Infinite Wealth: Revenge of the Lost Heir

CHAPTER 1: THE SHATTERED MASK ON THE SHORE

The night at that private beachfront villa in Long Island was supposed to be a perfect night. The sound of crashing waves could be heard softly from a distance, while the scent of the sea mixed with the fragrance of aromatherapy candles filled the corridors of the luxury villa Julian Vance had recently rented for a weekend getaway with his family and his fiancée.

In Julian's hand hung a small bag containing strawberry ice cream, Amber Miller's favorite. The woman had always said that the flavor reminded her of her simple childhood. It was for that melancholic reason that Julian was willing to drive nearly thirty minutes to the nearest convenience store just to fulfill his fiancée's small request.

A faint smile briefly formed on his lips. In two months, they would be married. After years of working hard to build the Vance Corporation, Julian finally felt alive, and his sacrifices were nearing the definition of perfect.

However, that entire replica of happiness shattered in a matter of seconds.

Julian's steps suddenly halted as he passed the villa's master bedroom. The mahogany door was not tightly closed, leaving a small gap that let out a voice he knew all too well.

"Ryan..."

It was Amber's voice.

Julian's body instantly froze in place, his heart pounding hard against his chest. Slowly, driven by a bad premonition, he approached. And at that exact moment, the world he had built with blood and sweat collapsed into nothingness.

On the velvet bed, Amber Miller and Ryan Vance were embracing each other without a single thread covering their bodies.

"Ryan..." Amber giggled, her fingers playing on the man's chest. "What if Julian comes back now?"

Ryan kissed the woman's neck while chuckling cynically. "Julian is too busy playing the hero. He was even willing to go out late at night just because you wanted to eat ice cream."

Amber laughed along, a voice that usually sounded pure to Julian's ears now sounded so disgusting. "Sometimes I feel sorry for him, too."

"Sorry?" Ryan scoffed while reversing their positions. "You're still thinking about that naive man?"

Amber fell silent for a moment, then shook her head slowly. "I once tried." That sentence felt like a dagger that made Julian's chest throb with pain. "I once tried to love him. But Julian is too boring. He lives for the company, for the shares, and for responsibilities. He never lives for himself."

Ryan snorted with satisfaction. "And now, all of his hard work will become mine."

Amber smiled faintly, her eyes gleaming with greed. "Not long from now."

Ryan grabbed Amber's chin, forcing the woman to look at him. "Once everything is done, we won't need to pretend anymore. His entire mother's inheritance, all the shares of the Vance Corporation... everything will fall into our hands."

Julian felt all the blood in his body freeze. His mother's inheritance? The company shares? What were they talking about?

But before he could process the conspiracy, Ryan whispered again in a dark tone full of hatred. "I'm sick of living in his shadow. Since childhood, everyone only looked at Julian. Julian the genius, Julian the heir, Julian the proud son. I was just an afterthought! But soon, everything will change. Soon I will have everything that should have been mine."

Enough. Julian could no longer contain his chest, which was about to explode.

BANG!

The bedroom door was kicked so hard it slammed against the wall. Amber screamed hysterically while Ryan immediately turned his head. Both of their faces turned pale instantly, but the shock only lasted for a few moments.

Julian stepped inside with bloodshot eyes and a chest heaving with suppressed rage. "You... you betrayed me?" his voice trembled violently.

Amber stared at him for a few seconds, then calmly pulled the blanket to cover her body. "Julian..."

"Don't." Julian shook his head with a look of disgust. "Don't utter my name with that mouth of yours."

Beside the bed, Ryan actually wore a cynical smirk. "So you finally found out, Brother."

BOOM!

A raw punch from Julian landed squarely on Ryan's jaw, sending the man crashing to the floor. However, Ryan was not a weak man. He immediately stood up and wiped the blood from his lips. This time, there was no longer the mask of an obedient younger brother.

THUD!

Ryan's hard kick landed squarely on Julian's stomach. Julian's body was thrown backward until he hit the vanity table, shattering the luxury perfume bottles on top of it. Physical pain radiated through all his nerves, but it was nothing compared to the shattering of Julian's heart as he looked at Amber.

"Why?" Julian's voice almost broke as he looked at the woman he wanted to make his wife. "Was everything a lie all this time?"

Amber closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at Julian with the coldest gaze Julian had ever seen. "Julian. You are a good man. A truly good man. But the world doesn't always choose good men."

That sentence felt more lethal than any poison.

Ryan laughed with satisfaction seeing Julian's destruction. "Leave before you see something worse."

Julian looked at the two of them for one last time. A look that recorded the deepest pain, anger, and regret. He turned around and walked away in total silence. Julian knew this was not a matter of winning or losing, but his instinct warned him that if he stayed for even a moment longer, he would not be able to stop himself from ending the lives of those two bastards.

Julian's black sports car sped away, tearing through the pitch-black coastal roads of Long Island. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and the tears he had been holding back finally fell.

"I am truly a fool..." Julian's voice sounded hoarse, followed by a pathetic, bitter laugh. Three years of loving Amber, three years of trusting his family, it turned out everything was just a stage play.

However, as his car entered a sharp turn at the edge of a cliff, Julian's expression changed completely. The brake pedal he stepped on suddenly went empty with no pressure. He tried it again, pumping it frantically, but it still did not work.

"What?!"

The brakes were out. Julian's heart beat wildly. This was not a logical accident—this was a structured sabotage.

With violently trembling hands, Julian immediately contacted the only person he hoped still had a conscience. His biological father, Arthur Vance.

The call connected.

"Father!" Julian shouted hysterically over the roar of the increasingly uncontrollable car engine. "My car has been sabotaged! The brakes are out! Help me!"

A cold silence greeted him from the other end of the phone. A few seconds felt like an eternity before Arthur's voice was heard. Extremely calm. Too calm for a father whose son was wagering his life.

"Julian."

For the first time in his life, the hairs on the back of Julian's neck stood up upon hearing his own father's voice.

"Sometimes..." Arthur paused for a moment, creating a suffocating pause. "...one must make a sacrifice for their family."

Julian's face turned pale, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Father... what do you mean?"

The car sped faster toward the guardrail. The deadly cliff was right before his eyes. There was no answer or panic from Arthur, but rather one last sentence that cut Julian's soul to its deepest core.

"I hope you can meet your mother again."

Click. The connection cut off.

And at that exact second, the entire remainder of Julian's world crumbled into ashes.

"Father?!" Julian screamed hysterically. "FATHER!!"

CRASH!

The sports car slammed hard into the iron guardrail. Julian's body was tossed inside the cabin as the luxury vehicle airborne, before finally free-falling and rolling down to hit the bottom of the deepest cliff.

BOOM!

A massive explosion shook the darkness of the night. A blaze of fire instantly consumed the entire body of the vehicle, turning it into a miniature hell. Julian's body was trapped inside, crushed and burning as his consciousness began to fade.

However, right before his soul departed carrying a burning grudge, an ice-cold mechanical voice suddenly echoed directly inside his head.

[Betrayal Percentage Detected: 100%.]

[Host's Desire for Revenge: Maximum.]

[All Requirements Have Been Met.]

[Revenge System Activated.]

[Initiating Emergency Teleportation.]

[Welcome Back, Master Julian Vance.]

And for the first time since that hellish night began—Julian smiled amidst the blazing flames. Not a smile of happiness, but the smile of a man who had lost everything, and was now ready to make all his enemies burn along with him.