“No need to boil the water.”

I grabbed the intercom, my voice colder than steel, each word slicing through the air.

“Where’s the butler? Where’s the bodyguard? Tie this man up.”

Tyler Connor...

He had the nerve to mess with my sister and then get on my last nerve.

Mabel might have lived wild and careless, but that didn’t give anyone the right to toy with her feelings.

No one bullies my sister.

But when I pressed the intercom, all I got was the empty hum of static.

I pressed it repeatedly, but nothing happened. The security camera in the foyer didn’t even blink. No red light, no response—it was as if the whole system had gone blind.

Tyler let out a loud, mocking laugh, snatching the intercom from my hand and inspecting it like it was some cheap trinket.

“Where’d you get this?”

His eyes narrowed, and that smug look spread across his face as if he had just found something important.

“This is the outdated model the Ashcombes ditched years ago. Wait, are you a thief who snuck in?”

I didn’t respond to him. I built this security system myself.

A simple intercom?

It was connected to the most advanced network. Even a fly trying to squeeze through a crack in the window would alert the central control room.

So why was this useless now?

Then, suddenly, Tyler clapped his hands like a lightbulb went off in his head.

“I got it! You’re that loser ex who couldn’t let go of Eliza, huh? Got dumped by her a while back, and now you’re crawling back here?”

Before I could reply, his boot hit the back of my knee.

My legs gave out, and I fell hard to the floor.

“You really thought she’d take you back?” Tyler mocked. “She doesn’t even spare you a second glance! Go take a good look at the mirror. Do you really think you’re worthy of her?”

The pain in my knee was sharp enough to distract me, but his words resonated quickly.

During the three years I spent abroad, Eliza not only stole the Ashcombes' core technology but also cheated on me.

Tyler sneered down at me, pulling out a fresh intercom and calling for the bodyguard and butler.

The unfamiliar faces didn’t even acknowledge me as they went straight to his side and addressed him with deference.

“Mr. Connor, please calm down. You and Miss Blackwell already have a child together. People like him don’t deserve to be around. Just throw him out.”

“What? A child?” I shot to my feet, my gaze cutting through Tyler like a blade. “Mabel’s?”

Tyler spat on the floor, his disgust palpable. “Pfft! You think you’re the father of that trash’s child?”

A smug grin spread across his face. “The child, of course, is Eliza's. That useless thing? I just sweet-talked her into agreeing to be the surrogate. Of course, the child’s mine too. Mabel's just a breeding tool. Once the kid’s born, I’ll be a legitimate Blackwell. At that point, not just the Ashcombes, but all of Westbrooke’s industries will belong to me!”

Rage surged through me, boiling over like lava.

How dare he speak about my sister like this?

And Eliza too...

Just moments ago, I thought Eliza was just caught up in a fling.

But now? I was completely disillusioned.

The girl who once trailed after me, swearing she’d wait and marry me when I came back, had betrayed me. The woman I trusted to guard my family in my absence ended up pregnant with another man’s child.

“What are you staring at?” Tyler snapped, uneasy under my steady gaze. He shifted, trying to cover his discomfort with arrogance.

Then, jerking his chin, he barked at the bodyguards, “Punch him! Every time I think about this man being tied to the president, Mr. Ashcombe, it makes me sick!”

I didn’t flinch.

My voice cut through the air, cold and steady. “I dare you to touch me. I’m Patrick Ashcombe. Take a good look. Mabel and I are cut from the same mold. I’m her brother.”

The weight in my words froze the bodyguards and even the butler.

They faltered, uncertain, exchanging nervous glances.

Tyler’s smirk twisted into fury. “Pathetic. You let a worthless fool scare you? Does the great eldest son of the Ashcombe family walk around with just one man at his side?”

“Hold him down! If you won’t, I will!” Tyler barked, his tone dripping with arrogance.

“You wouldn’t dare!” I snapped back, steady and unflinching.

Outnumbered and pinned, I had no way out. A fist drew back, ready to smash into my face, when the villa’s front door creaked open.

A voice cut through the chaos. “What the hell is going on here?”

Eliza Blackwell.

The moment she appeared in the doorway, I pushed myself off the floor, fury burning hotter than the pain.

“Eliza. Start talking. Now.”

Her face drained to ash. The warmth in her eyes vanished, leaving only panic.

“Eliza!” Tyler squealed, stumbling toward her and clutching her like a shield. His voice dripped with false sweetness, sickening to hear.

“Finally showed up, huh? This is your ex, the one who can’t let go? What a joke. He even tried passing himself off as the Ashcombes’ eldest son. Don’t worry, I already taught him his place for you.”

I briefly observed their tangled figures, then couldn’t help but let out a soft, incredulous laugh.

“Ex? Eliza, do you dare tell him what our relationship really is?”

I pointed straight at Tyler’s face, each word landing like a punch.

"Don’t you remember the term ‘betrothed’? Or maybe, after three years of running roughshod over the Ashcombes, you’ve forgotten who you really are?"

Eliza’s face flushed with rage, her breath shallow.

But Tyler, caught between confusion and disbelief, pulled away from her and stared at me.

Then, he turned back to Eliza. “Betrothed? What the hell is he talking about?”

I scoffed. “Tyler, for once, use your brain.”

I pointed to the framed photo of Mabel and me hanging in the living room.

“You’ve always said you’re Mabel’s lover. But now you and Eliza have kids. Did she actually give you any real title? If she had any real power, why would she still let you be known as my sister’s lover?”

Tyler’s face drained of color. He instinctively grabbed Eliza’s arm, looking to her for some reassurance. “Eliza, is what he’s saying true? Did you lie to me?”

Eliza instantly quipped, “Shut up!”

The last trace of Eliza’s fake gentleness disappeared, replaced by a savage edge to her expression.

She then spat, “You bastard, how dare you stir up trouble between me and Tyler!”

Eliza pointed sharply toward the door, her voice slicing through the air like a blade.

“Weren’t you going to hit him? Go ahead! A madman like him deserves a beating before he stops spouting nonsense!”

The bodyguards exchanged uncertain glances, but eventually, they moved toward me.

I glanced at Eliza’s twisted face. All warmth in me evaporated completely.

So, this is the person I’d trusted with Ashcombe Enterprises for the last three years.

“Eliza.”

I straightened up, my back pressing against the cold wall.

My voice came out eerily calm, almost detached. “If you dare touch a single hair on me today, even if I can’t do anything to you right now, my sister will make sure you disappear from this world forever.”

At my words, Eliza sneered even more coldly, as if she’d just heard the funniest joke. She suddenly grabbed my hair, yanking me forward with a forceful tug and pulling me outside the villa.

The sharp pain in my scalp forced my head back, and I stumbled, struggling to keep my balance.

“Mabel?” She sneered again, her voice dripping with disdain. “You’re relying on that fool I toyed with? She’s probably still out there somewhere in a club, drunk and waiting for me to send her money to spend.”

With that, she released my hair.

I stumbled back a few steps, almost losing my footing.

Before I could steady myself, the bodyguards’ slaps rained down like a storm—across my face, forehead, and mouth.

The fiery pain mixed with the taste of blood that filled my mouth.

Eliza’s mocking laugh echoed around me as she leaned in close, her voice barely above a whisper but just loud enough for me to hear.

“Patrick, after you left for overseas, your parents took off to travel the world. Your useless sister? Don’t even think about it. No one’s coming to save you today.”

“How about this,” Eliza smirked, her tone dripping with malice, “The eldest son of the Ashcombes has been gone for years, and after a little digging, we find out he died overseas under mysterious circumstances?”

I gritted my teeth, feeling my patience snap. “Eliza, don’t you dare!”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Eliza retorted, her eyes narrowing. “While you’ve been away, I’ve spent these years getting a firm grasp on the Ashcombe's business.”

She leaned in, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “If the Blackwells hadn’t fallen from grace, do you really think I’d have ever betrothed you?”

I shut my eyes for a moment, fighting the anger that was building in my chest. I could still remember how Eliza's pride had kept the Ashcombes from ever publicly acknowledging her as my betrothed. Only the family knew the truth, and even though that truth was hidden, they’d never mistreated her.

The shouting between us had attracted the attention of some bystanders.

To make matters worse, Eliza spun a story, claiming I was an imposter pretending to be her fiancé and the eldest son of the Ashcombes.

The murmurs started up, and people began pointing at me, talking behind my back.

"So it’s true, he’s pretending to be someone else’s fiancé. How shameless!"

"He looks decent, but does something like this? Unbelievable."

"Mr. Ashcombe must be unlucky to be stuck with a madman like him."

Eliza stood off to the side, arms crossed, her innocent expression making it seem like she was the victim and I was the crazy one.

Tyler stood beside her, covering his mouth with a sly smile, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction, as if he had been the one to win.

I clenched my jaw and let their slander roll off me. Every word only honed my focus, and the cold in my eyes cut sharper.

My family carried two faces: one for the world to see, and one buried in the shadows.

I was tied to the public front. Mabel, the sister they dismissed as useless, belonged to the hidden faction.

“Mabel.” My voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the noise and reached every ear around. “If you keep hiding back there, I’ll send you overseas to freeze in the northwest, and you’ll never be able to come back!”