During the second year of my world travels, I accidentally came across a short video my brother-in-law had posted online.

"With you, I have the whole world."

I froze.

The woman in his arms wasn’t my sister.

But the jewelry she wore, the car she drove, the mansion she lived in—those were all part of my sister’s dowry.

At the end of the video, the tone shifted.

"The bitch I keep likes to bite. I’m afraid she might scare my darling, so I had to let her live in the dog kennel."

And then I finally saw my sister.

She was curled up in a dog kennel, wearing tattered clothes, an iron chain wrapped around her neck. Her eyes were vacant, soulless.

I crushed my phone in fury.

A worthless live-in son-in-law dared to treat the sister I’d relied on as livestock?

The day I came back to the U.S., a heavy storm poured down.

The moment I pushed open the iron gates of the mansion, my blood turned to ice.

The Rose Garden, once meticulously cared for, lay in ruins. The fountain had long since dried up.

But the most jarring sight was the rust-stained iron cage in the corner of the garden.

A few pieces of worn tarpaulin were draped over it, flapping in the wind and rain.

Inside, my sister was curled up.

She wore nothing but a filthy nightgown whose original color was impossible to tell. Barefoot, with a heavy chain around her neck, the other end locked to the bars. Her hair hung in tangled strands, covering half her face, and the skin that showed was bruised and scraped.

“Emily…”

I called her name with a trembling voice.

She jerked her head up, her eyes dazed for a moment.

It seemed she recognized me—yet immediately shrank back, a whimper rising from her throat like a cornered animal.

I rushed forward, kneeling in the mud, reaching out to touch her.

But she recoiled as if electrocuted, clutching half a piece of stale bread against her chest as though it were her only shield.

“It’s me, your brother…”

My voice cracked until it was nearly inaudible.

But she only shook her head, muttering incoherently, “Don’t hit me… don’t hit me… I’ll be good, I’ll be good…”

The sight tore my heart to shreds.

When we were children, our parents had died in a plane crash, leaving only the two of us to depend on each other in the vast estate.

Emily had always been timid.

Afraid of the dark, terrified of thunderstorms.

Every time it thundered, she would crawl into my bed like a frightened kitten.

I used to tease her: “What will you do when you get married? Still make your brother sleep beside you?”

She would blush and punch me, saying, “I’m not getting married! I’ll cling to you forever!”

But then, she met that man.

Daniel Foster.

He came from an ordinary background, but he was good with sweet talk. She loved him madly, even defying my objections to force him into becoming a live-in son-in-law.

On her wedding day, she wore our mother’s antique gown and smiled brighter than any diamond.

She held my hand and said, “Brother, don’t worry. He’ll treat me well.”

But now…

I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms.

The rain eased, and an engine roared in the distance.

I turned toward the front gates.

A red Ferrari screeched to a halt. Out stepped Daniel Foster and his mother, Martha Foster, laughing together, luxury shopping bags dangling from their arms.

When Daniel saw me, his smile froze.

“Brother, why did you suddenly come back?”

He tried to look calm, but his eyes flicked nervously toward the kennel.

Rage flared in me.

“Why is my sister chained in the dog kennel?”

His expression flickered before he forced a smile.

“Brother, let me explain. Emily’s lost her mind. She babbles nonsense all day, and she tries to bite people. I had no choice but to do this.”

My hand lashed out.

Smack!

He clutched his cheek, staring at me in disbelief. “Brother, why did you hit me?”

Martha panicked, shouting at me, “Alexander, what gives you the right to hit my son?”

I bared my teeth. “Because you hurt my sister!”

“She was fine before I left for my trip. What did you do to her?”

Daniel pulled out his phone, swiping quickly before thrusting it in front of me.

“See for yourself.”

A video began to play.

On the screen, a woman with Emily’s face was entangled with several men, laughter spilling wantonly from the speakers, stabbing my eardrums.

“Look closely. This is your sister’s true nature.” Daniel’s voice dripped with venom. “I tolerated her for a year. Then I couldn’t take it anymore and filed for divorce. But she refused. When this video leaked, she lost her mind.”

Martha leaned in, her heavily powdered face almost pressed against mine.

“Alexander, your sister is a shameless whore! She throws herself at any man she sees. She’s disgraced our family!”

I stared at the screen.

Yes, it was Emily—but her eyes were vacant, lifeless. Like a marionette on strings.

“There’s something wrong with this.”

My voice was sharp, chilling.

“Wrong?” Daniel widened his eyes in mock surprise. “Brother, I know it’s hard for you to accept, but facts are facts. Emily is nothing but a slut.”

Martha chimed in, smirking with spite.

“Exactly! My Daniel is such a fine young man—an Ivy League graduate with a bright future. Yet he ended up with her. If not for her rich dowry, we’d have thrown her out long ago. We wouldn’t even let her stay in the dog kennel!”

I turned toward the kennel.

Emily was hugging her knees, trembling.

Her once starry eyes were now filled only with fear.

She was so thin she looked as if she might snap in two.

The chain around her neck had rubbed raw wounds into her skin.

“If you despise her so much, why not divorce her?” I forced the question through clenched teeth.

“Of course I want to! But with her mental state, the court won’t grant it. And…” Greed flickered in Daniel’s eyes. “Her assets aren’t fully transferred to me yet.”

Martha quickly added, “That’s right! The jewelry and real estate should belong to my son. Do you know how hard he’s worked, taking care of that lunatic all these years?”

I looked them both over.

Daniel wore a custom suit worth thousands, a Patek Philippe gleaming on his wrist.

Martha was dripping with jewels. The jade necklace around her neck had been part of Emily’s dowry, left to her by our mother.

And Emily, in rags, chained like a dog.

“Brother, you must be exhausted from your trip,” Daniel said with a sycophantic grin. “Why don’t you come inside and rest? I’ll have dinner prepared…”

“No need.” My tone was cold. “I came today to take my sister with me.”

Martha shrieked, “No! She belongs to the Foster family!”

“Belongs?”

I loomed over her short, plump frame.

“If she’s human, why do you treat her like a dog?”

Daniel quickly interjected. “Brother, you’re misunderstanding us! This is for her own good. She’s mentally unstable, she might hurt others—or herself. Keeping her locked up is the safest way—”

“Shut up!”

My roar made them both stumble back.

“This is the last time I’ll ask. Will you let her go?”

Daniel’s fake smile slipped, venom glinting in his eyes.

“Alexander, don’t push your luck. This is the Foster estate. You can’t throw your weight around here.”

He whipped out his phone, threatening, “With one call, I’ll have security toss you out. Leave now, or—”

“Or what?” I sneered. “Throw me in the kennel too?”

Martha screeched, “Son, stop wasting time! Call security and throw this meddler out!”

As Daniel raised the phone, I clamped down on his wrist.

He cried out in pain, dropping it to the ground.

“Daniel,” I said coldly, “it seems you’ve forgotten a lot while I was away. Forgotten that you’re just a live-in son-in-law. Forgotten that this mansion was Emily’s dowry. And forgotten my old title—Alexander the Reaper.”

Fear flickered in his eyes, though he tried to mask it with a mocking smile.

“Alexander, do you think it’s still the past? Reed Corporation is already mine. The board is under my control. You and that crazy woman are nothing.”

Martha chimed in smugly, “That’s right! Emily was already kicked out of the company. All her shares belong to my son now. You siblings are nothing but strays!”

Daniel snatched up his phone and barked into it, “Security! Get over here, someone’s making trouble!”

But no response came.

His face darkened. Sweat broke across his brow.

“What’s going on?” he muttered.

I pulled out my own phone with a cold smile.

“Thompson, bring them in.”

Within a minute, the mansion gates slammed open.

Mr. Thompson, the old butler, strode in with more than twenty men in black suits. They flooded the garden, surrounding it completely.

Daniel and Martha went pale as death.

Thompson shot Daniel a disdainful glance before turning to me. “Young Master, as you instructed, the men are all here.”

I nodded, my eyes sweeping over Daniel’s contorted face. His arrogance had vanished, replaced by trembling legs.

Martha cowered behind her son, lips quivering.

“Do it.”

At my command, the men spread out, launching a thorough search of the mansion.

I turned back toward the kennel, every step weighing heavy as lead.

My sister was still curled in the corner.

Hearing footsteps, she instinctively shrank tighter into herself.