Chapter 3

The crowd parted instantly, making way for a middle-aged woman with pale skin and immaculate makeup.

It was Victoria Vance—my stepmother.

Yet this woman, who had lived under the same roof with me for years, didn't even look at me.

Instead, she rushed straight to Christian, cradling his bruised face with deep concern. "Oh, my poor darling! What happened to your face?"

Christian’s smug grin vanished, instantly replaced by a pitiful pout.

"Who else could it be?" Chloe spat, pointing an accusing finger at me. "It was Ethan, that cold-hearted snake. He’s so jealous of Christian that he publicly assaulted him!"

Victoria stared at Christian's swollen cheek, her eyes blazing with fury.

She whipped around and slapped me across the face. "You absolute animal! How dare you lay a finger on Christian, the heir of the Vance Group? You must be tired of living!"

The sharp diamond ring on her finger caught my cheek, leaving a thin, bleeding gash.

I stared back at her coldly, suppressing the urge to tear her fake face to shreds.

After my mother died, my father married her because he wanted me to have a mother figure.

As a child, I had idolized Victoria, treating her as my protector and mentor.

Yet in my past life, she secretly embezzled company funds for Christian and tricked my father into signing over his estate.

Ultimately, she drove the company into bankruptcy, and my father was brutally murdered by debt collectors.

I used to wonder why she would do something so monstrous.

But right before I died, they stood before my cage and gloated about the truth.

Victoria was sleeping with Christian. She was even pregnant with his child.

My father and I were nothing but stepping stones for their happily-ever-after...

With the billionaire's wife herself confirming the heir's identity, the surrounding crowd erupted in outrage.

"He still claimed he was the heir! Caught red-handed! Let's see how he tries to lie his way out of this one!"

A few of Christian's brown-nosing lackeys eagerly stepped forward to suck up to Victoria.

"Mrs. Vance, please don't upset yourself. Let us handle this imposter for you."

The boy raised his fist and swung at me. I wrenched myself free from the guard's grip and delivered a swift, powerful kick to his ribs, sending him crashing to the floor.

All those years of private martial arts lessons weren't for nothing.

I might not be able to take on multiple professional guards, but dealing with a rich, pampered high school kid was a piece of cake.

The boy writhed on the floor, groaning in pain.

I looked coldly at Victoria and Chloe. "Aren't you afraid of what Dad will do when he finds out about this?"

Chloe scoffed, tossing her hair. "Dad is currently overseas handling a massive acquisition. He won't be back for at least a month."

No wonder they were so bold. My father was out of the country.

I glared at them and lowered my voice. "You know exactly who the real heir is.

Everything you’ve done to me today, I will report to Dad. You will reap what you sow."

Christian’s breath hitched, and he barked, "You wouldn't dare! Do you want to be expelled?!"

Chloe’s eyes flashed with a momentary panic too.

But Victoria calmly patted Christian’s hand.

"Don't worry, honey," she reassured him. "No matter what anyone says, you are a Vance. The Vance Group will be yours one day."

She turned her gaze to the headmaster. "Ethan has assaulted his classmate, insulted school officials, and displayed atrocious behavior. He is a disgrace to this institution. I expect the school to handle this accordingly."

Headmaster Sterling immediately bowed and scraped. "Of course, Mrs. Vance. Effective immediately, in front of the entire student body, Ethan Vance is officially expelled and blacklisted from this school."

He cleared his throat and added, "And to compensate Christian for his emotional distress, we will award him the school's sole early-admission spot to Yale."

So that was their game. They needed the "Vance heir" title to secure the prestigious Ivy League recommendation spot.

It made sense. Christian was useless at everything except playing the boy-toy and hitting on girls.

His grades were trash. Without a massive back-door bribe, he would never set foot in a decent college.

In my past life, I didn't know how to fight back, so they succeeded.

But in this life, I’m not letting them have a single thing.

I snatched a stack of files from the desk, slammed them right into the headmaster's face, and grabbed the microphone lying on the podium.

"Attention, everyone!" I shouted, my voice booming through the speakers. "The headmaster is abusing his power! He’s giving our school’s only Ivy League recommendation to Christian Miller—the guy with the lowest GPA in the entire senior class!"

The microphone carried my voice to every corner of the campus.

The crowd immediately began whispering and murmuring in outrage.

Headmaster Sterling went pale. He lunged forward to grab the mic.

I shoved him away and kept talking. "I, Ethan Vance, am the true heir of the Vance family! As the sole successor to the Vance Group, I am officially exposing this school’s corrupt administration—"

Before I could finish, the back of the hall fell into chaos as several police officers marched in.

The lead detective flashed his badge. "We received a call. Someone in this school is suspected of major grand larceny and financial fraud. Please step forward."

Seeing the police, Christian puffed out his chest, stepping forward with an air of righteous authority. He pointed directly at my face.

"Officers, that's him! That's Ethan! He assaulted our teacher, beat up students, and even slapped the General Manager of the Vance Group! Take him away and lock him up for a few years. The Vance Group will make sure your department is well-funded."

Christian actually patted the officer on the shoulder.

Looking at his smug, idiotic face, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Christian frowned, confused. But before he could speak, the officer swiftly grabbed his wrists and slapped handcuffs on him.

"Christian Miller, right? You are under arrest for identity theft and multi-million dollar bank fraud. Come with us."

The detective’s words sent shockwaves through the room.

Chloe panicked, rushing forward to block the officers. "You’ve got the wrong guy! You should be arresting Ethan, not Christian!"

Victoria also frowned, her voice dripping with ice. "Christian is the heir of the Vance Group. If you touch him, you can kiss your careers goodbye."

She shoved me violently toward the officers.

"Arrest this trash instead! Otherwise, as the wife of Richard Vance, I will make sure your chief personally fires you!" Victoria commanded her security guards to grab me.

Just then, a commanding, thunderous voice echoed through the entrance.

"How dare you! Let's see who dares touch my son!"