Chapter 1

For the three years I was studying abroad, the black card with no spending limit that I left for my son was maxed out every single month.

At first, I told him that as long as he spent more than five million a month, I’d grant him any wish.

As time went on, the card kept exceeding its limit, but he never made a single request.

Every alert I got was either a luxury sports car every three days, a private estate every five days, or even more ridiculous, ninety-nine adult toys.

I thought as long as my boy was happy spending money, I didn't care what weird hobbies he had.

Until three days later, right after my plane touched down, I got a call saying my son had been hit by a car while collecting scrap metal on the street.

He was in the hospital, unable to even pay his medical bills.

While I was still reeling in shock, the nurse barked over the line: "Mr. Miller, I’ve never seen a father as neglectful as you. If you don't show up right now, you might never see your kid alive again!"

I rushed to the hospital in a panic, only to see his broken, emaciated body.

My heart shattered. But right then, my phone buzzed with an alert from the black card—a VIP spa purchase.

I immediately stopped my assistant from canceling the card, letting out a dark chuckle.

Loved swiping my card, did you? Then I'll let you spend until it kills you!

I stepped off the plane holding the carefully chosen birthday gift, picturing the sweet smile on my son’s face when he saw the surprise.

Instead, the moment I walked out of the terminal and unlocked my phone, I saw dozens of missed calls.

The phone rang again, and I answered immediately.

"This is Grace Hospital. Are you Caleb Miller's father?"

"He was hit by a car yesterday while picking up discarded cans in the street. He was rushed to our emergency room."

"He survived resuscitation, but someone needs to settle the bill."

My mind went completely blank, struck by lightning.

"That’s impossible," I blurted out.

The nurse’s tone grew sharp and aggressive.

"Don't try to dodge the bill. Get over here and pay right now, or we'll kick your kid out onto the curb to fend for himself."

She slammed the phone down with a sharp click.

Filled with panic and disbelief, I ordered my driver to speed toward the hospital.

Why would Caleb be out collecting scrap? Even if he burned through cash, the nanny at home wouldn't dare starve him.

And with that black card, how could he not afford his hospital bills?

The second the car stopped, I sprinted straight to the ward, only to find my son lying there, skin and bones.

His arm and right leg were broken, bound in thick plaster casts that made his already frail limbs look utterly withered.

When he caught sight of me, his hollow, lifeless eyes instantly flooded with tears.

I pulled him into my arms, gently patting his back.

"Don't be scared, buddy. Dad's home."

His face was covered in dark bruises and swelling, and his exposed skin was littered with scars.

In just one year, my once bright and playful boy had been turned into a broken shell.

Caleb's tears poured like an open floodgate. He buried his face in my shoulder, sobbing:

"Dad, the nurse said today’s the deadline... If we don't pay, they’re gonna throw me out..."

His tears burned against my skin, sending a jolt of pain through my chest. I stroked his hair and asked softly:

"Didn't Dad leave you the black card? How could you have no money?"

His small frame shuddered. Only after seeing the encouragement in my eyes did he whisper:

"Hayley snatched my black card and gave it to Julian. Julian said I don't deserve to be the Miller heir, and I definitely don't deserve her."

Hayley Wood was the daughter of our housekeeper, Martha. Julian was the boy mistakenly swapped with Caleb at birth years ago. Those two had always been close.

People around us used to gossip that Hayley would become our future daughter-in-law.

When Caleb was finally brought back to us, I sent Julian away to a separate luxury home with more than enough trust-fund money to last a lifetime, just so Caleb wouldn’t feel uneasy. I had done more than my duty.

I never expected that pair of ungrateful vipers would dare lay a finger on my real son.

I would make them regret ever being born.

Looking at Caleb's trembling, frail state, a knife twisted in my heart.

"Dad won't let them get away with this. From now on, no one will ever hurt you again."

The words barely left my mouth when a sour-faced nurse barged in, tossing the invoice onto the bed.

Her eyes were rolled so far up they almost disappeared. "Pay up right now. Don't think you can sneak out of this."

I looked around the foul-smelling, cramped public ward, then at the filthy sheets beneath my son. My rage boiled over.

One phone call was all it took. Within two minutes, the chief of medicine rushed in with dozens of senior doctors. The nurse’s face drained of color.

"Your treatment of patients has violated our fundamental ethics. You are terminated on the spot," the director barked.

After firing her, he bowed deeply to me, shaking with apologies.

"Mr. Miller, this was our gross oversight. We deeply apologize for the mistreatment your son suffered."

Only then did the nurse realize what kind of monster she had crossed. She started begging for mercy, but the guards dragged her out.

I declined the hospital's offer to upgrade him to a luxury suite and made another call.

In less than ten minutes, my private medical team arrived, safely wheeling Caleb into my private armored transport.

My sharp, elite personal assistant clicked her heels behind me, delivering a hushed briefing.

"While you were abroad, Hayley Wood launched her own startup. She claimed publicly to be your future daughter-in-law to secure corporate investments and client trust."

"She claimed you'd hand the entire empire over to her sooner or later, and she poached numerous contracts from our subsidiaries."

"She announced Julian was her only fiancé. Julian seized the properties you set aside for Caleb and kicked Caleb out of the family estate entirely."