During the holidays, I get home in advance, hoping to surprise my wife, Zara Hudson. But the moment I open the front door, I find out that an unfamiliar young man has already taken over my villa and is in the middle of hosting a party.

The spot where my wedding portrait used to be now features an intimate photo of that man making out with Zara.

"Where the hell did a loser like you come from? How dare you trespass on private property!"

I'm shell-shocked for the first few seconds. But soon, I explain, "That woman in the photo is my wife. This villa is mine, too."

All the guests begin jeering and making fun of me instead.

"You must have gone insane from daydreaming! That woman is Mr. Barrington's wife! Mr. Barrington, go ahead and teach him a lesson!"

The man, Alan Barrington, and I get into a huge fight afterward. Furious and humiliated, Alan calls Zara and demands that she get home just to prove that he's her partner.

What everyone doesn't expect is that the moment Zara shows up, she gets down on her knees in front of me and begins bawling her eyes out.

As I gaze at her pallid complexion, I just chuckle coldly in return.

"Zara Hudson, I want you to scram out of my home with that boy toy of yours! Also, you'd better come up with a way to pay off those loan shark loans!"

With the holiday season coming up, I decided to return home after being on a business trip for the last six months, wanting to give my wife, Zara Hudson, a surprise.

I was shocked by the scene I was greeted with when I stepped through the door.

The originally simple but upscale decor of my villa had been replaced with an old-fashioned and overly luxurious style. However, what shocked me even more was how my wedding photo with Zara had been replaced with an intimate photo of her with a young man.

Zara was lounging on a big bed in the photo. She was dressed sexily as she embraced the man, kissing him as if she never wanted to leave him.

There was a party going on in my villa. The attendees drank my expensive champagne as they celebrated while pouring my rare, branded red wines into the pool.

The man who was the center of attention was the same man in the photo.

Everyone turned their gazes on me when I entered the villa. They regarded me with disdain in their eyes, and their tones were colored with mocking when they spoke.

"Where did this pauper come from? You're not supposed to be here. Scram!"

I was born into a prestigious family, and I had been taught to avoid flaunting my wealth since I was a child. They probably assumed that I was a poor man who had accidentally wandered into the villa when they saw my simple clothes.

I swept my gaze across the crowd of unfamiliar faces. "The ones who should be leaving are all of you. This villa belongs to me," I said, pointing at the floor.

I pointed at the photo of Zara and the young man and continued, "That woman is my wife."

The crowd fell silent for a moment before they burst into laughter.

"Where did this crazy pauper come from? Did he go insane from thinking about money too much?"

"Are you blind? That woman is Mr. Alan Barrington's wife. She's the CEO of Apex Group! She would never be attracted to a pauper like you. Stop dreaming!"

What was going on?

I was the CEO of Apex Group.

The young man, Alan Barrington, sauntered toward me and gave me a once-over.

"I was wondering where the stench of poverty was coming from. A damned pauper accidentally wandered into the premises. Looking at the tattered clothes that you're wearing, I bet that they cost even less than a box of cigarettes. You've got some nerve trying to claim that this villa belongs to you."

I was rendered speechless by his words, refusing to believe that a box of cigarettes could cost 600 dollars.

I frowned and patiently explained, "I'm only going to say this one last time. This villa is mine. All of you are trespassing on private property right now. I'm willing to sweep this incident under the rug if you apologize and leave now."

The attendees began laughing even harder. They chortled until they ran out of breath and slapped their thighs.

"Have you lost your mind from greed? He's so funny, Mr. Barrington. He's accusing us of trespassing on private property when he's the one who's doing it. What a joke."

As I looked at Alan, I couldn't shake the feeling that his name sounded rather familiar. I looked down and sent a message to my assistant, Oliver Daniels, asking him to investigate Alan.

Alan swept his gaze across the crowd before addressing them smugly.

"This pauper is acting completely out of line. Who wants to teach him a lesson for me? You'll be rewarded handsomely!"

Greedy expressions immediately crossed everyone's faces.

"Let me do it, Mr. Barrington! I'll definitely discipline him to your heart's satisfaction."

"I'm willing to teach him a lesson, Mr. Barrington. But I'm not doing it for the money. I just can't stand his outrageous claims."

"I don't need the money, Mr. Barrington, but I'm an employee at Apex Group. I'll definitely work myself to the bone for you and Ms. Hudson if you can give me a leg-up over everyone else."

The crowd swarmed forward and tried to push me into the pool.

I hastily called someone on my phone.

Not even a minute later, six bodyguards, who were wearing sunglasses, rushed toward me and shielded me behind them.

"Let's see who dares to lay a finger on me now," I said, sweeping my cold gaze over Alan and his lackeys.

Seeing how they were still unaware of the predicament that they had gotten themselves into, I pointed at the bodyguards and the Rolex around my wrist that was worth over 100,000 dollars.

"Just think about it," I said sternly. "My watch costs over 100,000 dollars, and I have a team of bodyguards following me wherever I go. Do you really believe that I'm poor? On top of that, I knew the password for the front door. Don't you think that's strange?"

Doubt flickered across some of the guests' faces. It looked as if my words were getting through to them.

Meanwhile, Alan approached one of my bodyguards and jabbed his finger into his chest. He then ran his fingers over my watch.

He burst into laughter, exclaiming, "Where did you find these actors to act out this farce with you? I see that not only are you poor, but you also like to put on an act! Also, this watch of yours. It's clearly just a high-quality counterfeit."

What a preposterous situation. I was just about to insult him when a weak voice asked, "But, Mr. Barrington, why does a lowly scum like him know the password to your villa's front door?"

Alan was stunned by the question.

I was admiring Alan's speechless state when he seemed to recall something, a look of realization crossing his face.

"I know! You must be the cleaner that Zara hired!" he exclaimed, arching his brow and shooting an arrogant look at me.

Alan's lackeys immediately chimed in to support his claim.

"Not only did he show up without his uniform, but he also dared to provoke you. I'll file a complaint against him on your behalf, Mr. Barrington!"

"Tell me. Which company do you work for? All I have to do is lift a single finger to make you lose your job!"

A smug expression appeared on Alan's face as he looked at his lackeys. He lifted a black card high into the air and sneered, "Don't just stand there. Go ahead and teach him a lesson. I'll let you use my card to your heart's content if you do. There's no need to be scared because those bodyguards are just actors."

I stared at the card. It was the supplementary card that I had given to Zara!

I scoffed to myself before raising my voice and demanding, "You claim that this card belongs to you, but do you dare show everyone here the details of the card on your phone? Can you prove that the card is registered under your name?"

A hint of panic flickered across Alan's face.

I had a feeling that he knew that the card in his possession was just a supplementary card, but he had no idea that the main card was registered under my name.

"How dare this pauper doubt you, Mr. Barrington?"

"You said that you were going to give everyone here an iPhone 16, didn't you, Mr. Barrington? Go ahead and prove to him that the card belongs to you!"

Just then, Oliver sent me the results of his investigation.

It turned out that Alan was nothing more than a nightclub host.

The club that he was employed at was established by my childhood friend, Vincent Potter. He once told me that Alan was an expert at charming rich women.

It was no wonder his name had felt so familiar to me.

Oliver explained that Zara started funding Alan's lifestyle six months ago, right after I left for my business trip.

After getting in Zara's good graces, Alan moved into the villa and made exorbitant purchases with my supplementary card. He also claimed ownership of my luxury cars.

As for Zara, she took advantage of my absence and pretended to be the CEO of Apex Group, elevating her status in the eyes of others.

Most of the attendees of the party were employees of Apex Group. After finding out that Alan shared a close relationship with Zara, they became his lackeys.

In the end, Alan was nothing more than a host who lived off somebody else's money. A man like him was a far cry from the CEO of a company.

I became determined to expose his pathetic farce.

I fixed a doubtful expression on my face as I planned how to make Zara and him pay for the consequences of their actions.

"There are over 100 people here. Can you really afford to buy a new phone for all of them? You'll have to buy the one with the best specifications, of course, and those cost close to 1,000 dollars for just a single phone."

Alan's face slowly turned a ruddy red as he hesitated. Sweat beaded across his forehead and rolled down his face. He gritted his teeth as he took in everyone's expectant gazes and exclaimed, "Of course, I can! I'll do it right now!"

He then stubbornly handed the card to one of his subordinates, telling him to buy the phones.

The crowd cheered.

However, I knew that the supplementary card that I gave Zara only had a 20,000 credit limit. It was far from enough to buy over 100 iPhones with the best specifications.

Alan would have to work himself to the bone currying favor with his clients and selling countless bottles of alcohol to them before he could pay off the massive bill. However, he was also the one who was digging his own grave by being so stubborn.

"Do you acknowledge how amazing I am now, you stupid cleaner? If you grovel at my feet and lick my shoes, I might consider buying a phone for you as well," Alan sneered.

"He's right! You're just a cleaner, so I bet you've never seen so much money in your life, right? Get on your knees and beg Mr. Barrington for mercy right now. He might even reward you with something good!"

Alan and the others were still flaunting their arrogance, but I had reached the end of my patience for this farce. I told Oliver to inform Vincent about what was going on and tell him to rush over to the villa.

Naturally, the truth would come to light the moment Vincent showed up to drag Alan away.

"Forget the cleaner, Mr. Barrington. He'll definitely crack under the pressure and leave of his own accord when Ms. Hudson gets back."

"It's our first time visiting your villa. Why don't you give us a tour of the place?" one of Alan's lackeys asked excitedly as he scanned his surroundings.

Alan's anger immediately dissipated upon having his vanity thoroughly satisfied. He chuckled, saying, "Why not? I bet none of you have ever seen such opulence."

He led the group upstairs and explained, "I have a vault where I store all the rare items that I acquired from auctions. I'll let all of you have a look."

My heart skipped a beat upon hearing his words, and I hastily chased after him.

I wasn't worried about the collectibles. Instead, panic coursed through me because I had placed the last item that my daughter, Holly Chambers, had left behind in the vault. She passed away when she was five years old.

I had just rushed upstairs when I saw Alan lifting Holly's favorite porcelain cat figure high up in the air.

"Who put this piece of trash here?" he complained before hurling the figure to the floor.

"Put it down!" I roared. "Put it down now!"

My eyes widened. The bodyguards lunged forward to stop him.

However, it was too late.

The cat figure shattered into a million pieces with a loud cracking noise. The broken shards were scattered all across the floor.

My hands trembled violently as my fury reached a boiling point.

I had been angry earlier when I found out that my villa had been stolen, that my supplementary card was being used by a stranger, and that Zara was cheating on me with a host, but I had been able to stay rational.

However, at that moment, as I watched Alan destroy the last item that Holly had left behind, I was overwhelmed with the urge to take revenge on everyone present.

Alan cackled. "Why are you panicking when I'm simply breaking my own belongings? You're just a cleaner. I can break anything in here if I feel like it, let alone a useless piece of trash like that!"

He arched his brow and shot an arrogant look at me. He then picked up a small, crystal glass and hurled it in my direction.

He probably chose the glass because it was the smallest item in the vault, assuming that it was worthless. However, he had no idea that the tiny glass was actually worth 9,000 dollars.

I finally lost my temper as I took in Alan's smug expression. After ordering the bodyguards to immobilize him, I punched him hard in the face.

"How dare you, Alan Barrington?" I shouted.

Alan shot a look of disbelief at me as he held his cheek. "Have you lost your mind? Do you know who I am? My wife is the CEO of Apex Group! People like us can crush a small fry like you under our feet without breaking a sweat!"

"I already told you that Zara is my wife," I retorted. "I'm the CEO of Apex Group."

Seeing how Alan still refused to back down, I punched him again.

A furious expression crossed Alan's face. He grabbed his phone and dialed Zara's number, shouting, "You need to come home right now, Zara! The cleaner you hired is provoking us. He also raised his hand against me!"

Alan's eyes were bloodshot when he looked at me again, breathing heavily. "Just you wait."

His lackeys shot angry looks at me as they whispered among themselves.

"He's done for. He angered Mr. Barrington."

"Let's see what other lies he's going to come up with when Ms. Hudson shows up later."

Meanwhile, I quietly picked up and cradled the shattered pieces of the cat figure, not sparing the people around me a single glance.

A person showed up at the door of the villa 20 minutes later.

It was none other than my wife, Zara, who had rushed home as quickly as she could.