Chapter 3

I never imagined it.

The last time I visited Northcrest, I brought my divorce papers.

Neither Claire nor Nathan was there. After the wedding, they had flown overseas for their honeymoon.

Still, even in their absence, I heard their names all the way through the office.

“Who exactly is this new vice president? He just got here, and he’s already changing our hours.”

“All I know is, he doesn’t understand the first thing about this business. All he knows how to do is squeeze the employees.”

Everywhere I went, people were complaining about their absurd new policies.

I left the divorce papers on Claire’s desk. When I opened the door to leave, Ryan was waiting outside.

Ryan was my assistant and the person I trusted most in the company.

In my last life, he had vanished without explanation.

It wasn’t until one of our buildings collapsed that I found his body.

By then, the company’s use of substandard materials had been exposed. An influencer’s coverage sent the scandal viral.

They pushed me out as their scapegoat. Buried under the public’s hatred, I had no way to investigate Ryan’s death. But now...

“Ethan, look at this.”

Ryan handed me his phone, showing me his messages with Nathan.

After my departure, Ryan had been responsible for handing over my work.

The screen was packed with work updates from Ryan. Nathan hadn’t answered a single one.

“He won’t answer me, but he keeps posting vacation pictures on Snapchat.”

“Are you really okay leaving the company to them? You poured your life into Northcrest.”

I shrugged helplessly.

“What can I do? I’ve already sold my shares. Northcrest has nothing to do with me anymore.”

A knowing smile crossed Ryan’s face. He lowered his voice.

“Other people might believe that, but I know you. You’ve already lined up your next move, haven’t you?”

I gave him a mysterious smile instead of answering.

Some plans worked best when kept quiet.

Ridgeview Estates was the biggest residential development available in years, with seven phases in total.

Northcrest couldn’t handle it alone. It had to split the project and the profits with Summit Construction.

Summit had been Northcrest’s bitter rival ever since Mr. Bennett founded the company.

And Ridgeview Estates was my ticket into Summit.

I promised that within three months, I would get Northcrest to give up its share of the project.

Summer was in full swing. By the time I reached the workers’ dormitory at the site, my clothes were soaked with sweat.

During those three months, I kept visiting Northcrest’s section. I genuinely couldn’t remember when that worker’s accident had happened.

In my last life, a worker had fallen into wet concrete and died. To avoid paying compensation, Nathan had covered it up.

When the truth came out, he blamed me. I was forced to hold a press conference and apologize.

I remembered that the worker had a daughter. She had fought tirelessly to uncover the truth about his death, gradually becoming an influencer and finally exposing what had happened with the public’s help.

My inspections weren’t just about preventing his death. I also wanted to use his daughter’s influence to crush Claire and Nathan for good.

But I didn’t know the exact date of the accident.

“Ethan, what are you doing here?”

After another fruitless visit, I was about to leave when a voice called down from above.

I looked up. Jamie was balancing on his toes on a framework of steel rebar.

It had only been a week since I last saw him.

His clothes were torn and filthy, his face smeared with dirt. He looked like an abandoned child.

I guessed Claire had been too busy taking Nathan overseas to bother with him.

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in school?”

Jamie curled his lip and looked down at me.

“I’m Northcrest’s future heir. Why should I go to school with a bunch of poor kids?”

“I knew I wasn’t your kid. Have you ever smelled yourself? You stink of poverty.”

He pretended to gag.

For a moment, I had no words. I couldn’t imagine what Claire had been teaching him to turn him into this.

I shook my head, unwilling to say anything more.

“Ethan, don’t leave. Stay and play with me.”

Still giving orders.

I started to walk away. Jamie screamed after me.

“You’re the Bennett family’s servant! How dare you ignore me!”

Furious, he bounced on the steel bars, oblivious to the danger.

“Mom was right! You’re an ungrateful bastard with no parents!”

The last word had barely left his mouth when I turned and saw his foot slip.

He fell.

A steel rod pierced his chest. Blood poured from the wound.

Jamie reached toward me, his eyes filled with terror.

“D-Dad, help me...”

It was the first time he had ever called me Dad. But it was too late.

I didn’t stop walking. I only called an ambulance and watched it take him away. That was the last kindness I owed him.

As they lifted his stretcher into the ambulance, Jamie stared at me and murmured,

“Why? Why didn’t you save me?”

“You always used to warn me when something was dangerous. Why didn’t you this time...”

For the first time, I saw panic in his eyes. He begged me to go to the hospital with him.

I slowly peeled his fingers off my hand and smiled.

“I’m not your dad. Ask your real father.”