Chapter 1

In my past life, I threw myself in front of a truck to save my father. I ended up with both legs shattered beyond repair, permanently disabled.

He looked down at me in my wheelchair. "You're nothing but an embarrassment to the Carrington name."

Then he brought his mistress and her son into our home without a shred of shame. At the company gala, he replaced me with his illegitimate son.

"We can't have people asking questions at the banquet. Brandon will go in your place. It's not like we're taking anything from you."

My mother was framed by the mistress and died in a psychiatric facility. I was locked in a basement, cut off from water and medication, and left to rot.

The mistress became the celebrated Mrs. Carrington, and the illegitimate son became the sole heir.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back, one second before the truck hit my father.

Chapter 1

The crash was deafening. Blood sprayed through the air in an instant.

I stood less than ten feet away, watching every second of it.

"Help... somebody help me..."

My father, Victor Carrington, lay pinned beneath the wheels, screaming. His legs were caught between the crumpled hood and the guardrail, mangled beyond recognition.

I looked down at my own two legs, perfectly intact, and felt nothing but satisfaction. This time around, he was the one who would never walk again.

In my last life, I had thrown myself in front of that truck to save him and spent the rest of my days in a wheelchair for it. I thought that kind of sacrifice would earn his sympathy, but all it earned me was his disgust.

He said having me show up to events in a wheelchair was an embarrassment to the Carrington name, so he wasted no time bringing his mistress, Monica Lane, and their son, Brandon, into our home. He let them take my room and cut off my rehabilitation medication.

When Monica framed my mother and had her committed to a psychiatric facility where she was tormented until she died, all Victor said was, "She was crazy. At least it's quiet now."

In the end, Brandon locked me in a basement that reeked of rot, and I starved to death in the dark. As I lay dying, I could hear the banquet hall upstairs where Victor was hosting a lavish gala to announce Brandon as his sole heir.

I would never forget the cold and despair I felt.

"Mr. Arthur! Hurry, call 911! The chairman's trapped under the truck!"

The driver's screaming pulled me back to the present. I swallowed the hatred, put on a look of pure terror, and stumbled toward the wreck.

"Dad! Dad, hang on! I'm calling an ambulance right now!"

At Fairview General Hospital, the surgery light outside the emergency room stayed on for six straight hours before a grim-faced doctor finally pushed through the doors.

"Mr. Arthur, your father pulled through, but his condition is serious." He paused, his tone heavy.

"Both of his legs have comminuted fractures. The nerves and blood vessels are beyond saving, and the infection is widespread. If we don't amputate at the hip immediately, he won't survive the night."

"Amputation?" I looked up sharply, my voice trembling. "Is there really nothing else you can do? Even if he could just use a wheelchair..."

"He'd need legs for that." The doctor exhaled.

"We need to remove both legs from the hip joint. I need a family member's signature on the consent form right now. We can't wait any longer."

Both legs would be removed at the root. Victor would not even have the luxury of sitting in a wheelchair and turning the wheels himself.

"I'll sign." I took the pen without a second of hesitation and wrote my name on the consent form.

Victor woke up the day after the surgery. The moment he instinctively tried to move his legs and felt nothing beneath the blanket, his screaming filled the entire ward.

"My legs! Where are my legs?"

He slammed his fists against the bed frame, eyes wild, staring straight at me.

Chapter 2

"Arthur! Why didn't you save me? You were standing right there! Why didn't you push me out of the way?"

I stood at the foot of the bed, watching him thrash and scream, and felt nothing but satisfaction. On the outside, though, I wore an expression of pure anguish.

"Dad, the truck was too fast. I couldn't react in time. And the doctors said if they didn't amputate, you wouldn't have survived at all."

The words had barely left my mouth when the door swung open. Monica walked in with Brandon in tow and threw herself at Victor's bedside.

"Victor! How did this happen to you? How are Brandon and I supposed to go on like this?"

Tears streamed down her face as she buried herself in Victor's arms without a shred of shame, sobbing like her world had ended. Brandon knelt beside the bed and gripped Victor's hand tightly.

Victor reached out with a trembling hand and stroked Brandon's head. "Good boy... I always knew I didn't raise you for nothing."

Then he turned and looked at me standing off to the side. His expression went cold.

"Arthur, Brandon is my son too. Once I'm discharged, he and his mother are moving into the house."

His tone left no room for discussion.

"My body needs round-the-clock care now. You know how your mother is. She'd only make things worse. Monica is attentive and careful. I feel better with her around."

I looked at his self-righteous face and laughed to myself.

In my last life, he had done the exact same thing. Mom was a proud woman who refused to look the other way, and she had fought him tooth and nail over it.

Monica then turned around and told Victor that Mom was mentally unstable, that she was unfit to represent the Carrington name, and talked him into having her committed to a psychiatric facility.

This time, I would not let that happen.

"Alright."

I nodded calmly. "You're right, Dad. Your health comes first. I'll go home and talk to Mom."

Victor blinked. He clearly had not expected me to agree so easily.

"At least you know what's good for you." He let out a cold snort, and a calculating look flickered behind his eyes.

"One more thing. I can't go to the office like this, and the company has too many moving parts to sit idle.

"Brandon just graduated, but he's sharp. Starting tomorrow, he'll come in as your deputy. Show him the ropes."

Deputy? What a nice way to put it. All he really wanted was to use me to slip Brandon into the company's senior management with a legitimate title.

I did not push back. I simply lowered my head. "No problem. I'll take good care of my little brother."

After I got Victor settled, I went straight home and told Mom everything about Monica, Brandon, and what Victor had decided. I did not leave out a single detail.

She was shaking with rage and wanted to storm the hospital right then and there to confront him. I grabbed her and held her down on the couch.

"Mom! Calm down!"

She froze, staring at me. "Arthur, that's yours by right. Are you really just going to hand it all over to that tramp and her b*stard?"

"Of course not."

I let go of her. "Mom, I need you to pack your bags right now and go to Valdaire. Take some time for yourself.

"Bring all of your personal assets with you and get away from this mess. Leave the rest to me.

"I promise you, they will not take a single thing that belongs to us.

"And not only will they fail to take it, I'm going to make them pay back every last cent with interest."

I would not take no for an answer. By that afternoon, Mom was on a flight to Valdaire.

The next day, Monica and Brandon moved into the Carrington estate as if they owned the place. Monica installed herself in the master bedroom, and Brandon took over my study.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about this, Arthur." Monica's smile was clearly fake.

"Your father said Brandon will be handling important company business going forward, so he'll need a quiet workspace. I'm afraid you'll just have to give up the study."

Chapter 3

Monica stood at the top of the stairs, watching me pack up my files with a smug grin plastered across her face.

I did not even glance at her. I picked up the box and walked straight past.

"Help yourself. As long as he can hold his own."

At the office, Brandon was even worse. With Victor backing him, he strutted around the company barking orders at anyone in sight and even inserted himself directly into several of the core projects I was managing.

"You know, Arthur, Dad says you play it too safe. You've got no killer instinct." Brandon sat in the head chair of the conference room with his feet propped on the table, staring me down.

"That development deal on the south side? I'll be running that from now on.

"Don't worry. I'll do a way better job than you ever could. I'll put the Carrington name on the map."

The executives around the table exchanged uneasy glances, but no one said a word. I looked at that arrogant face of his and let a cold smile cross my lips.

In my last life, the south side development had uncovered a protected archaeological site during excavation. The project was shut down indefinitely, the billions that had been poured into it were lost overnight, and the fallout nearly collapsed the company's entire cash flow.

"Sure."

I stood up and slid the project files across the table to him without hesitation. "If you're that eager to prove yourself, it's all yours."

Brandon faltered for a second, clearly not expecting me to give in that easily. Then a grin spread across his face and he snatched up the files. "That's a smart move."

Over the next two months, Victor recovered at home while Brandon tore through the company with his so-called reforms. He did not stop at the south side project. He planted his own people across every department.

Victor was thrilled with his performance and bragged to anyone who would listen about what a fine son he had raised. As for me, I became invisible.

I clocked in and out on time, turned a blind eye to Brandon's power grabs, and even stepped back voluntarily from several key decisions. From Victor and Brandon's perspective, I had given up completely.

"See, Victor? Look how obedient Arthur's been. I told you that all you had to do was put your foot down and he wouldn't dare push back."

One weekend evening, Monica massaged Victor's shoulders while whispering in his ear.

Victor sat in his wheelchair and scoffed. "Push back? Everything he has came from me. I could lose both legs and I'd still be the one running this family."

His gaze shifted to Brandon, who sat nearby peeling an apple, and his expression softened instantly.

"Brandon, next month is the company's 30th anniversary gala. It also happens to be my 60th birthday.

"I plan to use that night to officially announce that you will be stepping in as CEO and taking full control of the Carrington Group."

Brandon broke into a grin he could not contain. "Thanks, Dad! I won't let you down!"

I stood just outside the door, listening to their laughter, and felt every last trace of warmth leave my eyes.

It was the same gala, the same succession announcement. In my last life, Victor had done the same thing on the same night, humiliating me in front of every prominent name in the city while putting Brandon on a pedestal.

However, this time around, I had used what I remembered from my past life to stay ahead. I had quietly offloaded the overseas assets before they tanked and converted everything into a massive cash reserve.

I had been steadily buying up shares from the minority shareholders who were growing disillusioned with Victor.

At the same time, I had set a trap around the south side project, and Brandon had walked right into it. In his rush to claim credit, he had dipped into the company's emergency reserves and signed predatory loan agreements with ruinous penalty clauses behind closed doors.

Every single piece of it was exactly where I wanted it.

One month later, the Carrington Group's 30th anniversary gala doubled as Victor's 60th birthday celebration. Every major name in the city's business and political circles was in attendance, and the press had their cameras trained on the banquet hall.

Chapter 4

Victor sat in his wheelchair as Monica, dressed in a couture gown, wheeled him into the banquet hall. Brandon walked beside them in a crisp tailored suit, looking like he already owned the place.

I followed behind in a plain black suit, quiet and unremarkable. Anyone who did not know better would have mistaken me for a bodyguard.

Victor basked in the attention as Monica pushed him to center stage. He picked up the microphone.

"Thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate with me. As most of you know, I had a bit of an accident recently and lost both my legs. God played a cruel joke on me, but he's been generous in other ways."

He looked at Brandon, his voice booming with pride.

"I have an extraordinary son, Brandon Carrington.

"Over these past few months, every one of you has seen what Brandon has accomplished at the company. He secured the multibillion-dollar south side development and has shown exceptional leadership across the board.

"Tonight, I would like to take this opportunity to make a formal announcement."

He paused, letting his gaze sweep the room before landing on me with something close to a taunt.

"I will be transferring my personal 15% stake in the company to Brandon. Effective immediately, Brandon will serve as CEO of the Carrington Group, with full authority to act on my behalf as chairman."

The room erupted. Every pair of eyes in the hall bounced between me and Brandon. The message was impossible to miss. Victor was publicly crowning his illegitimate son.

Brandon's face flushed with excitement as he stepped forward and took the microphone. "Thank you for your trust, Dad. I swear I will take the Carrington Group to greater heights than ever before."

He turned to me with a smirk he did not even try to hide. "Arthur, I'm sure you'll be a team player. I'm counting on your support at the office."

"Arthur." Victor's voice cut through the applause, cold and flat.

"Get up here. Hand over your VP seal and congratulate your brother."

I looked at the two of them up on that stage, so sure of themselves, and I smiled.

I walked up and stopped in front of Victor's wheelchair.

"I brought the seal, Dad."

I reached into my jacket, pulled out a thick stack of documents, and dropped them square against Brandon's chest.

"But I'm not here to hand anything over. These are share transfer papers."

Brandon caught the documents on reflex. He looked down, and the color drained from his face in an instant.

"What... what did you do?"

Victor's brow furrowed and he snapped at me. "Arthur! What the hell is this? This is not the time or the place for your games!"

"Games?"

I took the microphone from Brandon's hand. "I came here tonight to inform everyone of something.

"As of yesterday afternoon, I have completed a full acquisition of all outstanding minority shares in the Carrington Group.

"In addition, the five major shareholders have transferred their entire holdings to me.

"My personal stake now stands at 67%. That's an absolute controlling majority."

The room exploded.

Victor's eyes went wide and his hands clamped down on the armrests of his wheelchair. "That's impossible! There is no way those old b*stards sold their shares to you! Where would you even get that kind of money?"

"That's no longer something the former chairman needs to worry about."

I looked down at him without a trace of warmth. "Just moments ago, the board passed an emergency resolution."

I snapped my fingers, and the company's head of legal stepped forward with an official document stamped with the corporate seal. He read it aloud to the room.

"By resolution of the board of directors, Mr. Victor Carrington, whose holdings have fallen below 50%, is hereby removed from the position of chairman, effective immediately."