Chapter 1: Daddy Issues

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Content Warning:

This novel contains sensitive themes, including mentions of suicide, murder, blood, and stalking. If you are not in the right mental state to engage with these topics right now, please prioritize your well-being. It's okay to step back and take time to heal. Your mental health is important, and there's no rush. When you're ready, you can explore my other books or choose something lighter that brings you comfort.

Take care of yourself-you matter.

Disclaimer:

Please note that the character in this novel does not reflect the personality, beliefs, or values of TXT's Hueningkai. He is simply an actor portraying this role, much like an actor in a film or TV show. The character he embodies in this story is purely fictional, and should be seen as separate from the real person.

Think of him as an actor playing a part-nothing more.

______Chapter 1______

I was glad that my father died

It had only been a few days since my father died in a car accident. His death didn't affect me the way most people would expect. He wasn't a man I mourned. He was domineering, abusive-a man who always justified his cruelty by saying he went through the same thing when he was younger. That was his excuse for everything. He claimed that his harsh upbringing was the reason he became the wealthy business tycoon he was. Sure, he was a great man-a great businessman. But he was never a good husband. Never a good father.

They say the man of the house provides so his family can chase dreams he couldn't, that he gives them the freedom to build a future of their own. But my father hated the very idea of me having my own ambitions, my own dreams. He wanted me to be his reflection, to live out his plans. And when I made it clear I couldn't follow in his footsteps-at least, not in the filthy, fraudulent ways he had-I was labeled stupid. A failure.

The truth was, his empire wasn't built on brilliance or hard work. It was built on lies and connections with the worst kinds of people. Not the kind of connections that came from rubbing elbows with the rich or powerful, but from getting involved with dangerous men. He made his first fortune by participating in a massive drug deal that catapulted him into the criminal world. After that, he started small, committing petty fraud. Stealing people's identities, taking out loans in their names after forging their signatures. He'd trick people into believing he was part of a company that protected them from the very fraud he was committing.

And people fell for it. They fell into sudden, crushing debt while my father moved on, one scam after another, his web of deception growing. When fraud wasn't enough, he turned to contract killing, working for those with deep pockets and dark desires. Eventually, he built something bigger-a business that made his wealth look legitimate. He created a site, a knockoff of Amazon called SecretSells. The difference was, there were two versions of the site. One for the public, and one hidden in plain sight, where he sold drugs, weapons, anything illegal you could imagine. A place where cruelty was the currency, and all you needed to access it was a code. A code that changed every week and was sent through the encrypted emails of the most dangerous people.

It worked. He built his fortune on the misery of others, and he wanted me to carry on his legacy. But I couldn't. Not like him. Not like that.

When I heard my father had died, I took the deepest breath of relief. It felt like being crushed under a heavy wall for years, only to have it finally lifted. But that fleeting moment of freedom was shattered when I found out that my mother had taken her own life. She couldn't bear the news of his death. Though he'd been abusive, he had brainwashed her into believing she couldn't exist without him. Even through the beatings and emotional torment, she clung to him, desperate for his affection. She never left, no matter how much he strayed, always striving to be the perfect wife in his eyes. And he let her drown in that illusion.

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