Chapter 2

The sound of a body hitting the ground came from below. It wasn't loud, but it shattered the silence like a hammer.

Madeline rushed to the edge of the rooftop and looked down.

Under the streetlights, there was only a blurred figure on the ground, crumpled like a pile of mud.

Dark red blood quickly spread out in all directions.

Madeline shivered—not with grief, but with a surge of rage and panic.

She screamed.

"You lunatic. Little bastard!" she spat through gritted teeth with a hideous look. "Even dead, you're still making trouble."

Instead of calling for help, she took out her phone and called her assistant in a cold voice. "Zak just jumped off the building. Lock down the scene, clean up that pile of meat, and make sure nobody gets any photos.

"Tell the PR team to make a statement. Say it was depression, an accidental fall."

After hanging up, she turned and yelled at Yohana and the bodyguards, "What are you idiots waiting for? Get down there and clean the floor. If even a whisper gets out, I'll have your heads!"

Yohana stayed calm, but a flash of satisfaction and relief flickered in her eyes before they were replaced by indifference.

She gave a quick nod and headed downstairs without hesitation.

Chad just so "happened" to come up, out of breath. His face was pale, and "panic" and "grief" were written all over his face. "Mom, Yohana, what happened to Zak?" he asked.

When Madeline saw him, her tone immediately softened, sounding almost needy. "Zak couldn't handle it anymore. He jumped off. Don't be scared, Chad. Mom's here."

Chad let out a sob and threw himself into her arms, his whole body shaking. "How could this happen? It's all my fault! It must be because of me and Yetta..." He cried like his world had just ended.

"Nonsense! This isn't your fault," Madeline snapped, shooting him a serious look, her tone leaving no room for argument.

She suddenly remembered the kidnapping over twenty years ago. She and Yohana had almost died, but it was Chad's mother, Wynnie, who saved them, giving up her own life in the end.

Right before she died, Wynnie had put Chad in Madeline's care.

The Chapin family owed a life for that, and Madeline decided to repay Chad.

"You're the Chapin family's savior. Your mother traded her life for ours. The Chapin family owes everything to you and your mother," she said bitterly. "Zak was just too weak and narrow-minded. He couldn't take the pressure. That's on him. It's got nothing to do with you or Yetta!"

She patted Chad's back hard, as if trying to convince herself. "Alright, stop crying. It's not worth shedding tears for a loser like him. What's done is done. The dead won't come back.

"Take care of the aftermath. Don't let anything tarnish the Chapin family's name. Our reputation comes before everything," she added.

Chad leaned into her arms, wearing a cold, sinister smile.

With Zak dead, the Chapin family's business would all belong to Chad.

*****

Madeline went to the hospital.

In the corridor outside the emergency room, the atmosphere was depressing.

Madeline sat on a bench. Her face was expressionless as she scrolled through her phone, handling business and managing the public narrative.

It was as if the person who had died wasn't her son.

Yohana stood by the window, talking on the phone. Her voice was cold.

Yetta showed up late.

Her eyes were swollen from crying, but her makeup was still perfect.

She walked up to Madeline and called out timidly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Mrs. Chapin..."

Madeline gave her a cold look, saying, "I know. The wedding is canceled. You'll get some money as compensation. From now on, don't let me see you again."

Yetta bit her lip. Her eyes flashed with unwillingness, but she changed to an aggrieved expression immediately. "Mrs. Chapin, that's not what I meant," she said.

"That's enough," Madeline said impatiently. "Zak is dead. There's no point in talking about this. As for you and Chad, I'm not interested in your secret relationship."

Yetta lowered her head with secret joy.

Since Zak was dead, she was finally free.

She snuck a glance at Chad, throwing him a flirty look.

Chad walked over and put his arm around her, speaking softly. "Yetta, don't be sad." Then he turned to Madeline and said, "Mom, don't blame Yetta."

Madeline frowned but didn't say anything.

The emergency room doors slid open, and the doctor came out with a grave look.

"Mrs. Chapin, Miss Chapin, we did everything we could. He was already gone by the time he got here," said the doctor.

Madeline shut her eyes, forcing out a couple of tears like a pro. "Got it," she said with a hoarse voice.

Yohana asked coldly, "Where's the body?"

"It's inside. You can go see him." The doctor stepped aside.

Madeline waved her hand as she said, "Let Chad and Yetta go. I can't handle the shock." She put on a show of utter heartbreak.

Chad immediately pulled Yetta forward, saying, "Mom, Yohana, we're going to see Zak one last time."

The two of them walked into the emergency room.

When they saw the body covered with a white sheet, Yetta symbolically covered her mouth.

Chad stepped up, lifted a corner of the sheet, and stared at Zak's pale face. Wearing a cruel smile, he whispered, "Zak, rest easy. I'll be 'taking care' of the Chapin family for you. Your assets, your shares, your fiancée—I'll be 'accepting' all of them. So just go ahead and die in peace, loser."

*****

Zak's death barely made a ripple in the Chapin family.

The relatives put on a show of grief, but inside, they were secretly gloating.

Madeline took care of everything with cold, ruthless efficiency.

There was no funeral, no farewell—just a short notice saying it was an "accident."

Zak's body was cremated in a hurry, and the urn was dumped in a random corner of the cemetery by the servants, like throwing out garbage.

At the company, any talk about Zak was swiftly silenced.

Madeline immediately appointed Chad to take over all of Zak's projects and announced him as the primary heir. She even went so far as to transfer some of Zak's shares and properties directly to Chad as "compensation."

"Chad, I'm entrusting the Chapin Group to you from now on," Madeline said, handing him the company seal. Her tone was full of trust.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll give it my all." Chad took it with excitement.

Yohana watched coldly. Zak had just died a few days ago, and Madeline was already handing everything over to an outsider. The hatred in her heart only burned hotter.

Yetta, meanwhile, couldn't hide her smugness.

She splurged with the unlimited credit card Chad gave her, moved right into the Chapin residence, and strutted around like she was the lady of the house, bossing the servants around.

Everything seemed to be going exactly as Chad had planned.

But reality hit back hard.

Chad took over the Southern District project, which was completely out of his depth.

He was unable to understand the blueprints or financial reports, so his partners refused to cooperate. And thanks to one particularly idiotic mistake he made, the project's losses got worse.

"Useless trash! Look at the mess Zak left behind." Chad exploded in his office, raging and cursing.

He'd always relied on Zak to handle everything, and now he finally realized he was so useless.

He had no choice but to run to Madeline for help.

After listening to his excuses, Madeline realized Zak might actually have been useful after all.

But admitting that would be like slapping herself in the face.

"Those old farts only care about money," she snorted, stubbornly supporting Chad. "If Zak could handle it, so can you. Just throw money at them."

She granted Chad another huge sum of money.

But most of that money just got splurged by Chad and Yetta, and the project was still going nowhere. They were even on the verge of a cash flow crisis.

Madeline started to get restless. For the first time, she realized how messy things got after losing Zak.

When she couldn't sleep, she'd remember how capable Zak was, and the calm look in his eyes before he died. That made her even more panicked and angry.

She thought she must have been too tired.

She shook her head and supported Chad even more.

Yohana was having a rough time too.

She took over some of Zak's side projects, but she was running herself ragged. Her performance was slipping, and her uncles were starting to doubt her abilities.

For the first time, she finally realized that the brother she'd looked down on wasn't as worthless as she'd thought.

Yetta's "good days" didn't last long. Chad quickly got sick of her and started treating her coldly. He ordered her around like a servant and was openly messing around with other women.

Yetta was angry and full of regret, realizing Chad didn't have even half the patience that Zak had shown her.

But it was too late.

Chad, supported by Madeline, was still riding high and full of swagger.

He blamed everything on Zak.

He even started to secretly siphon off the Chapin family's assets.

He was convinced that as long as Madeline was around, the Chapin family would be his eventually.

To him, Zak was just a stepping stone, and he deserved to die.

*****

One night, Madeline walked into Zak's room, exhausted. It was the quietest spot in the house.

The room still had the same cold tones. She pulled open the desk drawer and found an old framed photograph.

It was a picture of Zak and Chad as kids. Zak was peeking out from behind Chad, looking timid, while Chad was grinning widely, holding a Transformers toy.

It had been Zak's only toy, but Chad had snatched it away, and Madeline had even scolded Zak over it.

Written on the back of the photo were the words: Mom said I should let Chad have it. I'll be a good boy.

Madeline felt a sharp stab in her heart. It was a strange, unfamiliar ache of regret and sorrow.

She snapped the drawer shut, muttering to herself, "I'm getting too sentimental." Then she turned to leave.

She didn't notice the curtain give a tiny, almost unnoticeable flutter.

*****

Overseas, at a top private hospital in Zwish, a man slowly opened his eyes.

He was lying on the bed, wrapped head to toe in bandages.

His gaze was clear and sharp, filled with both the relief of cheating death and a deep, bone-chilling coldness.

It was Zak.

No—Zak was dead. The one who survived was a demon out for revenge, and his name was Walter Flynn.

He made it, after all.

That jump was a gamble that he had planned down to the last detail.

There was something soft to catch him at the construction site below. He'd staked everything on that slim chance, and he'd actually succeeded.

The fall was hard, but he survived. Moreover, while he was unconscious, someone he never expected to see showed up and saved him.

That person wielded immense power.

They took him to this hospital, brought in the finest doctors, and meticulously crafted a brand-new identity for him: Walter Flynn, an orphan from overseas with a spotless background and no ties to anyone.

That person, or the Messenger, promised to provide every resource he'd ever need to take his revenge.

"The Chapin family... Madeline... Yohana... Chad... Yetta..." Walter whispered each name, his voice laced with hatred.

He picked up a mirror and stared at his own pale face. Zak was dead. The one left standing was Walter—a devil who lived for nothing but revenge.

He closed his eyes, and the images of their fake, greedy, and heartless faces flashed through his mind. "Just wait. I'll be back. And I'll make every last one of you pay in blood," he vowed to himself.