Chapter 2Broken Man's Billionaire Revenge

A profound, suffocating grief washed over me.

I stared at my perfectly healthy wife, whose eyes were full of evasiveness, and my son, whose eyes were bright, curious, and utterly undamaged. The sky hadn't just fallen; it had dissolved, leaving me floating in a void of lies.

I had been living in a carefully constructed stage play.

Behind Leo, a man walked in. He radiated money and privilege. Tailored black suit, expensive watch, a demeanor that spoke of effortless, casual power.

Sera moved her head slightly, a frantic, useless attempt to shield Leo from my view.

My heart shattered on the floor, the sound of the pieces inaudible beneath the roaring in my ears.

“Leo?” My voice was a choked whisper.

Leo spotted me. He frowned, his flawless features pinching with annoyance. “What are you doing here?”

The cold, distant look in his eyes—the kind of look you give a stranger on the street—was a fresh stab of pain.

“You… you were lying to me, too?” I whispered, all the strength draining out of my body.

Leo’s frown deepened. It was the kind of disdain that could crush a grown man. “Lying? Oh, yeah, I guess I was. If Mom hadn't said it was ‘interesting’ to keep you fooled, why would I have gone along with it? It was disgusting! Wearing that cheap, smelly eye patch every day in that gross little apartment.”

Leo stood tall in a miniature suit and a bow tie, looking like a little prince of industry. I used to look at him and feel a surge of foolish, ordinary pride. How could someone so exquisite come from someone so plain?

He had always been aloof, but I’d dismissed it as precocious maturity, a boy too old to cling to his father. But watching him now, how tightly he clutched the hand of the man in the black suit—Damon Royce—his face open with pure, trusting dependency, I knew the truth.

I closed my eyes, the bitter cold of betrayal seeping into my bones. I sank to my knees, shaking uncontrollably.

Leo, emboldened by my collapse, dropped the pretense entirely. “Seriously, now that you know, I don’t have to pretend anymore. We only stayed in that dump for your sake, you know? Honestly, Dad? I don’t know what Mom saw in you. You’re old, you’re… ugh. I literally couldn't eat when I looked at your face. You’re nothing compared to Uncle Damon.”

Tears blurred my vision. I couldn't clearly see Leo's face anymore.

When Leo had his supposed injury, he was a spoiled terror. I had to coax and feed him every bite, despite a full day of exhausting work. I never complained. I cooked, cleaned, and cared for both of them. I thought I was a good man, a dedicated father and husband.

In their eyes, I was trash. Even to my own son.

Damon Royce stepped forward, his expression a mixture of contempt and bored curiosity. “So, you’re Ethan Kade? Yeah, you do look pretty pathetic.”

He surveyed my crumpled, shaking form, then smiled, a chilling, condescending gesture. “No wonder Leo despises you and wants me to be his father. If I were him, I’d hate you, too. Seven days for five thousand dollars? Leo’s allowance for one day is more than that.”

My back felt like it was snapping under the weight of his judgment. I wiped the tears from my face, desperate to shout a defense, but Seraphina beat me to it.

“Leo, honey, why don’t you and Damon go ahead to the restaurant? I need to talk to… Ethan. Alone.”

Leo wasn't having it. “Why? Since he knows, let’s just get it over with! I don’t want to be involved with this failure of a man ever again!”

Damon, too, seemed to prefer an audience for the kill. He gave me that casual, predatory smile. “You know that saying, Ethan? All the world’s a stage?”