Chapter 4

The divorce proceedings were finalized in record time. Clara had zero leverage to fight for my assets; without my financial backing, she couldn't even afford a high-powered attorney.

I kicked her out of my penthouse. Left with nowhere to go, she moved back into our old, rundown apartment in the forgotten industrial district.

I had bought that beat-up rental property years ago as a sentimental keepsake. Since we moved to the upscale suburbs, I was the only one who ever went back to check on it.

Clara was far too busy hosting high-society brunches and spending money on Julian to care about nostalgia.

During the divorce, she fought tooth and nail for Chloe’s custody. Fine by me—Chloe had already made it clear she despised me.

To fund her lavish lifestyle, Clara began pawning off the designer bags and jewelry I had bought her over the years, including the ten-million-dollar engagement ring.

Outside of running Hayes Enterprises, I spent every free evening driving down to the old industrial district.

Not for Clara, and certainly not for Chloe. I wouldn't waste a second on a daughter who had gleefully signed off on my torture in an asylum.

I was looking for someone else.

In my past life, after Clara stripped me of my fortune, I was left homeless, wandering the dirty alleys of the industrial district.

I had been broken beyond repair. I couldn't comprehend how the woman I cherished for a decade could treat me like garbage.

Penniless and starving, I had spent two freezing winter nights huddled behind a dumpster, shivering near death.

It was a scruffy, ten-year-old girl who saved my life.

She saw me dying, dragged me into her tiny rented room, fed me warm soup, and handed me every single crumpled dollar bill she had so I could see a doctor.

On the brink of death, that little girl showed me what unconditional kindness felt like.

I stayed in her room for a few days. Her name was Jade.

She was an orphan who had been adopted by a cruel couple. The moment they had a biological child of their own, they turned Jade into an unpaid servant, beating and abusing her daily.

Jade had worked tirelessly, scoring the highest grades in her school, thinking she could earn their love. Instead, they pulled her out of school and tried to force her into an arranged marriage with a sleazy old landlord.

She had run away and survived on her own ever since.

Her resilience had rekindled my will to live. If a little girl could fight so hard to survive, how could a grown man like me give up?

That night, I had promised her: *"From now on, I will protect you. We’ll be a real family."*

She had cried and nodded.

Yet the very next morning, Chloe’s hired thugs dragged me away to the asylum.

I spent months trying to break out, desperate to keep my promise to Jade, until they finally beat the life out of me.

Now that I was back, I swore I would never let Jade suffer again. I would give her the world.

The only problem was, I didn't know her exact address—only that she was somewhere in this neighborhood.

The industrial district wasn't huge. While searching for Jade, I frequently crossed paths with Clara, Julian, and Chloe.

Every time we met, Julian would smirk with arrogant pity.

"Stop coming around, Mr. Hayes. Clara loves me now. Move on."

"Who knows? Maybe after I'm gone, you'll get a second chance."

Then came the day Julian proposed to Clara.

He did it in the very same downtown café where I had confessed my feelings to Clara a decade ago.

And by sheer coincidence, I was sitting right across the street.

As the crowd inside cheered for the "happy couple," Clara spotted me through the glass window.

Beaming with triumph, she and Julian walked out arm-in-arm, heading straight for me.

Clara opened her mouth, ready to deliver some smug, condescending lecture, but Chloe interrupted her.

Chloe’s eyes locked onto the girl standing next to me.

Her brow furrowed in anger. Even at eight years old, years of my spoiled pampering had made her possessive and entitled. Even though she hated me, she still viewed me as her personal property.

She pointed a finger at the girl beside me and shrieked:

"Who is she?! Why is she standing next to you?!"

Her scream drew the attention of everyone on the sidewalk.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

I gently pulled the shy, nervous girl closer to me. Ignoring the smudges of dirt on her cheek, I wrapped an arm around her small shoulders.

"Everyone, let me introduce you."

"This is my daughter, and the sole heir to Hayes Enterprises—Jade Hayes."