"Stop!"

The slap never landed.

Cyrus lunged forward and grabbed my arm.

He wasn't a little kid anymore. The strength in his grip caught me off guard.

I paused.

No matter how hard I tried to pull free, he held on with all his strength.

When he turned to look at me, his eyes were filled with hatred.

"...You dare stop me?"

I met Cyrus's gaze and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Get out of my way! You don't get a say in this family! Who the hell do you think you are to stop me?"

The next second, I kicked him away without the slightest mercy.

Cyrus clutched his stomach and staggered backward with a cry of pain before collapsing onto the floor.

Olivia let out a shrill scream and rushed over to check on him.

"Cyrus! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Cyrus's eyes were red.

Pain twisted his face as he grimaced.

The moment Olivia saw that, she looked up at me with fury blazing in her eyes.

"Simon! If anything happens to Cyrus, you'll answer for it! Have you lost your mind? Did you come back from overseas just to go crazy? What kind of bastard are you?"

Her words only made me angrier.

I'll answer for it?

She treated our son like dirt, and I hadn't even begun to settle the score with her.

Yet now she was turning everything around and blaming me instead.

Back when Olivia and I first got married, she had been diagnosed with infertility.

To fulfill her wish of having a child, we adopted Jared.

Back then, we promised each other that Jared would be our son, no different from one born to us.

Even if her condition was cured someday and she became able to have children, we would never have another child of our own.

And the truth about Jared's adoption would remain a secret from him forever.

Now not only had she let Jared find out, she was openly favoring Cyrus.

That could only make things harder for Jared.

In all our years of marriage, I had never laid a hand on her.

I'd spent all these years taking care of her and giving her the best of everything.

And this was what she'd become.

"Fine, Olivia. Let's see exactly how you're going to make me pay for it!"

Just as I was about to move again, Jared grabbed hold of me.

"Dad! Stop!"

I looked at him, unable to understand why he was stopping me.

Jared shook his head and spoke through clenched teeth.

"It wasn't Mom who told me. I... I found out by accident. She didn't do it on purpose. Please stop."

I took several deep breaths before finally forcing down my anger.

"Fine. I'll listen to you, but this isn't over."

"Get out! From now on, you have nothing to do with this family! Who the hell do you think you are? Just because you're wearing a Rolex and driving a nice car, you think you're somebody?"

Cyrus froze.

His face quickly flushed red with humiliation.

Then, at last, he snapped.

He lifted his chin defiantly and shot back, "What right do you have to tell me to leave? Everything I have was given to me by my mom! It has nothing to do with you!

“I gave you a little respect, and now you actually think you're some kind of authority figure?"

The moment I heard that, my heart sank.

Over the years, work kept me busy.

Olivia had always handled Cyrus's sponsorship, and I trusted her completely, so I rarely asked questions.

Cyrus had been away at boarding school and only moved in after graduating from high school.

Meanwhile, I'd spent that entire period traveling for work, including a full year overseas.

It was no wonder he assumed the company belonged to Olivia and spoke to me with so little respect.

"Cyrus, just stop talking, okay?"

Olivia stepped forward and gently tugged at his arm.

But there was no stopping his temper now.

With a mocking laugh, he glanced at Jared beside me and sneered, "I'll be honest with you. Yeah, I deliberately made things difficult for Jared. So what?

“The fact that I was willing to bully him was practically an honor for him. He really thinks he's some rich kid? If I'm not good enough, then what makes him any better?"

I saw Jared's fists clench so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

Several times, he opened his mouth as if to speak, only to stop himself.

I immediately fixed Cyrus with a cold stare.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

A knowing smile appeared on Cyrus's face.

"It's simple..."

"Cyrus! Don't say it! Shut up!"

Olivia realized what he was about to reveal and cried out in panic.

But Cyrus's eyes had already turned red.

He shouted the words anyway.

"Because I'm Olivia Quinn's biological son! What is Jared supposed to be? Who does he think he is? He wants to stand equal to me in this family? Dream on!"