Chapter 1

I pushed my suspicions aside. Forcing a smile onto my face, I exchanged pleasantries with my adopted sister, Peyton Young.

Throughout the drive home, I tried calling my wife, Gwendolyn Shaw, but she never answered.

The moment I returned to the home I hadn't seen in years, I discovered that the giant bedroom I shared with Gwen had been turned into Peyton's walk-in closet.

The room was crammed with all kinds of high heels and designer items that Peyton had bought for herself. Feeling irritated, I rummaged through the mess before I caught sight of the luxury bags I'd given Gwen over the years.

As the strange feeling in my gut grew stronger, I called my father, Jeremy Young.

"Didn't I tell you to give the watch to Gwen? Why is it on Peyton's wrist?" I demanded. "Also, why did you turn me and Gwen's bedroom into a walk-in closet? Where on earth is Gwen sleeping now?"

To my surprise, he started accusing me of making a fuss out of nothing.

"Your sister just borrowed it from Gwen to wear it around for a couple of days. Why are you getting worked up when your wife doesn't have a problem with it?" he snapped.

That watch was a gift that I had carefully picked out for Gwen. On top of that, I even had our names engraved on it. I refused to believe that she would willingly lend it to Peyton.

Before I could press him for an explanation, he brushed me off once again. "I don't really care about where Gwen is sleeping. It's not like I left her out on the street!"

"I just found out two days ago that the general manager position I'd arranged for Gwen had been reassigned to Peyton. Was that your doing?" I asked again, suppressing my anger.

After seeing those strange photos, I had called my company headquarters to ask about the matter. That was when I learned that Gwen had been fired ages ago.

Why was my wife working at a nightclub instead of the company?

I was determined to get to the bottom of this, but by then, my father was clearly losing his patience.

"Your wife was the one who complained that the job was too tiring and insisted on quitting. Lucky for us, Peyton was generous enough to step up and take her place. Instead of interrogating me, why don't you send your sister some gifts to thank her?"

With that, he hung up irritably.

I didn't believe a single word he'd said. If anything, I was convinced that he was taking Peyton's side because he was biased toward her.

My father had doted on Peyton ever since he brought her into our family when she was 18.

He'd always been incredibly strict with me, yet he treated Peyton like a princess. He gave her the best of everything and even assigned her a private driver and bodyguards.

I'd bought into his belief that sons shouldn't be spoiled. So, I'd never had a problem with the preferential treatment she'd received after she'd lost both of her parents.

I was willing to put up with a less comfortable life, but that didn't mean that I was willing to let my wife suffer alongside me.

Before I left the country to establish a branch office overseas, I'd told my father that Gwen was the woman I loved more than anyone in this entire world. Because of that, I'd specifically asked him to make sure that she was treated well.

Back then, he laughed and assured me that the Young family had more than enough money to pamper my wife. As the Young family's daughter-in-law, Gwen would have nothing but an easy life.

Now, it seemed that I couldn't even hold my own father to his word.

After I left the walk-in closet, I realized that every member of the household staff had been replaced by people I didn't recognize.

I grabbed one of the housekeepers and asked hurriedly, "Where is Gwendolyn's room?"

The housekeeper flashed me an awkward look. She stumbled over her words and refused to give me a straight answer.

Growing increasingly anxious, I had no choice but to dig up the phone numbers of our old household staff and call them one by one.

Eventually, I called Thomas Baxton, an old butler who had always treated me like his own grandson. The instant he heard my voice, he burst into tears.

"You're finally home, Mr. Young," he cried. "Now that you're back, Mrs. Young won't have to live in fear anymore…"