Three slaps struck Gary's face—each harder than the last.
The final slap sent him sprawling to the floor.
He was dumbfounded.
Completely stunned.
Where the hell did this lunatic come from?!
Gary's fury surged back into focus as blue veins bulged on his neck.
"Damn it! No matter how badly I treat my grandpa, it's my family business. You idiot—you don't have any right to interfere!"
"Oh, but I do," John replied coldly. "It's my business to teach you how to be a man."
John's eyes bore into Gary's with an icy intensity. "Now, open your eyes and tell me who I am."
"You are..."
Gary faltered. The young man before him—his voice, his stance—something about him stirred an old memory.
A thin boy from fifteen years ago...
How could they look so alike?
"It's impossible..."
Gary's voice trembled. He already knew the answer, but he didn't dare to say it aloud.
"Are you surprised?" John sneered. "You used to bully me constantly. You peed on my shoes, ruined my clothes with paintbrushes, and always set me up to take the blame so Mr. Wodehouse would punish me. Ring any bells?"
Bang!
Gary stumbled back as if struck by the truth itself.
It was him!
The boy he had tormented was back—John had returned!
"That's impossible! Why didn't the fire kill you?! Why did you come back now?! Why do you have to ruin my life again?!"
Gary's voice cracked under the weight of his rage.
"I did everything to win them over! But no matter what I did, they refused to call me their brother. They said they only had one brother—you."
"I tried to win over Mr. Wodehouse too! But the stubborn old man kept comparing me to you, always bringing up your name like a sacred relic!"
"I tried so hard to become you... but no one ever gave me the chance! Even when you were gone, they never accepted me!"
His face twisted with hatred. "Do you know how much I wanted you dead?!"
With a primal scream, Gary grabbed a steel pipe and lunged at John like a wild animal.
But John's response was instantaneous.
Boom!
A single kick—sharp, fast, precise—landed squarely in Gary's stomach, sending him flying back and rolling across the ground.
John walked forward slowly.
"Do you want to know why you'll never be as good as me?"
"Because I don't bully the weak. Because I'm not ungrateful. Because I don't live with jealousy and hatred. Isn't that enough?"
His voice was low, but it struck like a hammer to Gary's soul.
Gary coughed violently, blood trickling from his mouth. His expression twisted with pain and realization.
John's eyes were merciless.
Gary had allowed his envy to poison him. A man consumed by jealousy, stripped of every decent human quality. He didn't deserve pity—only consequence.
"My child... you... Are you John?"
The trembling voice came from behind.
John turned. The harshness on his face softened into a gentle smile.
"It's me, Grandpa. I'm back."
Mr. Wodehouse gasped and then burst into tears, throwing his arms around John.
"My little John... You're alive! You're alive! Oh God, I thought I'd lost you forever... I thought it was my fault..."
He wept openly, not from sorrow but from the overwhelming relief of a burden lifted after fifteen years of guilt.
John gently held him. "Yes, Grandpa. I'm alive—and I'm finally home."
But something about Mr. Wodehouse's words struck a nerve. John's gaze grew serious.
"Grandpa... the fire fifteen years ago—it wasn't an accident, was it?"
Mr. Wodehouse hesitated, wiping his tears.
"Let the past rest, child. What matters is that you're here now."
"No," John pressed. "If you really feel guilty, please tell me the truth. I need to know."
Mr. Wodehouse looked into John's eyes and knew there was no evading it. He sighed and began to explain.
Fifteen years ago, The Excellence Real Estate had set their sights on the land where the Sunshine Welfare Center stood. They approached Mr. Wodehouse repeatedly, trying to pressure him into selling it at a humiliatingly low price.
But he refused.
So they escalated. Threats. Intimidation.
When nothing worked, they took revenge.
The next day, a fire engulfed the welfare center.
Mr. Wodehouse always suspected that Excellence Real Estate had orchestrated the arson, but he never had concrete proof.
In the chaos, John disappeared.
Wracked with guilt, Mr. Wodehouse resigned from his post and adopted a child who resembled John in age—Gary. He poured all his guilt and affection into raising him, hoping to ease the pain in his heart.
But Gary mistook indulgence for entitlement. Spoiled and arrogant, he became a monster who demanded money constantly.
Recently, Gary had gone too far, demanding two hundred thousand dollars. When Mr. Wodehouse refused, Gary responded with abuse and threats.
When he finished his confession, silence fell.
Dead, oppressive silence.
Mr. Wodehouse looked up and shivered.
John's eyes had turned to stone.
The Excellence Real Estate.
They had stolen fifteen years of his life. They had nearly killed him. They had shattered the lives of his seven sisters.
They would pay.
And they would pay dearly.