I had spent everything I had trying to raise my daughter into the perfect successor.

But just before the inauguration ceremony, I accidentally found a paternity test she had taken 15 years ago.

The results showed that her DNA matched my late wife's first love by 99.99%.

I took the report and confronted her.

But she only smiled with satisfaction.

"Dad... No, I should call you Uncle Liam now.

"Now that the company is under my control, if you admit at tomorrow's shareholders meeting that you and my mother had already divorced, and explain what really happened when they tried to run away back then and got into that accident, I might still let you retire peacefully, for the sake of the 25 years you raised me."

I met her confident gaze and suddenly laughed softly.

Then I picked up the phone and made a call.

Who ever said I only had one heir?

A calm, steady man's voice came through the phone as soon as the call connected.

"Hello, Dad."

"You should come to tomorrow's shareholders meeting and the inauguration ceremony for the new CEO. And make sure you dress formally, because you'll be the company's new CEO."

I spoke while looking at Julie Setford, who sat across from me.

For a split second, surprise flashed across her face. But it quickly turned into mockery.

The moment I hung up, she sneered. "Uncle Liam, your acting is terrible! Do you really think I'd be scared just because you hired some nobody to call you 'Dad'?"

She laughed coldly. "Everyone in Jesselton knows I'm your daughter. I'm also your only heir. If you want to scare me, at least come up with something believable."

I looked at the "daughter" I had loved and protected for 25 years. Anger and heartbreak twisted inside me.

I had thought she truly cared about me.

I never imagined she would betray me like this.

"You know how much I've spoiled you these past 25 years," I said hoarsely. "How could you do this to me?"

As I spoke, I slammed two documents onto the table.

One was a paternity test she had secretly taken 15 years ago.

The other was a property transfer agreement.

Over the years, I had given her countless houses, apartments, and storefronts.

Yet she had quietly transferred all of them to her biological father, Timothy Nolan.

"Julie, what hurts me isn't that you aren't my biological daughter. What hurts me is that you betrayed me for a man who never raised you."

Julie hesitated. A conflicted look appeared in her eyes.

But a moment later, as if she had remembered something, her expression hardened again. There was even hatred in her gaze.

"Liam, stop pretending to be some great man! If you had known I wasn't your real daughter, you would've kicked me out of the Setford family long ago.

"Dad was right. You're the most hypocritical man in the world!

"15 years ago, you promised to let my mom and dad leave together. But behind their backs, you ran to tell Grandpa and Grandma. If you hadn't done that, they wouldn't have gotten into that car accident! Mom wouldn't have died, and Dad wouldn't have been crippled!

"In a way, you're the one who killed my mother!"

I almost laughed from anger.

Back then, it was Timothy who had taken money from my in-laws. He had planned to abandon Julie's mother and run away alone.

The two of them argued fiercely, and that argument led to the accident.

And now Timothy had twisted the truth and blamed everything on me.

I took a deep breath, wanting to tell Julie what had really happened.

But before I could speak, she yelled again.

"Not just Mom! Dad lost his legs because of you too! He has to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and endure everyone's ridicule. So giving him money and houses is only fair! You owe him that!"

Listening to her righteous accusations, my heart still ached.

After all, I couldn't just throw away 25 years of love.

"As long as you clear my dad's name at tomorrow's board meeting and transfer all your shares to him as compensation, I'll still take care of you like a real daughter.

"You know most of the shareholders and the important people in the company are on my side now. You don't have any other choice."

I looked at her coldly and laughed bitterly.

"Julie, I gave you the best education. I taught you how to become a qualified business leader. But I forgot to teach you how to be a decent human being. It's my..."

Before I could finish, a familiar yet unwelcome voice interrupted me.

"My daughter doesn't need you to teach her anything."

It was Timothy.

He rolled into the room in a wheelchair, dressed in an expensive custom-made suit.

The smug smile on his face was impossible to miss.

"Liam," he said with a grin, "I know you must feel miserable right now. You couldn't beat me when it came to winning a woman. You helped me raise my daughter for more than 20 years. And now..."

He looked around my office proudly. "Even your company belongs to my daughter."

I clenched my fists as I met his provocative gaze.

Every muscle in my body screamed at me to punch him.

But I forced myself to hold back.

I decided to let them enjoy their victory for one more day.

Tomorrow, at the shareholders meeting, I would show them exactly who they were dealing with.

Early the next morning, I arrived at the company, only to be stopped by security at the front entrance.

"Mr. Setford, we're very sorry, but you can't enter the building today."

I froze for a moment before anger surged through me.

"This is my company! I pay your salaries, and now you're telling me I can't go inside?"

The security guard looked miserable.

"We're really sorry, Mr. Setford. We're just employees following orders. If you have any objections, please talk to Ms. Setford directly. Please don't make things difficult for us."

Ms. Setford?

Before I could say another word, a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Everyone says Mr. Setford is the most caring boss in Jesselton. But now I see the rumors aren't true after all."

I turned around. Julie was pushing Timothy's wheelchair toward me.

I ignored Timothy's mockery and looked straight at Julie.

"Julie, was this your doing? You're the one who banned me from the company?"

She pressed her lips together and lowered her head.

"I'm doing this for your own good, I don't want you losing your temper and embarrassing yourself in front of all the shareholders."

I laughed coldly.

"You're not even the CEO yet. Don't celebrate too early."

But she shook her head.

"You misunderstood. The new CEO won't be me. It'll be my dad."

Timothy burst into laughter.

"Mr. Setford, Julie transferred all of her shares to me overnight. She also helped me buy up shares from the smaller shareholders at a premium."

He grinned smugly. "Now I own exactly the same number of shares as you.

"As long as more than half the shareholders support me today, I'll become the new CEO of Setford Group.

"Oh, I've already decided the first thing I'll do after taking office. I hate the name Setford. How about changing it to Nolan Group instead?"

Seeing his arrogant face, I was once again shocked by Julie's ruthlessness.

On her 18th birthday, I had given her half of my shares.

It was my gift to her. It carried all my love for her and all the hopes I had for her future.

Yet today, all of that had become the weapon she used against me.

When Julie met my shocked and furious gaze, guilt flashed across her face.

For a brief moment, she looked like she wanted to say something. But when she looked at Timothy sitting beside her, the guilt disappeared instantly.

She opened her purse and took out a check.

"Uncle Liam, I'll buy your shares for twice the market price. Don't be greedy.

"This money is more than enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life."

I was so angry that I laughed.

She had handed the company I spent my whole life building to the man who destroyed her mother's life, and now she was telling me to be grateful.

How ridiculous.

"A former bar escort who never even finished elementary school wants to be CEO of Setford Group? Does he honestly think he's qualified?"

Timothy's face instantly turned red. A vicious look flashed through his eyes.

He turned toward the security guards. "Can't you tell he's here to cause trouble? Throw him out! Or do none of you want your jobs anymore?"

The guards exchanged helpless looks. Finally, one of them stepped forward.

"Mr. Setford, please leave on your own. We really don't want to force you."

Another guard sighed. "Yeah, Mr. Setford. This is a conflict between upper management. Please don't drag us into it. We rely on this paycheck to feed our families."

Hearing their pleas, I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white. I was furious.

But Timothy only became more arrogant.

"Mr. Setford, if you refuse to leave, these guards will be fired for neglecting their duties. And I guarantee they won't find another job anywhere in Jesselton."

That was the last straw. I lunged forward and grabbed Timothy by the collar.

But before I could do anything else, the two huge bodyguards behind him rushed over. One kick sent me flying backward. I crashed onto the ground.

Timothy shouted angrily. "Beat him! If we don't teach him a lesson today, he'll still think I'm the same Timothy from 15 years ago. The same man he could bully whenever he wanted!"

The two bodyguards immediately surrounded me. Their fists and kicks rained down on me without mercy.

I was beaten until I collapsed on the ground in front of all the employees in the company.

I couldn't even crawl back to my feet.

Meanwhile, Julie stood behind Timothy the entire time, watching everything unfold with indifferent eyes.

Julie brought me back to the CEO's office.

She took out the first-aid kit and gently dabbed medicine onto the cuts on my face.

At the same time, she said softly, "You're not young anymore, so why are you still this stubborn? Wouldn't it be better to take the money and retire peacefully?

"Uncle Liam, don't you understand yet? The one who isn't loved is the extra person. So what if you and Mom were legally married? She never loved you."