The name was like a trigger. Elias felt his breath catch, a jolt of awareness cutting through the haze in his head.
Sebastian Grant? The last thing he remembered was the explosion, the blinding light, the mechanical voice that kept ringing and then… the car. Oh. The unknown face that stared back at him in the car. A sharp pain suddenly took over his thoughts however and like a tornado hitting waves, images slammed into him like an uninvited d******d: laughter in a crowded party; hushed, intimate whispers with a woman in a corner office; a flash of an argument with a woman; and several images of the woman who had just chewed him out and left. The pain in Elias’s head was immense and he couldn’t help but grab the bedside table for anchor. The glass of water on the table shook with the impact and fell, shattering on the floor. Elias had no mind to pay attention to the mess right now and just grabbed his head, only stopping himself from screaming in pain with sheer willpower and endurance. Gradually, the pain in his head slowly subsided. But with it, the images that were initially floating about seemed to have found their place in his head and stuck themselves there like a glue. Now, it felt as though they had always been there naturally and were his own memories. That face Elias didn’t know now felt familiar and he knew without being told whose these memories were. He slowly lifted his head and leaned back into the pillows, his face still as impassive. But inward, his heartbeat was fluctuating. What kind of sorcery was this? Of course, he knew it wasn’t sorcery but it must have been some crazy technology that was used to imprint these memories into his head. But that was if this was even his head. After all, putting two and two together, the woman earlier recognized him as someone else and these memories felt so natural. It wasn’t hard to figure that it was him who barged unannounced into someone else’s body. The absurdity was messing with his head. But Elias was just not used to displaying his emotions and even though he was running amok in his mind, there wasn’t much change physically except the turbulent look in his eyes. Even that soon subsided and he slowly forced his breathing into control. After some time, he moved to get down from the bed. The floor was icy beneath his feet, the chill shooting up his calves as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Once he got down, he did a few basic stretches and quickly concluded that he should be discharged in a day as his injuries weren’t too severe. It was actually mild for someone like him. The adjoining bathroom door creaked faintly as he pushed it open. He stopped short in front of the mirror. A stranger stared back at him. Gone was the hard-cut face he knew. In its place was a softer frame, the faint pallor of a man more accustomed to late nights in luxury than in combat. The eyes were the same sharp brown, but very different from his. Under the chin, a thin scar caught the light reflecting against the mirror. His borrowed memories told him this had come from an incident years ago. A corner of his mouth slowly lifted in amusement. “So… it’s real.” His fingers brushed over the alien jawline, tracing the shape. He lifted the edge of the hospital gown. The body beneath was toned, yes, but lacking the precision muscle of his old life. Even the skin tone was off. But thankfully, he still had a fit body even better than the average person. The body should be able to endure a few hits. Thinking to this point, his thoughts strayed to the memories he now had. The owner of this body, Sebastian Grant, lived quite a melodramatic life. When he was ten, his grandfather who was the steward for the Beaumonts, died saving the patriarch of the family. On his last breath, he made the latter promise to take care of his grandson and entrusted him to the patriarch. Indeed, the family was rather magnanimous. The patriarch entrusted the boy to one of his welfare foundations and sent him to a prestigious university, sponsoring him till he graduated. After graduation, he even let him enter one of the subsidiary companies as a clerk. But no one expected that the patriarch would suddenly have a stroke and died, leaving him stranded. The company structure changed and he was at the risk of being thrown out. However, who knew luck would suddenly shine on him? A huge scandal suddenly tore the family apart and they were on the verge of bankruptcy. Sebastian, still trying to survive, managed to catch the eye of the matriarch purely by chance. It turned out that one of her granddaughters, Lila Beaumont, had been embroiled in a shocking murder case. Though acquitted in court for lack of evidence, the public believed otherwise. Overnight, the Beaumonts’ reputation plummeted, and their stock price crashed to an all-time low. At that critical moment, the matriarch made a decisive move: she arranged a marriage between her granddaughter and Sebastian Grant. It was framed as a marriage of deep love between a heiress and the steward’s grandson who were childhood sweethearts. One would expect netizens to see through such a tactic but they actually ate it up. After all, it was very unlikely that a young woman planning her wedding could possibly be a cold-blooded murderer causing public opinion to divide and the Beaumonts used that as an opening to finally stabilize the family’s reputation. And so, three years ago, Sebastian Grant became the live-in son-in-law of the Beaumont family. The matriarch probably developed a fondness for him as he had saved them in a crucial time after all. She tacitly began to give him access into the family. However, his job wasn’t at all honorable. He was responsible for cleaning up scandals and messes caused by the family members. He was practically their janitor and everyone in the circle had different jeering names for him, each worse than the last. Over the years, the couple paid no mind to each other. Lila was busy competing with her cousins for the inheritance while Sebastian was also busy working his way up and warming up to the other members of the family to gain a firm stand. He got involved with his secretary which one of Lila’s cousins, Beatrice found out about and the matter ended up in one of the family meetings, prompting the matriarch to tell him to break up with her. Beatrice however refused to give up and convinced the matriarch to fire the secretary and ban her from getting a job anywhere else. This plan leaked to Sebastian causing him to riot and he went to threaten Beatrice with a secret he knew about, causing enmity between them. So… that scene Lila described as him throwing himself off a bridge for a woman was likely her retaliation to silence him forever. What a dramatic family! Elias stood in front of the mirror thoughtfully. “Sebastian Grant…” So, was the real person dead or alive? He, Elias, suddenly found himself here after the real Sebastian nearly committed suicide although Elias was more inclined to believe someone tried to erase him. So, did the person really die or what? He had suddenly found himself in this person’s life. If he took this situation as a mission, then it was rather complicated and messy. He could handle combat and tactical matters but things like family drama were really not his forte. Not to mention one that was filled with so much chaos and plots. Just then, a thought suddenly came into his mind and Elias’s face changed. Beaumonts. He suddenly recalled that name. It was the first name on that list. So they were related? Elias was inclined to believe that it was. Otherwise, he really could not trust that what had happened to him was merely a coincidence. He was plotted against so mysteriously and died, yet he woke up and found himself in the life of this family’s son in law. But in a way, Elias was relieved. He had been thinking of where to start looking into his death, was it the whole unit who gave up on him or one of the higher ups wanted him gone? Moreover, the entire secondary team he had taken on that day were all wiped out. He was also worried about Jax whom he had handed the list to. He didn’t know if he had managed to escape unscathed and the agency didn’t go after him but he also couldn’t relax. Although he usually trusted his subordinates, he had no idea where the attack on him came from so he was also wary. Elias rubbed his brows. It seemed he would have to start from the Beaumonts. After all, he now had a new identity which gave him some leverage. For now, he planned to stay low and observe this family he found himself in while searching for news about what happened to him. With that conclusion, he turned to walk out of the bathroom. Elias had barely taken two steps into the ward when the door opened from the outside. A young nurse entered briskly, balancing a tray of supplies. She stopped short when she saw him upright, bare feet against the tile, hospital gown loose at his shoulders. “You shouldn’t be moving around,” she scolded immediately, clearly out of habit. “Your body’s still weak. You need rest.” She brushed past him efficiently, metal instruments clinking softly on the tray as she set it beside the bed. That was when she noticed the broken shards and looked up at him sighing. “I’ll get someone to clean this up.” Without another word, she began preparing the IV and snapping vials into place. Elias watched her for a moment, then spoke, “May I use your phone, please?” The nurse froze mid-motion and glanced up at him, clearly hesitant. “That’s against protocol. Patients aren’t allowed—” “Just a minute.” His tone was even, not forceful. Yet, there was something in the way he said it that made her feel compelled to give it to him. After a taut pause, she sighed, dug into her pocket, and handed it over. “Keep it brief.” He took the device with a nod of thanks and stood at the edge of the bed. He held the phone in a way that the nurse couldn’t see what he was doing even if she tiptoed and immediately pulled up the news feed. His thumb moved quickly, eyes scanning headlines. Nothing. Not even a whisper about the blast. His brows furrowed as he switched to different outlets and social platforms. There was still nothing. As if the explosion had never happened. That kind of absence wasn’t natural. An explosion of that scale couldn’t simply vanish. It meant that they were burying it. Without hesitation, he shifted to a hidden forum, fingers gliding across the interface. His message was short and laced with meaning only the receiver would read correctly: {Archive 17 remains unburned. Keypage missing. Requesting librarian.} Loid would understand. Although Elias could not trust anyone right now, Loid was not one of those people. Between them, trust was absolute and there had never been room for betrayal. He cleared the history, erased the trail, and returned the phone casually, his expression unreadable. The nurse accepted it warily, still muttering under her breath as she fixed the IV. He reclined without resistance, allowing the needle into his arm. The slow drip of fluid began, syncing with the steady hum of monitors. In a matter of seconds, Elias suddenly began to feel his mind relaxing. He was beginning to feel sleepy. This body was indeed not as strong as his. The nurse strode to the TV screen across the room and turned it on. She clicked the remote as she spoke, “That drip will make you sleepy but you shouldn’t sleep for now. You should watch some TV for now. I’ll be back in ten minutes to turn it off so you can sleep.” Elias only gave a slight nod as he watched the nurse change channels. The ward was quiet and only the rhythmic sound of the monitors and the sounds from the TV screen could be heard. And then— The door slammed open with a bang.Latest Chapter
Chapter Thirty Seven
The house was already glowing when the guests arrived.Light from the chandelier poured across the long table, scattering against the glassware and cutlery. The servants moved quietly but clearly panicked due to the tension.Margot stood in the center of it all, radiant and restless. She had changed into soft silk and pearls, her hair swept up too neatly for an evening at home. The smile she wore was bright, unlike the usual sneers she always had when it came to Elias.Thomas was still in his study, speaking to one of the executives while Lila sat at the sofa, a tablet balanced on her knees, and her eyes focused on the open document. The muted hum of conversation from the servants seemed far away to her.Then the doorbell sounded.A servant went to open it.Silas stepped in first, a little hesitant, holding a small wrapped box. “Just a little something,” he said, offering it as he greeted Margot.Margot’s expression brightened instantly. “Oh, Mr. Ward! You didn’t have to—goodness, how
Chapter Thirty Six
For a while, neither of them spoke.The room had emptied completely. The screens had dimmed to standby, chairs half-turned, the faint smell of coffee cooling on forgotten cups. The overhead lights had also dimmed, leaving a soft wash of amber over the table.Elias didn’t look up.He was still seated, one hand resting on the phone face-down on the table.Lila stood across from him, arms folded loosely, expression unreadable.“You knew, didn’t you?” she said again, softer this time.He exhaled slowly through his nose, eyes lifting at last. “Knew what?”She studied him. “About the data.”When she saw that he still didn’t get what she was hinting at, she elaborated, “I think you also felt that something wasn’t right. You were watching him like you thought something was wrong with that data… or like you were waiting to see if anyone would notice like you did.”Elias could not help being taken aback.She was perceptive, he’d give her that.He didn’t answer right away. When he finally did, h
Chapter Thirty Five
The question lingered like smoke in the quiet conference room.Every sound in the room died.Even the hum of the air conditioner seemed to fade, leaving only the faint whir of the ceiling lights.Silas blinked once, twice.Lila’s gaze was steady. It was not accusing but not without doubt either. Around the table, several heads turned toward Silas, curiosity etched on their faces..Even Thomas, still half-smiling from a moment ago, paused mid-gesture. The faint glint of pride on his face slowly dimmed as he slowly leaned back in his chair curiously.Elias didn’t move.But his eyes lifted — just slightly — and found Silas across the table.The seconds stretched like hours for Silas, however.Silas swallowed. “I—well, the data was—” He stopped, forcing a short laugh that didn’t sound right. “I mean, it wasn’t exactly secret, was it?”Nobody answered.Lila’s pen rolled from her fingers and stopped with a soft click against the table. That tiny sound felt louder than any word.Thomas tilt
Chapter Thirty Four
The conference room was full before nine-thirty.Several executives, PR leads and the two teams of the firm were present. Most of the seats were taken, their voices overlapping with the hum of excitement. The screens on the wall flashed live graphs of public sentiment climbing steadily upward.The red line that had fallen for days was now climbing, sharply, like it had just been waiting for permission.“Unbelievable turnaround,” someone murmured.“Mr. Ward’s timing was surgical.”“Looks like Halberg will survive this.”Silas entered, smoothing down his tie. His chest felt tight, but he kept the easy smile plastered on, nodding to whoever looked his way. The chatter dimmed as Lila finally entered with the representatives.. However, today, a middle-aged man walked alongside her.Most didn’t recognize him, but those who did instantly stood up at alert. Greeting resounded across the room in scattered chorus at once:“Mr. Beaumont.”It was Thomas Beaumont.As the official head of the seco
Chapter Thirty Three
The morning came with noise.Silas woke to his phone vibrating off the bedside table. A dozen notifications were stacked over one another, tags, mentions, even private dms from journalists. He blinked, still half-asleep, before swiping the screen open.“Brilliant timing, Ward!”“Genius move. The statement’s perfect. Exactlt what we needed.”“You’ve saved Halberg’s image, man.”He stared blankly.What statement?He scrolled and was taken aback to find his own name was trending on the internal feeds of Halberg’s forum. The company had just released an official press statement through Aureus PR’s verified account.> “Following recent regulatory confusion, Halberg confirms full cooperation and transparency in the ongoing review. Through our findings, we’ve detected shady deals by some of our employees which resulted in the provision of fake and inaccurate maintenance records to the regulators with the sole aim of jeopardizing the company’s image to the public. The company will publish all
Chapter Thirty-Two
The comment was casual, but the undertone was sharp enough to cut.A few heads turned toward Elias whom Silas was referring to.He still didn’t move.But his gaze finally settled on the man, assessing him. He had noted how Silas’s hands never stopped moving, his fingers brushing the edge of his pen, tapping once before each pause. It was nothing but a salesman’s rhythm. Silas smiled thinly. “No offense, of course. Just that the last statement might’ve been a touch… premature.”Elias’s team shifted uncomfortably as they all sneaked glances at his face concernedly. Someone cleared their throat.Elias’s expression didn’t change.He observed instead: Lila’s jaw tightening for half a second, the way she avoided looking directly at him. She wasn’t defending him but she wasn’t agreeing, either. That was telling.When he finally spoke, his voice was steady and calm like he was only talking about the weather.“Visibility without credibility is noise,” he said quietly.The room fell silent at
You may also like

The Ultimate Husband
Skykissing Wolf7.7M views
The Secretly Rich Man
Two Ears is Bodhi7.4M views
Rise Of The General's Forgotten Son
Dragon Sly89.3K views
Secretly Rich Son in Law
Banin SN192.1K views
THE LAST DON: ALEJANDRO VERGARA
Lora Croft1.6K views
The Legendary Martin Garvey
M. K. Diana52 views
THE SUPREME NATHAN THORNS (The City's god)
Gem Lynne18.7K views
DEAR CHEATED GIRLFRIEND, I AM TRILLIONAIRE HEIR
Allahamdullilah books7.4K views