Everyone was congratulating him on his happy ending after such hardship.

Julian looked at the congratulations on his phone and curled his lips, but he couldn't bring himself to smile.

If he hadn't seen the photo Lucas sent seven minutes ago, even he might have believed it...

In the image, the lighting was dim, and what they were doing was self-evident.

The irony was that the hands holding Lucas were even wearing the wedding rings that symbolized their "only one."

It wasn't until the day he was discharged that Vivian finally appeared.

Seeing the rashes on his body that had not yet faded, a hint of guilt flashed in her eyes, and it was only after a long pause that she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Julian. I was in too much of a hurry at the time and didn't notice—"

"And so?" Julian looked up and met her eyes directly. "The doctor said that a few minutes later and I would have lost my life, and you intend to brush it off with one sentence?"

"Lucas didn't do it on purpose." Vivian’s eyebrows twitched with impatience, and she added perfunctorily, "Besides, you're fine now, aren't you? Why do you have to keep harping on such a small matter?"

Julian listened quietly, and a surge of indescribable bitterness rose in his chest.

In the past, if he so much as sneezed, she would have postponed nine-figure deals to accompany him to the hospital personally.

He would complain that she was making a fuss over nothing, but every time, she would tell him with extreme seriousness:

"Julian, as long as it has anything to do with you, it is a matter of the utmost importance."

But now, his life was nearly over, and she called it a small matter.

Perhaps sensing that her tone was too harsh, Vivian paused, her voice softening significantly.

"Alright, today is your birthday. I specially had a surprise prepared for you. Let's go see it together."

With that, she dragged him downstairs into the car without giving him a choice.

The car stopped in front of the French restaurant Julian used to like the most.

But when the curtain was pulled back and he saw the scene before him,

Julian’s pupils shrank, and his gaze froze.

On the restaurant’s large screen was a black-and-white photograph of himself, and next to it were several funeral wreaths, with funeral music playing from the speakers.

Vivian, who had just entered after finishing a phone call, didn't know what had happened and hugged his waist with a smile.

"Do you like it that much? You’re staring at it in a trance."

"As long as you behave yourself from now on, we will be just like we were before—"

Halfway through, her voice stopped abruptly, and her eyes were filled with overwhelming fury.

"Where is the owner! Get out here, now! How many times have I told you that today is my husband’s birthday? Is this how you handle things?!"

"Ms. Lin, you are really wronging us."

The owner broke out in a cold sweat, carefully observing her expression.

"All of this was arranged personally by Mr. Lucas..."

Chapter 5

Vivian’s expression faltered, but the rage in her eyes visibly subsided quite a bit.

"Alright, call everyone off for now. There must be some misunderstanding here. Lucas, he surely..."

"He is innocent again, is that it?"

Julian’s eyes were rimmed with red from anger, and it took a long struggle before he could find his voice.

"Vivian, do you even believe what you’re saying?"

Hearing this, her expression stalled, and she turned her head away with a hint of awkwardness.

Just as the air became stagnant, a sharp ringtone broke the silence.

The call connected, and immediately, Lucas’s trembling, choked-up voice, sounding as if he were on the verge of collapse, filled the air.

"Vivian, the child... the child is missing!"

Vivian’s face changed abruptly, darkening until it seemed like ink could drip from it.

"Don't panic, I’m coming back right now!"

Julian curled his lips and was about to turn away.

But in the next second, his wrist was violently grabbed, with such force that it felt as if it would crush his bones.

Vivian’s eyes surged with malevolence as she gritted her teeth.

"Julian, after seven years, when did you become so low-down? To think you could even lay a hand on a child!"

Julian turned pale from the pain, yet he stubbornly lifted his head.

"You say I did it. Where is the evidence?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Vivian’s eyes, but in an instant, it was overwhelmed by an even greater fury.

"In all of the city, who doesn't know that you view Lucas as a thorn in your side? Who else could it be but you?"

As she spoke, she paused, and a flash of an inscrutable, mocking smile crossed her eyes.

"But rest assured, I love you too much to want to hurt you. However... there will naturally be others who will teach you a lesson on my behalf."

Before Julian could grasp the meaning of her words, someone covered his mouth and nose from behind, and he blacked out.

When he opened his eyes again, he realized he was back at the family mansion.

Who had sent him back went without saying.

But he only felt exhausted, so tired that he didn't even have the strength to cry.

She knew full well that his mother hated him to the bone; she knew what he would face upon returning to this house.

And yet, she did it anyway.

Once, it was she who had personally taken him away from this house, giving him a home to shelter him from the storm.

Now, it was she who had personally pushed him back into this den of demons.

As soon as he lifted his head, a vicious slap swung toward his face!

"You rebellious son!"

His mother’s eyes were bloodshot with rage as she glared at him and cursed.

"I’m still alive and well, yet you dare to brazenly kidnap your brother? How could I have given birth to such a filthy creature like you!"

Julian swallowed the metallic taste of blood in his throat and looked at Lucas, who was wiping away tears to the side.

"Mother, to be cuckolded so thoroughly without even knowing it—you really are stupid to the core!"

Crack!

His mother, infuriated, slapped him again, her face twisted and terrifying.

"You bastard! Lucas is your elder; how dare you slander him!"

"Someone, bring the family discipline! I want to see how long his mouth can stay stiff!"

The butler, unable to bear it, whispered a plea.

"Ma'am, even a healthy person couldn't withstand the family discipline, let alone the young master, who just left the hospital and hasn't fully recovered—"

"Enough! Bring me the whip!"

Seeing this, the butler dared not plead further and brought the whip over.

Julian was forced to the ground, and the thick, heavy whip lashed onto his back, one stroke after another!

The excruciating pain of flesh being torn apart tugged at his nerves; his clothes were shredded, and the bloody welts were deep enough to see bone. By the end, there was no intact skin left on his entire back.

Julian turned deathly pale from the pain, biting his mouth until it was full of blood, refusing to let out a single sound.

In the end, he fainted from the sheer agony.

Ring, ring—

Julian was awakened by a rapid, incessant ringing.

He endured the searing, dull pain in his back and answered.

On the other end, the caregiver was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.

"Mr. Julian, it’s terrible!"

"This morning, your father was taken away by a man claiming to be your stepfather to be put on display at an art exhibition as a nude exhibit!"

Chapter 6

A buzzing sound filled Julian’s head, and his blood felt as if it were flowing backward.

He disregarded the injuries on his body and sprinted toward the art gallery.

There, he saw his comatose father stripped of his clothes and dumped in the center of the gallery, surrounded by countless cameras with flashing lights!

A mischievous child was already riding on his father’s back, shouting.

"This stinky dog, why won't it move!"

Seeing his father unconscious, the child even stepped on his father’s face, screaming.

"Dead dog, you can't even play horse! I’ll kill you!"

The surrounding crowd erupted in laughter, watching his father be trampled like a dog.

"Beasts!"

Julian trembled with rage, picked up a vase, and smashed it toward the surrounding onlookers in a fit of humiliation.

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

The crowd was frightened by his posture, and the atmosphere went quiet.

"Julian, you’re here?"

A smiling voice came from behind.

Lucas walked up, smiling, and spoke nonchalantly.

"My apologies for yesterday. It turns out the child just ran off playfully; I thought it was..."

Though he was smiling, his eyes were full of provocation.