The Mermaid Won't Save You Twice

Rocher, head of the Vance family, broke into the Thorn family's heir announcement banquet to collect a 40 million debt, demanding to take Baron's son as a living collateral. To shield his biological son Marcus, Baron pushed out Elian, his nephew who had been abused and imprisoned for 15 years, and passed him off as Marcus. Rocher brought Elian back to his manor. At first, he thought the boy was the son of his sworn enemy, brimming with undisguised hatred. Yet the moment Elian's back, crisscrossed with horrifying old scars — leather whip lashes, cigarette burns, and surgical sutures — was exposed, Rocher realized this teenager was no spoiled young master, but a stray dog that had been kicked around for 15 whole years. The truth soon came to light: Elian was the rightful first-in-line heir of the Thorn family, the only son of Baron's deceased elder brother. Since the age of five, he had been locked in the basement by Baron and his wife, forced to work as a servant and subjected to years of endless abuse. From that moment on, Rocher was no longer just a creditor. He became Elian's guardian, his avenger, his only beam of light. He used his absolute power to wipe out every single enemy that threatened Elian, and healed the boy's tattered, hole-ridden soul with awkward yet searingly tender affection. In return, Elian, with his broken yet pure love, awoke the long-forgotten heart of this once cold-blooded man. This is an ultimate redemption story that leads a tormented soul from a dark cage all the way out into the sunlight, a legendary romance that evolves from initial violent possession to thorough, intimate fusion of two souls.