Chapter 2Watch Your Empire Fall This Life

There was a heavy pause on the other end. The voice that finally answered sounded exhausted, brittle with years of false hope. "Another scammer?"

I let out a soft laugh. "This one is the real deal. Just tell me where and when you want to do the DNA test."

It was true. After I died in my last life, I discovered that my biological parents were fiercely private, ultra-wealthy billionaires.

My adoptive parents were just working-class people who had found me abandoned by a patch of tall grass off a busy street.

The only reason I grew up knowing Catherine and Wesley was because my adoptive mother worked as a housekeeper at the Dupont estate. My adoptive dad worked grueling shifts, so my mom had no choice but to bring me to work.

Day after day, I trailed behind Catherine, and she trailed behind Wesley. Over time, we became a trio.

When we were kids, the companionship was genuine. But as we grew older and the invisible walls of social class began to solidify, things changed. Catherine and Wesley never said it out loud, but deep down, they looked down on me. I was the help's kid.

Now, breathing the air of a second life, I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realized who I really was.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated violently against my thigh. I answered it quickly.

Catherine’s shrieking voice blasted through the speaker. "Elliot, where the hell are you?! I am giving you exactly twenty minutes to get back to the office!"

"Oh, and detour to Fifth Avenue to pick up the dress I ordered! Their courier is too slow. Move your ass, Elliot! If you make me late to see Wesley, I will end you!"

She hung up before I could utter a single syllable.

I let out a low, cold breath. It was just a preliminary business meeting, but she was treating it like she was walking down the aisle.

That was the power of the golden boy.

I had guarded her quietly for twenty years, and it amounted to nothing compared to a man who had ignored her for a decade.

Well, I was officially retiring from the role of the pathetic lapdog.

But, considering she was technically still my boss, I drove toward the boutique. By the time I picked up her dress, I was already fifteen minutes past her deadline. I wasn't in a rush. As I walked past a high-end designer window, my eyes caught a stunning white dress. A phantom image flashed through my mind, and on a whim, I walked in and bought it.

When I finally made it back, Catherine was, predictably, ballistic.

"What is wrong with you today, Elliot?! Everything you do is a beat too slow! Did you know I was meeting Wesley? Are you doing this on purpose?!"

She knew I had feelings for her.

Wesley had been the one to tell her.

Before that, Catherine just found my working-class background a bit distasteful. But after Wesley snooped through my private journals and outed my feelings to her, her distaste curdled into absolute disgust.

Wesley had casually dropped the bomb with a smirk. "You know, Catherine, Elliot wouldn't be a bad choice for you. I kind of ship it."

From that day on, Wesley deliberately iced Catherine out. Not because he actually cared about her, but simply because he loved torturing me.

The more miserable I was, the more entertained he was.

His resentment stemmed from the fact that, growing up, I outperformed him in everything. Academics, sports, you name it. A nobody eclipsing the shining heir apparent. For a narcissist like Wesley, it was an unforgivable offense.

But how was that my fault? Gold shines, no matter where you bury it.

I let Catherine hit my arm a few times, her manicured nails digging into my jacket, before I stepped back. My voice was dead calm. "Are you done?"

In my last life, Catherine used my love for her as a weapon to endlessly torment me. But this time, carrying the physical memory of a crushed ribcage and shattered glass, I wasn't going down that road again.

Having seen the ugly, rotten core of who she really was, loving her was a physical impossibility.

Catherine froze, her hand hovering in the air. "Did you just snap at me, Elliot?"

I needed to buy time. I hadn't officially reunited with my biological family yet, so I couldn't completely blow up my life here.

I swallowed the vitriol and forced a veneer of patience. "We are less than thirty minutes away from the meeting. If you don't hurry up, you're going to leave him with the impression that you're unpunctual. I imagine that's not what you want."

I paused, letting my tone drop casually. "Besides, I heard Wesley is bringing his new executive secretary today. Word is, she's absolutely gorgeous..."

I feigned indifference, but it worked like a charm. Catherine's eyes widened, her brows snapping together in immediate insecurity.

"Well, what are you standing there for?!" she snapped. "Grab the files and get the car ready!"