Grandma, the Chairwoman

1 My grandmother is the chairwoman of a global conglomerate, and I am the sole heir to her ten-generation dynasty. But my aunt let her kept man, her boy toy, steal my identity. At a gala celebrating the world’s top one hundred corporations, Caleb Shaw beat me to the punch, taking the stage as the founder’s grandson to deliver the keynote speech. Afterward, he swaggered over to me, his voice dripping with condescension. “Look at you,” he sneered. “If it weren’t for my dear Isabelle insisting I bring you along to these high-society events, a pathetic orphan like you would never even set foot in a hall like this.” “So you’d better keep your head on straight and stay out of my way,” he continued, his voice dropping to a hiss. “Otherwise, I guarantee Isabelle will have you torn limb from limb.” In my past life, I lived in constant fear of my aunt’s threats. I backed down from Caleb at every turn, until the day they hacked off my arms and legs and let me bleed to death. But now, I’ve been reborn. Staring at Caleb’s arrogant, spittle-flecked face, I sent my fist flying directly into it. “Who let this mutt off its leash?” I snarled. “A masseur, a common boy toy, daring to act high and mighty in front of me?” … I lunged forward, grabbing him by the collar and slapping him, hard, again and again. Caleb crumpled to the floor, his face bruised and swollen. A deep, bloody gash ran across the back of his hand from where he’d fallen. He was a pathetic, whimpering mess. My aunt, Isabelle, who had been toasting a business partner, saw the commotion and hurled her wine glass at my head. “Damian Archer, you little bastard, do you have a death wish?!” she shrieked. “How dare you lay a hand on the young master of the Archer family? He is my nephew!” She knelt, dabbing at Caleb’s wound with a silk napkin while glaring at me with pure hatred. To any outsider, I must have looked like the villain in this drama. But the memory of their sadistic cruelty in my previous life burned in my mind, and my only regret was that I had been so blind. I had always believed that, in my aunt’s heart, I was the nephew who mattered most. Now, I stared at Caleb, cradled in her arms. “A masseur you keep on retainer, impersonating me and speaking on behalf of my company?” I said, my voice cold and clear. “As the sole grandson of the chairwoman of Archer Enterprises, tell me why I shouldn’t beat him to a pulp.” Isabelle responded by kicking me sharply in the ribs. “Damian, have you forgotten?” she spat. “If Caleb hadn’t taken pity on you in that orphanage and sponsored you all these years, you would have been bullied to death! And this is how you repay him? No gratitude, just unhinged violence!” She raised her voice for all to hear. “Today, I want every powerful figure in every industry to see the truth! Caleb Shaw is the young master of Archer Enterprises! He is my mother’s only grandson!” I stared at her in disbelief. “You’re saying he is Grandmother’s only grandson? The heir to Archer Enterprises? Then what about me?” “Aunt Isabelle, can you look me in the eye and say that again? How dare you spew such lies!” She just sneered, her tone mocking. “Damian, it looks like your Super Male Syndrome is flaring up again. I think it’s time we sent you back to the disciplinary institution.” Caleb, his eyes red and brimming with tears, added pitifully, “It’s my fault. I just wanted to help Damian get accustomed to being out in public. I didn’t realize his condition was so severe… that he’d have an episode like this.” They performed their duet perfectly, and the audience bought every word. The guests began staring at me with wary eyes, many of them instinctively taking a step back. “So Damian Archer is just some charity case with Super Male Syndrome that the real heir sponsored. No wonder he has the genes of a gutter rat.” “Master Caleb is too kind. You can’t just help a rabid animal like that! Once he latches on, you’ll never be free!” Isabelle signaled to a line of bodyguards by the door. “Marcus! You will deal with this psycho, now. I never want to see his face again.” I knocked Marcus’s approaching hand away, my face grim. “Marcus, you promised my grandmother you would protect me.” The head of security hesitated, torn. Isabelle shoved him impatiently. “Marcus, I am my mother’s only daughter. She put me in charge of the company. Are you really going to defy me for a genetic defect? Do you want your family to starve?” Marcus’s face hardened. He and a few other guards moved to restrain me. “Master Damian,” he said through gritted teeth. “For my family… I’m sorry.” I grabbed a fruit knife from a nearby catering table and roared, “Everyone, look closely! I am Damian Archer, the heir to Archer Enterprises! I am my grandmother’s only blood-related grandson!” My outburst sent a ripple of shock through the crowd, quickly followed by open mockery. “These days, any knife-wielding psycho can dream of being a tycoon’s heir? The successor to Archer Enterprises? Don’t make me laugh!” “How could a piece of trash like Damian Archer possibly be the real thing? The old matriarch only has one daughter. Even if there were a grandson, it wouldn’t be him!” Seeing the tide of opinion turn so decisively in her favor, Isabelle’s arrogance swelled. I shouted, “Aunt Isabelle, which ear did you hear Grandmother say the company was yours to run? Did she really promise to make you CEO?” She clutched Caleb tighter, a flicker of panic in her eyes. But it vanished as quickly as it came. She lifted her chin, her composure restored. “I am her only daughter! Damian, let me tell you, if it wasn’t for the company’s reputation, I wouldn’t waste another breath on you! Put down the knife, or I swear I will have you skinned alive!” Marcus leaned in and whispered to her, “Ma’am, our most important partners are here. If word of this gets back to the Chairwoman, it won’t be good. Maybe you should just let him go.” I saw the look of contemplation on her face. I knew what she feared. My grandmother, though advanced in age, still held the true power of the company in her iron grip. After my parents passed, I became the last male in our family’s ten-generation line. I was the apple of her eye. Isabelle was merely the adopted daughter of my grandfather. Her father had died saving my grandfather’s life, and to repay the debt, he had begged my grandmother to raise her as their own. But grandmother had agreed on one condition: Isabelle would never have any right to inherit the Archer family fortune. I knew, with absolute certainty, that Isabelle was lying through her teeth. Isabelle shoved the security chief aside, her patience gone. “So Caleb is just supposed to take this abuse? Suffer this humiliation?” “I don’t want to hear any more of your excuses!” she screamed at Marcus. “Damian’s ‘syndrome’ has made him violent enough to pull a knife! Who knows what he’ll do next! Take him to the disciplinary institution, now!” The words “disciplinary institution” sent a storm of rage tearing through me. In my last life, they forced me into that place. The instructors beat and tortured me daily. Finally, Caleb himself came and sadistically hacked off my limbs, leaving me to bleed out. My dear aunt Isabelle, to win his affection, helped him plan the whole thing. Caleb had been studying to be a veterinary surgeon and had a morbid fascination with suturing severed limbs. But the animals he worked on were too small to be good practice. When Isabelle learned of his “passion for learning,” she helped him lock me in a secret room. For five days and five nights, he methodically cut off parts of my body, only to crudely stitch them back on with the thickest needle and thread he could find, tormenting me until the very last drop of my blood was spilled. I truly didn’t understand. I had loved my aunt with all my heart. I gave her everything she wanted, deferred to her in all things, saw her as my closest family. And yet, for a masseur, a boy toy, she not only allowed him to steal my identity but helped him torture me to death. After my tragic end, I finally understood. To my aunt, gratitude was precious, and family was valuable. But when it came to love, both could be cast aside. She would sacrifice anything for Caleb. But… would she? Would she still choose Caleb if it meant giving up the lavish lifestyle of the Archer family? I looked at her, my expression unreadable. “I’m giving you one last chance,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “Tell everyone here, right now. Between me and Caleb Shaw, who is the true heir of Archer Enterprises?” Before she could answer, a cup of hot coffee flew through the air and splashed across my chest. Mr. Davies, a shipping magnate, stepped in front of Isabelle, shielding her. He glared at me, his face contorted in a sneer. “You little bastard! This is a gathering of the elite, not a place for a degenerate psycho like you! Get the hell out of here before I beat you out myself! I see you again, I’ll put you in the hospital!” He kicked me squarely in the chest, sending me sprawling. A classic hero-saves-the-damsel scene. Too bad this new-money idiot had no idea about my family’s true situation. He thought that by latching onto Isabelle and protecting her precious “nephew,” he was securing his own future. He had no idea she had no inheritance rights, and Caleb was just her plaything. Reborn, I refused to suffer a single ounce of humiliation. I shot up from the floor with a spinning kick that swept Mr. Davies’s legs out from under him, forcing him to his knees before me. “You dog,” I spat. “Do you have any idea who you’re messing with? You must be tired of living.” Mr. Davies’s face flushed crimson with rage. “Damian, if you’re a psycho, stay locked up! Don’t come out here and embarrass yourself! I’m not someone you can afford to offend!” Caleb rushed to his side. “Mr. Davies, please, I’m so sorry. People with his condition can’t control themselves. Blame me. Take your anger out on me. I’ll bear it for him.” I let out a cold laugh. “Stop pretending to be a saint. How does a masseur, a boy toy, have the audacity to masquerade as the heir of Archer Enterprises?” My gaze fell on my aunt. “My patience has its limits. You and your pet will disappear from my sight right now, or I will make you regret the day you were born.” Isabelle’s eyes were bloodshot with fury. “What right do you have? I’m the one managing this company now! You’re just a raving lunatic!” “Security! Drag him to the institution!” “What’s going on? Who is being sent to a disciplinary institution?” A sharp, female voice cut through the chaos. My half-sister, Victoria, strode toward us. When she saw the cuts and bruises on Caleb’s face, her own face contorted with rage. “Who did this?!” Isabelle pointed a trembling finger at me. “It was Damian! He’s deliberately targeting Caleb!” Victoria grabbed me by the collar and slapped me twice, hard across the face. “Damian! What gives you the right to bully Caleb?!” “Today, with me here, you will get on your knees and apologize to him until he forgives you! Otherwise, I will throw you out of this house! And you can forget you ever had a sister!” Reborn, and still, my sister condemned me without asking a single question. She and Isabelle were like a cult, brainwashed into protecting Caleb at all costs. Seeing their righteous fury on his behalf, a bitter taste filled my mouth. I used to be so naive. After our parents died, I was her only real brother. Caleb was nothing but a low-life gigolo. But from the moment Victoria met him, she was utterly devoted to him. She had been furious when she discovered Isabelle was keeping Caleb as a lover. The two of them had a screaming, drag-out fight that lasted all night. I tried to intervene countless times, only to be shoved to the ground, injured in the crossfire. I still have a scar on my palm from that night. After that, Victoria bought Caleb’s freedom from Isabelle and funded his education. She told Isabelle that if Caleb truly wanted to marry her, she would not only give them her blessing but would hand over the entire Archer family fortune as a wedding gift. In my last life, this level of generosity had baffled me. I hired a private investigator to dig deeper, and I finally learned the truth. Caleb was Victoria’s long-lost, full-blooded brother. After our parents died, someone had approached Victoria and told her she had a brother from the same mother and father, but his whereabouts were unknown. For years, I knew she had been searching for him. I just never imagined they would actually find each other. It’s a pity my father never knew that his own son would ultimately be destroyed by the children of my mother’s first love. Snapping back to the present, I scoffed at my sister. “I have done nothing wrong. I will never apologize.” “Furthermore,” I added, “Aunt Isabelle keeps insisting that Caleb is the true heir of the Archer family. Sister, shouldn’t you be the one kicking this impostor out?” Tears instantly welled in Caleb’s eyes, as if he had suffered the world’s greatest injustice. Victoria looked like she was about to cry with him. She slapped me again, twice more, her voice shaking with rage. “What nonsense are you spouting?! Caleb is my brother! He is the sole heir of Archer Enterprises! You’re the impostor who needs to get lost!” Seeing her twist the truth so blatantly, I could barely contain my fury. “Victoria! Have you forgotten whose family raised you? On his deathbed, my father asked you to protect me for the rest of my life! Is this your idea of protection? You think he won’t come back from the grave to haunt you?!” She glared at me. “You shouldn’t have bullied my brother!” With that, she and Isabelle shoved me to the ground. Victoria’s stiletto heel dug mercilessly into my stomach, again and again. “I am the one running Archer Enterprises! I call the shots! Whoever marries Caleb gets this company! No one will ever take my brother’s inheritance away from him!” I grit my teeth against the pain and roared, “This company belongs to the Archer family! You outsiders can keep dreaming!” Victoria grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed my head against the marble floor. “Shut up! Archer Enterprises is what I am leaving to my brother, Caleb!” Just then, a commanding voice boomed from the entrance hall. “Victoria, you have a lot of nerve! Tell me, who exactly does Archer Enterprises belong to?”