Chapter 1

Soon, my confident response went viral all over the Internet.

Everyone started digging into my high school and my exam records. Someone even found out that I was the actual heir of the McKinnons and had just been reunited with them.

"He really is an outstanding student as well as the true heir! God definitely favors people like him!"

"As expected of the actual heir of the McKinnons—not even his rough upbringing can cover the luster of his talents!"

My younger brother, Charles McKinnon, gripped his phone while reading the comments out loud as he approached me slowly.

"What prestigious college? You don't even know the scores yet, and you still have the gall to run your mouth like that!

"What else can you do other than pull off tricks just to attract everyone's attention? As if you're some sort of outstanding student and a true heir! Hah! I'll definitely laugh in your face when you fail to even get into a regular community college!"

In my previous life, I thought Charles was worried that I might steal Dad's love for him, which explained his attitude toward me.

But when I was on the verge of dying, I saw the way his expression contorted maliciously as he hissed, "If not for the fact that Mom and Dad noticed your amazing grades and knew that you could help me get into a prestigious college, they'd never have gotten reunited with you in the first place!

"You're just an ugly, lame country bumpkin, after all! Mom and Dad think you're totally embarrassing!"

Only then did I learn that my biological father, Adam McKinnon, had already planned for Charles to steal my scores and my life.

But as I gazed at Charles in this lifetime, I couldn't help but laugh.

When he saw me laughing, he frowned once again. "I'm warning you, the Jackmans will never choose a piece of trash like you for the marriage alliance between our families!

"I'm the actual heir of this family! I'm the Jackmans' future son-in-law! You don't have any right to steal these identities from me!"

The Jackmans… Ah, Wendy Jackman.

Yeah, I used to have a crush on her in my previous life. But now, I just viewed her as a useless woman who was far too confident.

I shook Charles' hand off before replying with a smile, "Wow, really? You're amazing!"

Charles parted his lips, looking a little flabbergasted by my response.

At that moment, Genevieve Black, the lady of the house and my biological mother, approached Charles from behind with a smile plastered on her face.

"Our darling Charlie is naturally the best! He's not like a certain phony who only knows how to act!"

Upon noticing Genevieve, Charles smiled at me smugly.

"Everyone's exam scores will be revealed tomorrow. I'll show you what true strength is!"

I merely sneered inwardly without responding to him.

Well, I'd like to see Charles' reaction as well when the scores were revealed.

…

The next day, I had just walked out of my room early in the morning when a silver figure crashed into me.

Caught off guard, I almost fell down the stairs.

Clad in a custom-fitted suit, Charles looked at me haughtily. "Why did you block my way? You almost made me fall!"

The truth was, my adoptive mother, Cassandra Norton, had specifically custom-ordered that silver suit for me to wear during my graduation ceremony.

Then again, I wasn't surprised to see Charles wearing that suit. After all, he had stolen that suit from me in my previous life as well.

Seeing how stunned I was, Charles couldn't help but look even more smug.

"By the way, Dad already stated that everything in this house belongs to me. That means this suit is also mine."

I remained nonchalant. Since Charles liked stealing from me that much, he could have fun stealing everything I owned.

I sincerely hoped that he'd still like this suit that much when he was stripped of everything he had later on.

When Genevieve heard Charles' voice, she walked out into the corridor. Her expression soon shifted into one of happiness.

"Only someone as handsome as Charlie is worthy of a Kleinoir suit!"

"Kleinoir?" Charles stared at me in shock. "How could a poor peasant like you afford one of those things? Ah, I got it! The rich lady who drove you back to school must have been the one who bought it for you, right?"

As soon as he said that, Adam walked toward us. "What rich lady? How dare you befriend shady people, Pierce! This is unacceptable!"

This time, I laughed at Adam's words. "Are you slandering me already?"

Adam was briefly taken aback. He didn't seem to think that I'd talk back to him, considering my cowardly nature.

Meanwhile, Charles approached him, looking aggrieved.

"Dad, if no one bought this suit for Pierce, that means he must have stolen it!"

Stole? Me?

Kleinoir was the brand that my adoptive mom—or Mom, as I still called her—had founded with her own hands. Was it really necessary for me to steal from her?

Besides, the "rich lady" Charles had mentioned was none other than my older adoptive sister, Vanessa Klein, who happened to be the youngest CEO of a listed company in this city.

Both the McKinnons and the Jackmans were insignificant before her. If Vanessa were to blacklist them, they'd fall from grace and would be forced to restart their careers from the very beginning.