Chapter 3

Zach clutched his head, looking like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He glared at me with pure hatred. "Ethan! How could you do this to me? I never wanted to hurt you, but you're trying to drive me to suicide!"

I opened my mouth to explain, but a barrage of plastic water bottles slammed into my face and chest, cutting off my words.

I shielded my head. Through the gaps of my arms, I saw Chloe quickly ushering Zach out of the hall.

"I didn't do this! Chloe! Do you really think I'm that kind of person?" I screamed.

But before I could take a step, my feet swept through empty air. Someone had shoved me violently from behind.

I fell off the two-meter-high stage, my vision instantly going black as the insults continued to rain down.

When I woke up, I was in a damp, dark basement.

A harsh light turned on, revealing me tied hand and foot, kneeling on the cold concrete.

Chloe stood half-hidden in the shadows. She dragged me up by my collar. "You did it."

Her voice was filled with absolute certainty.

"I didn't! Chloe, is this really who I am in your eyes? I told you, I would never do something so pathetic!"

I desperately tried to explain, but she didn't listen to a single word.

"Set up the cameras," she ordered coldly.

Several burly men walked in. They dumped a bucket of filthy sewer water right over my head. Their grip was brutal and ruthless.

*Click. Click. Click.*

The camera shutters went off. I reeked of filth, my face pressed hard into the muddy floor.

Every shred of my dignity as a man was crushed to dust.

My eyes burned red. "Are you insane? I have proof that it wasn't me!"

But I knew Chloe. Once she set her mind on something, she was merciless.

Just like when a major shareholder had insulted me years ago, she had ruined his career within a day, making sure no company in the country would ever hire him.

Now, she was doing the same to me—to protect Zach.

"Zach is on the verge of jumping off a building, yet he still begged me not to punish you!" Chloe said, her face twisted with anger. "He suffered for twenty years, and all he wanted was some security. How could you hate him this much?"

"Do you want to see him dead?"

I shook my head violently, spitting out the dirt. "I... didn't... do... it..."

"Liar," Chloe sneered. "You used to tell me everything. If you didn't do it, why didn't you show me the proof earlier?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

I used to throw tantrums because I knew she loved me. Now? I was nothing to her.

She waved her hand.

Two bodyguards stepped forward, tightening the ropes around my neck and arms until they bruised. They forced my head up to face a large monitor.

It was Chloe's phone screen, being mirrored. Without a shred of hesitation, her finger tapped the screen, uploading hundreds of compromised photos of me online.

Within minutes, it trended to number one on social media.

With every refresh, my dignity was dragged deeper into the mud.

The negative posts about Zach were instantly buried by the scandal surrounding me.

Thousands of people screenshotted, shared, and insulted me. The most disgusting slurs flooded my Instagram and SnapChat.

"Turns out the fake heir took those photos himself to frame the real one!"

"He's a designer, right? I bet all his work was plagiarized too!"

I watched in horror as the design portfolio I had worked on for over a year was reported and taken down. My social media accounts were permanently banned.

I was held down, unable to even lower my head.

Shame burned through my body like a hot iron, from my scalp to my toes.

My vision blurred, and right before I passed out, Chloe's soft voice drifted into my ears.

"Ethan, be good. You owe this to Zach."

The same Chloe who used to shield me from Victoria's demands was now forcing me to submit.

I managed a smile that was uglier than crying.

I regretted everything. I cursed myself for ever holding onto a shred of hope for her.

When I woke up again, I was in a warm bed.

I sat up abruptly.

Chloe was standing beside me, holding a glass of warm water and some painkillers. Her face was incredibly gentle.

It was as if the woman who had stripped me of my dignity yesterday didn't exist.

"Ethan, are you hungry?"

She tucked the blanket around me. Her every movement was filled with the devotion of the old Chloe.

It felt like the humiliation of yesterday was just a nightmare.

My body trembled as I pushed her away, getting out of bed and walking out of the room.

But when I stepped into the living room, my breath hitched.

Hanging right in the center of the wall was a massive wedding portrait—of Chloe and Zach.

I froze, looking around the penthouse.

Every corner of this room was filled with things I had once dreamed of.