"Attack!"

The men charged toward me, swinging their batons. I could already hear the sound of my bones cracking.

My white shirt was soaked with blood and even my black suit had turned dark red, a shocking sight, but they showed no mercy, as if they wouldn’t stop until I was dead.

"If I die here today, the Rodriguez Family won’t let you go!"

"You still think you’re the cherished eldest son of the Rodriguez Family? You’re just a mistake, a bastard who was taken by accident! If Sir and Madam didn’t pity you, they would’ve thrown you out long ago!"

"When Matthew returned, they wanted to send you away. If it weren’t for Cindy begging for you to stay, saying it’s like keeping another dog, do you think you’d still be here in the Rodriguez family?"

"And now you still dream of stealing Matthew’s bride!"

I suddenly laughed. "So you’re not scared I’ll mess up the wedding, you actually want to kill me!"

"It wouldn’t be strange if you fell to your death while trying to escape, right, Joseph?"

I felt scared. I could die, but not this quickly. And this wasn’t the way I had chosen to die. What if I couldn’t return?

I didn’t know where the strength came from, but I pushed the person in front of me, knocking over the eternal lamp my mother had lit for Matthew on the platform.

The lamp fell to the floor and caught the nearby curtains on fire. The villa was soon swallowed by the fire.

"Damn you, little bastard! How dare you start a fire!"

Taking advantage of their panic, I ran out, dragging my injured leg.

The villa area was surrounded by security cameras, so they didn’t dare to chase me.

Wearing a blood-stained suit, I limped to the street, dragging my broken leg as I tried to stop a taxi to get to the hotel.

Maybe because I looked frightening, no driver wanted to pick me up. At last, a kind young man stopped and asked if I needed help. I begged him to take me to the hotel.

The hotel belonged to my father and the staff there knew who I was. So even when the guards and receptionists saw me, none of them dared to stop me.

When I reached the reception hall, Cindy and our parents were there. They were warmly greeting the wedding guests, their faces glowing with happiness. But the moment they saw me, their smiles disappeared.

Many reporters had come to cover this grand wedding and when they saw me suddenly appear, they all rushed forward to take photos.

Cindy walked up to me. "Why are you here?"

"You useless fools! You can’t even watch over one person!"

"Look at yourself! You came here just to ruin things for us, didn’t you?"

"Do you want to be on the front page that badly? Do you want attention that much?"

Mom hurried over, her eyes full of worry. "Joseph, what happened to you? Is that blood on your suit?"

"It’s blood. All mine. I was beaten half to death by Matthew’s men. I barely made it out alive."

Dad raised his hand and slapped me, blood spilling from the corner of my mouth.

"Shameless brat! You just can’t stand your brother, can you?"

Mom grabbed my hand. "Joseph, you said Matthew’s men attacked you?"

Cindy pulled her away. "How could that be? He must have painted himself with paint. He always loves showing off in front of the media!"

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me out. I stumbled a few steps and fell to the floor, my broken leg exposed for everyone to see, leaving the whole crowd in shock.

The bone in my leg had seen through the skin, leaving it visible. I stood before them, dragging my broken leg.

Anyone else with such a wound would have been in unbearable pain and unable to stand.

Luckily, the system showed me mercy and activated my pain resistance, so I didn’t feel a thing.

Mom covered her mouth, crying. "Joseph, how could you be hurt this badly!"

Dad's eyes flashed with pain. "How could you do this to yourself?"

Even Cindy, who had been harsh with me earlier, stood frozen in shock. Claire pushed through the crowd and saw me lying there.

"Joseph?"

I raised my blood-covered face and looked at him. "You came just in time. I have a few questions for you."

Matthew soon appeared, looking composed in his perfectly fitted suit, but his face was covered with tears. "Joseph, today is the most important day of my life. Do you really have to destroy it?"

He trembled as he cried. "Why do you keep targeting me? You’ve already taken everything I had!"

"I only want Claire. Can’t you just let us be together?"

Cindy tried to help me up. "I’ll take you to the hospital."

"Sister!" Matthew’s voice shook as he cried. "The ceremony is about to start. Are you leaving now?"

"This is just Joseph hurting himself. Do you honestly think I would beat my own brother like this?"

Cindny pushed my hand away.

"Joseph, you’re truly cruel. Just to accuse Matthew, you’d go as far as hurting yourself like this."

"Go to the hospital on your own. Don’t worry, our Rodriguez Family won’t abandon a cripple. We’ll get the best doctor to fix your leg."

I knew no words could change anything, so I clenched my teeth and stood up. "I just want to say a few things to you, then I’ll leave."

"Claire, from the beginning, being with me was only a bet between you and your sister. You never truly loved me, did you?"

"Yes."

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I once believed I was the happiest person alive. I had parents and a sister who loved me and someone who cherished me deeply.

But it turned out everything was just a dream that broke so easily. I could have chosen to stay in this world forever, surrounded by my family. However, now, I have made up my mind to return. "One last question."

"Why did you wait until the wedding day to tell me the truth when you had already been with me?"

"Because Matthew couldn’t handle it, he made me keep it a secret."

I burst out laughing. "My brother is truly kind! He didn’t want me to be sad, so he waited until the wedding day to tell me it was all just a bet."

"You made me wear a suit and watch you get married like a fool. Wasn’t that just to humiliate me?"

"Nonsense! Matthew isn’t as scheming as you claim!"

I gave a bitter smile. "Not as scheming as I say? Since he came home, he’s tried to kill himself countless times, big and small."

"When did he ever succeed? Someone who really wants to die doesn’t wait to be saved!"

"Shut up! How dare you speak that way about your brother!"

Dad was about to strike me again, but Mom stopped him. "Enough! Joseph is already badly hurt. Don’t hit him."

"Dad, I’m your son too. You raised me with love. Just because I’m not your real son, does that mean I don’t deserve your trust?"

"You said your brother had you beaten up! Do you really think I’d believe such a ridiculous lie?"

Matthew fainted the moment he heard that. He grabbed his chest and collapsed backward.

"Joseph, how could you accuse me like that? Are you trying to kill me?"

I let out a cold laugh. "If you’re that eager to die, why don’t you come with me to the rooftop and die together?"

Claire grew mad and stepped forward, gripping my neck. "If you want to die, then do it yourself. But if you dare to provoke Matthew again, I’ll kill you right here!"

I could hardly breathe under her chokehold. Just when I thought I was going to suffocate, she finally let go.

"Get out of my sight! You hear me? I feel sick just looking at you!"

I slowly moved toward the elevator. "I’ll leave! You’ll never see me again."

"Joseph, where are you going? The door’s over there."

Mom ran after me a few steps, but Dad stopped her. "Leave him! Let him go wherever he wants. Matthew’s wedding matters more."

The whole family gathered around to comfort Matthew, none of them realizing I had already reached the rooftop of the hotel.

Standing there, I was just one step away from going home. I waited for the countdown to end. I had to jump exactly when the system told me to, or I wouldn’t be able to return.

Someone noticed me standing on the edge and quickly called the police. The officers arrived soon after and set up an air cushion below.

The wedding had just ended and the Rodriguez Family was walking their guests to the main entrance when they heard that someone was about to jump.

My sister became mad. "Who’s so unlucky to jump off my hotel on my brother’s wedding day?"

"Miss Rodriguez, it’s Joseph!"

Everyone’s expressions changed instantly. Claire started laughing. "Joseph? He’s just pretending. If he really dares to die, I’ll eat shit!"

Matthew collapsed into Claire’s arms. "Why won’t Joseph leave me alone? Why is he so set on destroying me? Maybe I should never come back to the Rodriguez Family. I shouldn’t have lived at all!"

Claire simply held Matthew in her arms. "Mom and Dad, just send Joseph away. As long as he stays here, Matthew will never get better."

Dad gave a serious nod. "Hurry and tell the police to take down the air cushion. Joseph would never really jump. Causing this kind of scene is exactly what he wants."

Cindy paused for a moment, then went out to speak with the police.

"Officers, please remove the air cushion. My brother was only joking, he wouldn’t actually jump."

"If we take down the air cushion, we won’t be responsible if something happens to the suicidal person."

"You don’t have to take responsibility. Joseph doesn’t have the courage to die."

Under the family’s pressure, the police finally removed the air cushion. I let out a breath of relief from above. If that cushion had stayed, I might not have died from the fall.

Claire supported Matthew and was about to point at me on the rooftop and start shouting.

Then, like a falling stone, I hit the ground right in front of the Rodriguez Family and Claire.

A loud crash echoed and blood splashed across their faces.