Chapter 4

The day my wedding to the housekeeper was held just so happened to be the day the Shields family planned to publicly announce that most of the family's shares would be transferred to James. The Shields family prepared a lavish banquet for James. Duncan said that I was blessed beyond belief to be able to have a wedding that was somewhat respectable because of this banquet. He pressed hard on my shoulder, and his smug, triumphant face was reflected in the mirror. "After today, my son and I will obtain everything from the Shields family. We'll never have to live in fear again that you might be found. "Jamie, do you have any idea the price I paid to force James to replace you? To make him learn every single one of your habits and mannerisms? But it doesn't matter. From today onward, you'll truly become a street mutt, and James will have nothing to do with you anymore." On the surface, my eyes seemed dead. Yet, on the inside, a blazing hatred was raging. … The shabby wedding and the extravagant banquet were held in the same hall. I wore a suit that wasn't fit to be seen in public, becoming the object of mockery. Meanwhile, not far away, James was immaculately dressed and radiating confidence. He linked arms with my parents and Nicole, basking in everyone's adoration. I lowered my gaze and held back the hatred, hiding a small knife against my chest as I slowly moved closer to James. At the very moment when he was feeling the happiest and most smug, I raised the knife with my deformed hand and slashed hard across his face. Instantly, James' panicked scream of pain could be heard. And even as the bodyguards smashed down with their batons, snapping my bones again, I felt no pain at all. Instead, there was a savage, cathartic smile spread across my face. Nicole, who had been furious, turned around and saw that smile. Suddenly, she froze in place. Chaos erupted at the scene, and the transfer of shares never went through. My parents were enraged and immediately ordered that my crippled body be strapped to an operating table. To my surprise, James was the first person to see me. The wound on his face had been treated, yet when he came to see me, he wasn't filled with rage and trying to strangle me. Instead, he had a broad smile on his face, as if he had just encountered something delightful. James slapped my face disdainfully, his voice trembling with excitement. "Have you noticed how much this face of mine looks like yours before it was ruined? Do you have any idea how painful it's been all these years to live under the Shields family's favor? "They never loved me. The only thing they loved was this face and the shadow of you that I played. In fact…" James hesitated for a moment as fear flashed through his eyes. "If I acted even a little unlike you, I'd be beaten half to death. They're all lunatics, but the ridiculous part is that they truly loved you. From today onward, they won't anymore. They'll fully accept me, and they'll personally kill you." After hearing this, my heart was filled with both bitterness and shock. I silently watched James revel in his triumph, but the corners of my mouth slowly lifted. What a pity. In the end, a fake was still a fake. For example, only I knew how much of a genius Nicole was when she was young, to the point where she invented a memory extractor. It was designed specifically for people she hated to the bone, and would forcibly extract every memory a person had across their life. Then, my parents could follow those memories and eradicate everything connected to those people. In fact, I had planned this moment long ago. Rather than letting those two venomous snakes succeed, I would rather pay with my life today to expose the truth. When the tubes of the extractor were roughly stabbed into my temples, I didn't cry. Yet, when I saw my parents appear together, tears streamed down uncontrollably. I greedily stared at their faces, hoping that even after death, I would still remember what they looked like. James stepped forward, urging my parents to at least leave me with a whole corpse. Dad gently patted his shoulder, then looked at me with immense hatred in his eyes. "He doesn't deserve it. Once we're finished with this, we'll immediately throw him into the sea and make sure he dies without a proper burial!" At this, James' smile grew even more triumphant. However, in the next second, as James stared at the images that suddenly appeared on the large screen, the smile froze on his lips. Terror quickly replaced the joy in his eyes.