Chapter 2

Tyson's intent to show off was obvious, but I couldn't help frowning.

'Are the Addisons really this broke? Their son's allowance is only forty grand?'

Dad's fingers froze over his transfer PIN.

Tyson watched him, baffled.

Leah sneered and asked me with contempt, "Forget forty thousand. You've probably never even seen a thousand dollars in your life. Do you even know what money is?"

I was disappointed.

'Is forty grand supposed to be a lot? That won't even buy a square yard of insulation. Our workshop goes through more than that in a single week.'

The smile froze on Leah's face.

'Oh well, so they're a little broke. At least the family business is in advanced materials. I'll ask Dad sometime if he can pull some strings and get the company to partner with our plant.

'They're my blood relatives, after all. I've gotta help them.

'Struggling family business! Please buy from the Addison family.'

A silence fell. Except for the clueless Tyson, everyone in the family wore a different, unreadable expression.

Dad finished the transfer and left the living room, his face grim.

After dinner, Mom took me to a small suite next to the first-floor dining room.

She told me flatly, "Corey, the bedrooms upstairs aren't ready yet. You'll have to make do and stay here for now."

Tyson stood beside her and spoke up quietly, looking troubled, "Mom, this is the maid's room. Isn't it wrong to put Corey in here? Why don't I just give him my bedroom?"

Before I could say a word, Mom got flustered. "Absolutely not. A cramped little maid's room like this is for lowly people. How could I let you suffer in here?"

I found that hilarious.

'This family is a riot. They won't let the adopted son slum it in the maid's room, but their biological son is fair game.'

Embarrassment flashed across Mom's face. She shot me an irritated glare, then went back to coaxing Tyson, "Corey grew up in the countryside. He lived either in mud-brick houses with no running water or electricity, or in staff dorms at some small factory. For him, a maid's room is already a step up.

"But you're different. You grew up with every luxury. How could you ever get used to a maid's room?"

Her heart ached so much that tears streamed down her face.

Tyson gave a magnanimous, understanding smile. "It's okay, Mom. My bedroom belonged to Corey in the first place."

Then he turned sad and full of self-reproach. "After all, I've been living in his place for over twenty years. It's time I gave it back."

"Tyson, what are you saying? No matter what, you'll always be Mommy's precious boy..."

Mother and son went back and forth until they ended up in each other's arms, sobbing.

I looked around this room fit for "lowly people."

'Honestly, this maid's room isn't bad. Great soundproofing, too. Those two are wailing their heads off, and Dad's out there not making a peep, like he's dead.

'It is a bit small, though. No way I can bring my equipment over from the plant. If I want to work overtime, I'll have to go back there. What a hassle.'

Mom's crying stopped abruptly.

Thinking about work at the plant, I started to worry.

'I even burned my annual leave to come back for this reunion, and there's a mountain of work piling up at the office.

'Starting tomorrow, I'll have to put in a week of overtime, or I might not hit my KPI this year.'

Mom stared at me blankly, forgetting even to wipe away her tears.

She looked around the maid's room, regret on her face, lost in thought.

News that the Addisons had brought their biological son home spread quickly through Healy City's high society.

Everyone was quietly watching Tyson and me, eager for a juicy real-heir-versus-fake-heir showdown.