“There’s no other way. If I don’t get rid of him, everything the old man has will ultimately be his. In everyone else’s eyes, I’ll always be a Li. You know, the old man is only in his forties and he’s already the Party Secretary of a prefecture-level city. In the future, he’ll definitely become even more powerful...” Shaking his head again, a cold glint flashed in William Thompson’s eyes before he burst out laughing. “Now, it’s time for me to thank you.”

After laughing, William Thompson stood up with a wicked grin, and yanked off the towel around his waist.

“Ah~” The moment she saw William Thompson like that, the woman immediately became terrified, curling up and retreating quickly, her hands covering her chest. That fragile appearance only made her seem even more vulnerable, stirring up a wild desire.

“Hey, you little vixen, still trying to tease me? Let’s see how I deal with you!!”

With her reaction, the lust in William Thompson’s eyes flared up even more. Grinning wickedly, he pounced onto the bed.

※※※

“Pa!”

Ning City, in a dark street corner piled with discarded junk, the air reeked of a foul, fishy stench under the dim starlight.

Grace Bennett’s body was curled up in a corner like a wounded beast, clutching his right hand, and he slammed the can in his hand hard onto the ground.

“I didn’t do it!!”

His voice was nearly hoarse as he growled. Grace Bennett grabbed a fresh bottle of beer from his right, popped the tab with a snap, and tilted his head back, pouring it down his throat.

He really didn’t do it!

Maybe, in other people’s eyes, with a father who’s a Party Secretary, Grace Bennett should be happy—he’s the crown prince, the Party’s favored son, and the number one heir in Ning City, destined for a glorious life. But in reality, that rigid, upright father had never given him much happiness since he was a child.

What he got most was scolding.

Bad grades? Scolded. Good grades? Still scolded. It seemed that unless he got a perfect score, he could never get a word of praise from that man. In contrast, William Thompson always received praise and encouragement from him.

He was just a child, needing encouragement and praise too, but he never got any. That’s why Grace Bennett’s grades kept slipping throughout school, and for years, he hadn’t seen a single smile from that man directed at him.

“Pa!”

After chugging another can of beer, Grace Bennett tasted only bitterness in his mouth, but his heart felt even more bitter. He slammed the can hard onto the concrete ground again, then suddenly grabbed another one and popped it open.

Memories surged into his mind like a tide.

“Useless thing. From now on, don’t go around telling people you’re Edward Bennett’s son!”

That was what the man said to him every time he got his report card. Grace Bennett truly cried—he had no idea how many times his young heart had been wounded by such words growing up.

He never dared mention to others that he had such a father.

Even when he graduated high school and William Thompson got into the country’s top university with outstanding grades, while he could only get into a second-rate college in the province, he still heard the same words.

All his life, he’d felt inferior and self-pitying, always licking his wounds alone in the dead of night like a hurt animal.

Father—this was his father, a man who never gave him warmth, only ever rubbed salt into his wounds.

Yet even so, Grace Bennett eventually managed to stand up again. Though it took him countless hours and he missed out on many precious things to regain his long-lost confidence, this year, he was finally starting to get back on his feet.

But just as he made a little progress and received praise and admiration from those around him, that man still treated him with a cold face, as if everything he achieved was only what he was supposed to do, not worth any praise at all.

Grace Bennett had gotten used to it. He’d long since given up hope of getting anything from him. But he never expected that just as he was getting back up, he’d be dealt a fatal blow by his own beloved younger brother.

“Pa!”

He slammed another empty can down, then spat out a mouthful of foul liquid. The next moment, eyes red, he grabbed another full bottle of beer.

“You all want to see me fall? No! I, Grace Bennett, will prove to myself that I can stand up!! Hahaha...”

With a crazed, angry laugh, Grace Bennett once again poured the bitter drink down his throat.

Chapter 002: Past Events

“Buzz~”

At the end of September, the sun poured down relentlessly. In a remote alley in Ning City, on a concrete ground piled with junk, a swarm of flies buzzed irritably, circling and biting at a collapsed figure.

It wasn’t until a long time later that the figure suddenly moved, startling many of the flies and mosquitoes into a panicked flight.

After that first movement, the figure began to move in earnest, pushing up with both arms and standing up from the ground. In the sunlight, it was a filthy, disheveled body, clothes covered in grime, and even that once fair and handsome face was mottled with bruises and a small patch of dried blood.