Chapter 1

"Harry, you took my son back then, and now you're refusing to admit it! I'm telling you, he's our biological child. You're nothing but a thief. You have no right to be his father. You're going to lose this case today!" Zack Wilson shouted, glaring at me viciously.

My ex-wife, Katherine Johnson, gave me a mocking smile. "Harry Miller, you're the one who pursued me back then. I stopped loving you a long time ago. I never imagined you would sink so low as to kidnap my son. Give him back. When the truth comes out, how do you plan to survive with that kind of reputation?"

All eyes in the courtroom turned to me.

I remained expressionless. "I've said it before. Wade is not your son."

20 years ago, I had been married to Katherine for barely six months when she cheated on me with her childhood sweetheart, Zack. Under the pretext of a class reunion, the two of them went on a trip to Emeraldia together. They vanished without a trace and never came back.

I went from being a newlywed to a widower overnight. While I was still drowning in grief, I discovered they had left behind a wailing baby boy.

20 years later, when I posted online that my son Wade had passed the exam and officially joined the police department, the two people who had been "dead" for decades suddenly resurfaced. They showed up at my doorstep, demanding I return their son.

I swallowed my anger and told them it was impossible for Wade to be their son.

They decided I was determined to cling to their promising "golden boy". They caused a scene outside my house every day and even rallied distant relatives to pressure me into giving up my home.

After I refused and had security remove them, they sued me.

Now, my calm indifference clearly infuriated Zack.

His eyes turned red as he pulled a yellowed birth certificate from his bag.

"Look! This is proof that Kate carried our son to term and gave birth to Wade Wilson after enduring so much hardship!" he hissed.

Along with the certificate was a photo of an eight-pound baby boy, smiling toothlessly at the camera.

Zack roared. "My wife gave birth just a month before that heartless man took him away from us! Our baby barely had a taste of his mother's milk!"

His fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. Katherine clung tightly to him and took out another faded photograph.

Through tears, she handed it to the judge. "This was taken when my son was one month old. Look how sweet and well-behaved he was. It's been 20 years, and this is the only memory I have left of him."

Katherine and Zack clung to each other and sobbed.

I showed no reaction at all, not even sparing them a glance.

The live broadcast of the trial had drawn a flood of online viewers. The comments exploded with fury.

"What a disgusting excuse for a man! He tore a family apart and made them search for their child for 20 years, and he still looks indifferent."

"He's a sociopath. I support Katherine and Zack taking their son back. Harry should be sent to prison."