Chapter 1920

That night, I told Enoch what happened.

He didn't come home every day. If it wasn't their anniversary, Annette wouldn't have gone to the market.

Enoch was furious. Without telling Annette, he took me back to the market and asked me to point out every man and woman who had bullied us. Discover more novels at Find✶Novel.net

The market folks lined up in rows, like lambs waiting for slaughter. They kept their heads down and didn't dare to utter a sound.

Why? Because they were poor. They had contracts with the market, each carrying huge rent debts.

They had no choice but to follow Enoch's orders. In fact, he didn't even need to be there.

The market manager gave the commands, and he didn't even have the clout to speak to Enoch directly.

I stood there, pointing out the ones who'd hurt Annette.

The people who'd been so cocky earlier acted like meek sheep. They groveled before Enoch. "We just heard rumors. We didn't know she was your wife."

Their tone was humble, but Enoch didn't even glance at them.

Catching his drift, the managers dragged those people out, beat them up, smashed their goods into the ground, and stomped them to bits.

That was all it took to push them to the edge of collapse.

Those goods were their livelihood. Without them, they'd be homeless and die in the street.

Enoch turned to me. "Michael, remember this: for people like them, death isn't the worst. Cutting off their way to live is."

No way to live meant no hope. The worst torment wasn't physical. It was mental.

I carved those words into my heart. They took root, sprouting into a towering tree.

The gap between the bottom and the top was huge. The bottom slaved away their whole lives, getting nothing. Their lives were an endless loop of suffering.

The top, meanwhile, easily reaped the bottom's hard work, enjoying the fruits while finding ways to keep the bottom trapped in that cycle of pain. That was how the top stayed on top.

After Annette died, Enoch was down for a while, but he still had his mission to complete.

I became his chosen heir. We both knew I was his only option.

"When you grow up, I'll hand everything over to you," Enoch said, patting my head.

At that point, we were standing at the gate of the Osborne Mansion. This place should have been our home, but Annette and I had never once been allowed inside.

I looked at my half-brother messing around inside. He was carefree, but I only felt resentment.

We were both Enoch's sons, but Randy's status was out in the open.