enough!”

My mother stormed over and slapped a train ticket against my face.

“You stole Ryan’s necklace and refused to admit it. Now you’re threatening your own family with a knife?”

“We don’t have a son as badly raised as you!”

“Take the ticket and get back to the countryside. Now!”

The ticket fluttered to the floor.

Light as air.

Just like the affection they had for me.

I gave a cold laugh and headed straight for the teddy bear.

The moment Ryan realized what I was after, his expression finally changed.

He cried out and threw himself over it.

“Don’t touch it! Lauren gave me that for our anniversary! Leave it alone!”

The cat’s voice exploded in my head.

【Hell yes, he’s panicking! The metal box is hidden near the seam by the bear’s butt! Cut it open!】

Gladly.

I raised the cleaver and brought it down hard across the teddy bear’s stomach.

The fabric split open instantly.

White stuffing burst everywhere.

“Ethan, you psycho!”

My father roared as he charged at me and grabbed me by the collar.

Claire seized the wrist holding the cleaver.

In the chaos, I ignored the fists landing on me and shoved my left hand deep into the torn teddy bear.

My fingers closed around something hard.

I yanked out a small metal box.

“Give that back!”

Ryan lunged for it.

As we struggled, the box slipped from our hands and crashed to the floor.

The lid popped open.

Inside was a stack of old, yellowed envelopes stained with dark, dried blood.

I had just bent down to read the writing when Ryan’s eyes suddenly hardened.

Then he threw himself backward.

His head slammed against the corner of a mahogany table.

He screamed and went limp.

“Ryan!”

My fiancée, Lauren Walker, rushed over like a madwoman and pulled him into her arms.

She turned toward me, disgust written all over her face.

“Ethan, if anything happens to Ryan, I swear I’ll kill you!”

I looked at her for a second.

She really was an idiot.

No wonder she and Ryan were such a perfect match.

I looked away and reached for the envelopes on the floor.

My mother slapped me across the face.

Then she snatched up the metal box without even glancing at what was inside and shoved it at Claire.

“Take this garbage out back and burn it!”

“I don’t want anything this disgusting anywhere near Ryan!”

Then she turned toward the servants.

“Someone drag this ungrateful bastard to the basement and lock him in!”