Chapter 2

Those around fell silent for a brief moment before bursting out laughing.

"He'll make a fine lackey!"

"Congratulations on hitting two birds with one stone today, Mr. Simon!"

"Daniel should consider himself lucky to be able to follow Mr. Simon around as his lackey!"

They clinked their champagne flutes as waves of laughter rang out from every direction.

I looked at Simon amid the crowd, watching his arrogant display with a cold expression. I gradually looked at him with amusement instead of killing intent, smiling faintly.

Simon was essentially rushing toward his own death by keeping me next to him in the Fullerton family.

"I've already gotten Dad's approval. If you dare go against me, you're done for. Got that, Daniel?"

Simon threatened before he turned toward the crowd and took out a few checks. "I have a few checks here—and whoever snatches one gets one million dollars to celebrate my appointment as the heir of the Fullerton family!"

"Hurrah for Mr. Simon!"

…

The following morning at the Fullerton residence, Stella Fullerton, my adoptive sister, moved from her usual seat beside me to the one across the table.

She picked up her glass of milk and used that same sweet, whiny tone she always used with me. "You should stay away from me from now on, Daniel. I wouldn't want you dragging my reputation down."

"You'll never amount to anything as the adopted son. You should just do your part if you want to stay with the Fullerton family," Dad said as he turned a newspaper page, letting out a cold grunt without raising his head.

He eventually set the paper aside, stood up, pushed back his plates, and turned on his heel.

I looked at Stella, who was normally the picture of obedience. "What's this about, Stella?"

Stella rolled her eyes. "What are you looking at? I've always been like this. I just misjudged you back then, but now I see you're not even worth my time. I'm on Simon's side now."

"Got it."

I smiled wryly and took a bite of my oatmeal, finding it lukewarm as I felt the coldness emanating from the ceramic bowl. In the entire Fullerton family, a place where everyone devoured each other, Stella was the only one who always clung to me and had my back growing up.

I had sincerely regarded her as my own sister and protected her. I had never imagined that she had been pretending for 26 years as well.

I had originally intended to spare her, but now, it looked like every member of the Fullerton family would have to pay for what they did to me.

Simon sent me a message. "Go to the living room in half an hour."

I turned off my phone and slipped it back into my pocket. I then finished the last bit of my oatmeal, wiped my mouth, and rose from my seat.

There were a bunch of people sitting around the living room. Simon reclined lazily on the main couch, resting both of his feet on the coffee table. He cocked his chin at me and said, "You're finally here. Go stand over there."

I glanced at him, then did as he said and went over.

Stella walked out from the dining room and settled herself onto the couch Simon was sitting on. "You should have seen him at breakfast earlier, Simon. He didn't even dare to speak up in front of Dad."

Henry Guthrie, the heir of the Guthrie family, took a drag of his cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke. "You were just following right at Daniel's heels, calling out to him sweetly just days ago, right, Stella?"

"I'm sorry for not knowing any better back then, Simon…"

Simon patted Stella's head affectionately, his gesture no different from teasing a cat.

Stella loved the attention and threw her head back proudly. She had the same look as back when she used to stand up for me, but now she was against me. "I'm the heiress of the Fullerton family, Henry. Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?"

"Got it, Ms. Fullerton. That's what I get for liking you."

Stella sat with her legs crossed, scanning the room before fixing her eyes on a young woman in an apricot-colored dress. She then leaned toward her and patted her on the shoulder. "Didn't you say you liked Daniel before this, Nina?"

Nina looked embarrassed for a split second before brushing it off with a look of pure scorn. She sneered slightly and asked, "Who told you that?"

Stella turned to Simon and smiled sweetly. "Why not let Nina have Daniel, Simon?"

Simon smacked his own thigh, shifted into a more upright position, and jerked his head toward me. "Daniel!"

I raised my head and looked at him.

Simon asked, "How about we set up an arranged marriage for you and Nina? You'd still be marrying way up given your current state!"

I furrowed my brow, intending to refuse. After all, Nina couldn't afford to cross the group of people standing behind me.

Nina stood up before I could say anything, walking over to me with a look of disgust on her face. She then asked with a smile, "Who would want to be with someone like you?"

That smile threw me off for a second. She had pursued me passionately for two years, constantly bringing me white roses with "I like you, Daniel" written on every card.

I came back to my senses, finding only indifference in her eyes.

"I only cared about you back then because I thought you were worthy of being the heir of the Fullerton family. You should just drop your high and mighty act now, Daniel. Did you really think I'd pursue you my whole life?"

Nina then turned to Simon and said, "You should just hand him over to someone else, Simon. I absolutely have no interest in trash like Daniel."

Simon leaned back on the couch and flashed me a mocking look. "Did you hear that, Daniel? She's not interested in you, so we'll leave it at that for now."

I watched them put on their act, feeling completely unmoved. It was then that my phone buzzed twice in my pocket. I took it out and looked at the message.

"Here's the list of companies applying for business partnerships with us. Please review them, Mr. Quinlan."