Chapter 1

As ropes and concrete blocks dragged me toward the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, the last thing I saw was Logan's twisted face.

My biological brother, the eldest son and heir of the Van Guard family, was smiling triumphantly at me through the murky seawater.

"Goodbye, my dear brother."

"Father is dying, but the family only needs one heir—"

The suffocating sensation surged over me like a tide, and my consciousness dissolved into darkness—

I opened my eyes.

Torrential rain lashed my cheeks like whips, washing the blood from my forehead into pale pink rivulets.

I lay on the marble steps of the Van Guard estate, my body wracked with pain, yet I felt a clarity I had never experienced before.

I had been reborn.

Back to that rainy night three years ago—the night Logan set his trap to frame me.

"Cole, get up. Look at what you've done."

Father, Arthur Van Guard, stood under the portico, holding a stack of photographs in his hands.

The photos curled slightly in the rain. Though I couldn't see them clearly, I already knew what they contained—my private meetings with the Mexican Energy Minister, the so-called "traitorous agreements" bearing my signature, and bank transfer records showing bribes I had allegedly received.

All fake.

But flawlessly crafted.

"Father, these are all forgeries—"

"Enough!" Arthur hurled the photos at my face. "FBI informants have already submitted the evidence to Homeland Security. You sold Texas oil field drilling rights to the Mexican government in private and accepted twenty million dollars in bribes. Cole, you betrayed all of America!"

I struggled to sit up as memories from my previous life flooded back like a tide.

This was the perfect trap orchestrated by Logan and my fiancée, Ella.

Ella had exploited my trust in her, luring me to what she called a "charity gala"—actually a setup for my meeting with the Mexican Energy Minister. Logan had secretly filmed, edited, and fabricated all the evidence.

The most vicious part was the twenty million dollars—the money had indeed entered my account, but it came from shell companies controlled by Logan through offshore accounts.

Three birds with one stone: destroy my reputation, establish my guilt for treason, and saddle me with massive debt.

"Where's Logan?" I looked toward the shadows. "My dear brother must be eager to witness this moment."

Logan emerged from behind a pillar, his face wearing a mask of false anguish. "Cole, I never imagined you would do such a thing. Betraying family and country for money..."

"Nice performance." I wiped blood from the corner of my mouth. "But you forgot to tell Father that the twenty million came from your account, didn't you?"

Logan's expression froze for a second before returning to composure. "What are you babbling about? It was your greed that destroyed you. Don't try to drag me down with you."

I looked at Father and caught a flash of unnatural evasion in his eyes—the old fox knew Logan was lying but chose to turn a blind eye.

Just then, a black Rolls-Royce slowly pulled into the estate.

The door opened, and Ella Winston stepped out in high heels, followed by two lawyers in suits.

My fiancée—no, what I had believed to be my fiancée in my previous life—was the leading lady in this performance.

"Mr. Arthur, the Winston family's position is clear." Ella didn't even glance at me, addressing Father directly. "We cannot have any association with a traitor's family. This is the annulment agreement."

She waved her hand, and the lawyer handed the documents to Arthur.

"Ella..." I looked at this blonde, blue-eyed woman. In my previous life, I had been crazy about her, even willing to betray family interests for her sake. Now I understood—she had been Logan's pawn from the very beginning.

"Cole, don't look at me like that." Ella finally turned toward me, her eyes filled with disgust. "Did you think I didn't know? You've been using me to access my father's political resources, trying to undermine Logan. Too bad you chose the wrong opponent."

She pulled another document from her Chanel handbag and threw it directly at my face.

"These are copies of love letters you wrote to me, detailing your plans to overthrow Logan and monopolize the family fortune. They're all in the FBI's hands now."

I looked at the scattered papers at my feet—the handwriting was indeed mine, but the content had been altered beyond recognition. The original love letters had been twisted into conspiracy plans, my heartfelt confessions rewritten as manipulation and deception.

Brilliant.

They had even weaponized my genuine feelings.

I laughed coldly to myself.

These three fools thought their scheme was flawless, not knowing I had been reborn three years in the past. Three years was enough time to use my knowledge of future events to crush them all—I clearly remembered Logan's failed investment a year later, Ella's family's political scandals, and Father's hidden offshore accounts.

This time, the roles of hunter and prey would be completely reversed.

"Enough." Arthur said coldly. "The Van Guard family cannot tolerate traitors. Cole, I now declare in my capacity as family patriarch: your shares are stripped, our father-son relationship is severed, and you are immediately banished from this house."

"Father, isn't this too—" I deliberately put on a pleading expression.

"Too what? Too merciful?" Arthur's eyes glittered with icy light. "If not for considering the family's reputation, I should hand you over to the FBI directly. You have two choices now: either get out of Texas and never come back, or I call the Federal Bureau of Investigation right now."

Logan twisted the knife: "Cole, Father is being very tolerant. Any patriotic American would choose to righteously eliminate their own kin."

I slowly stood up, looking at these three people before me: the coldly calculating father, the venomous brother, and the treacherous former fiancée. In my previous life, I had wept and begged for forgiveness here.

But that naive Cole had died in the Gulf of Mexico.

Standing here now was a monster completely stripped of moral constraints.

I laughed.

"Hahaha—you all performed so well." I removed the black onyx signet ring from my right ring finger—symbol of Van Guard bloodline—and threw it into the muddy water at my feet.

"Cole?" Logan keenly sensed my change. "You—"

"Logan." I interrupted him, speaking each word deliberately. "Ella. And my dear father. Remember this night. Remember your current satisfaction. Because the next time we meet—"

The torrential rain seemed to pause in that moment.

"I will buy your lives."

As the words fell, I turned and walked toward the estate gates. No looking back, no nostalgia, as if severing all ties.

Logan's mocking laughter came from behind: "Buy our lives? A penniless traitor?"

Ella also sneered: "He's probably really lost his mind. A stray dog who can't even go home dares to make such boasts."

Only Arthur remained silent.

The old fox was better at expressing his attitude through silence.