Chapter 1

My one-month-old daughter accidentally peed on my wife’s first love, and Serena was so furious she wanted to throw our baby off the roof.

I desperately tried to stop her.

Serena, my wife, clung to her childhood sweetheart, Mark, sobbing hysterically. She pointed at me and screamed:

“If it weren't for this wretched child I had with you, I never would have broken up with Mark! I wouldn't have been forced to settle for a pathetic driver like you!”

“You ruined my love, and this cursed child is going to ruin my entire life!”

I gave a bitter laugh.

She didn't know I was actually the son of a billionaire.

And now, there was no need for her to know.

I picked up my wailing daughter and jumped from the rooftop.

Six years later, my daughter Kaia won first place at a ballet competition.

Serena Linwood, one of the judges, almost lost control, grabbing Kaia's hand.

Kaia shook her hand off.

“Ma'am, you’ve got the wrong person. I have a mom.”

Serena’s face drained from pale to white, and she muttered in a daze.

As if realizing something, she frantically looked down, flipping through the contestant information, her eyes wide as she stared at one page.

“Your name is Kaia Hayes? Is your father Arthur Hayes?!”

Kaia, holding her bouquet, smiled innocently.

“That’s right!”

Serena completely abandoned all pretense of decorum, scrambling off the judge's panel.

“Arthur Hayes is my husband!”

“I can’t believe this wretched child is still alive!”

“Ma'am, is something… wrong up here?”

Kaia tapped her little head, her face full of sympathy.

“My mommy is a world-renowned brain surgeon. She can perform brain surgery on you and drain out all the extra water!”

The entire hall fell silent for a moment, then low chuckles began to spread.

Serena seemed provoked by Kaia's words. Her rationality completely crumbled, and she lunged forward, trying to grab Kaia.

“Come with me!”

But at that moment, I stepped out from the audience, reaching out to shield Kaia behind me.

Serena's movements froze. Her pupils sharply contracted, as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Arthur? You’re not dead?”

That single sentence immediately sent shockwaves through the entire hall.

The murmuring ceased abruptly, and all eyes focused on me.

The man who had supposedly jumped from a rooftop six years ago was standing here, alive and well. It was like something out of a myth.

In the crowd, a figure squeezed his way forward. It was Mark Turner, Serena's longtime friend.

He scrutinized me from head to toe, a cruel sneer twisting his lips.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the pathetic driver.”

“You pulled a dramatic stunt six years ago, pretending to jump off a building, and now you’re back with a kid. Quite the performance you’re putting on.”

He stood with his arms crossed, his gaze dismissively sweeping over Kaia and me.

“I knew it. How could this child just happen to win first place in today’s competition and coincidentally run into Serena?”

“So, this was all your doing, wasn't it? You taught this kid to act all sweet in front of the judges, and then deliberately let Serena recognize her, all so you could use the child as an excuse to worm your way back into the Linwood family, hoping to get your hands on their money, right?”

“And this kid, at such a young age, you’ve taught her to be so manipulative. You two, father and daughter, are truly master schemers.”

As Mark finished speaking, the expressions of those around me immediately turned judgmental, and whispers erupted once more.

Serena’s gaze towards me also turned completely cold.

She sneered, her tone sharp.

“I once thought you had some backbone, that after being humiliated by me like that, you’d rather jump than back down.”

“Now it seems I overestimated you.”

“Arthur, you’re so clever. For money, you’d even fake your own death. Have you no shame?”

Serena’s words grew increasingly nasty. I looked at her face, twisted with anger, and found it both absurd and laughable.

“Serena, you’ve got the wrong person.”

I didn’t bother to argue further. I bent down and took Kaia’s hand.

“Kaia, let’s go.”

Kaia nodded obediently, her small hand tightly gripping mine.

We had only taken two steps when several men emerged from the side, blocking our path.

They were expressionless and tall, clearly Serena’s bodyguards.