ONE OF THE TWIN

"We’re almost at Lacrose, Mr. Rutherson," Valerian’s personal driver announced, while Valerian sat quietly in the backseat.

Valerian was still in a foul mood after coming home late the previous night—he’d had to finish a mountain of files. Another reason for his bad mood was Luna leaving him at the office when it was time to go home; he felt like she’d outsmarted him again.

"I’m the fucking CEO—who cares if I’m late?" Valerian snapped. His driver frowned, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

"If you’re late, your secretary will definitely scold you," the driver said—he’d seen Valerian get chewed out by his secretary before.

"Do you think I’m scared of that woman’s scolding? She’s my secretary, and I’m the boss!" Valerian yelled, turning to glare at the driver before letting out a growl.

"If that’s the case, where should we go instead of heading straight to the hotel?" the driver asked. Valerian suddenly thought of Luna’s reaction if he showed up late.

That’s what infuriated Valerian—he couldn’t figure out why Luna had such a hold on him, as if she might leave if he disobeyed her. He didn’t understand the invisible tie that kept him from firing her.

"String my fucking ass."

"What did you say, Mr. Rutherson?" the driver asked. Valerian just crossed his legs and arms in his seat.

"Just take me straight to the hotel. I don’t want my day ruined even more by Luna’s nagging," Valerian said. To the driver, his boss sounded like a submissive alpha.

"Okay, Mr. Rutherson."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the hotel. A guard opened the door for Valerian, who stepped out of the car.

He adjusted his suit and started walking inside, but stopped when he noticed a little boy sitting by the guard’s desk, hugging his bag tightly.

"Who’s that kid?" Valerian asked the guard plainly.

"He came here alone, Mr. Rutherson. When I asked him, he said he was looking for his mom, who works here," the guard replied. Valerian’s eyes were fixed on the boy.

"The kid’s mom works at my hotel? Did you ask him which mom he’s talking about?"

"I did, Mr. Rutherson, but he wouldn’t tell me—he said he doesn’t talk to strangers," the guard said. Valerian walked over to the boy.

"Hey kid, do you know you’re not allowed here?" Valerian scolded flatly. The boy slowly turned to look at him.

When their eyes met, Valerian froze. He saw himself in the boy—if he had a photo of himself as a child, this kid could pass for young Valerian.

"Who’s your dad?" Valerian blurted out. The boy stood up.

"I don’t have a dad. Mom said our dad is dead," the boy answered. Valerian couldn’t explain the strange feeling he had.

"Then who’s your mom, the one who works at my hotel?"

"Mom said I can’t talk to strangers," the boy said. Valerian was about to approach him when a woman suddenly appeared and grabbed the boy.

"Leon, how did you get here alone? Do you know how dangerous that was?" the woman scolded worriedly, then turned to Valerian.

"Are you the mother of that child?"

"N-No, I’m his teacher. We were at the park when his twin said Leon was missing. Luckily, the twin had a hunch he’d come here," the woman replied, then turned back to Leon.

"Let’s go back—your twin is waiting."

"But I want to see Mom."

"I’m sorry, but we can’t. Come on," the woman said, pulling Leon away. Valerian watched them leave.

"What the hell did I just see? That kid looks exactly like me when I was a kid?" Valerian muttered, then his phone rang.

Despite his shock at the look-alike boy, he answered it. When he saw it was Samuel calling, he picked up.

"What?"

"I’ve got Mr. Howart. You know he almost bought the pier with fake money and documents?" Samuel informed him.

"That bastard old man—I’m coming."

"You’re coming? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I want to see Mr. Howart and punish him with my own hands," Valerian said. He told the guard to get the key to his car, which he kept in the hotel garage for solo trips.

"What about your secretary?" Samuel asked, as a reminder. Valerian paused.

"Here’s the key, Mr. Rutherson," the guard said, returning with it.

"Has my secretary arrived yet?" Valerian asked the guard.

"Y-Yes, sir, but she left again. A branch in Philadelphia called—there was a small problem."

"I’m coming, Samuel," Valerian said to the phone, then hung up.

Valerian knew Luna would be at the branch for a while, so he had time to leave. He just needed to get back to the office before she did—he was tired of her nagging.

Valerian got in his car and drove off quickly. On the way, he suddenly thought of the boy who looked just like him.

"There’s no way that kid looks like me… but fuck, he does. I don’t remember sleeping with any omega, so I’m sure I don’t have a secret child," Valerian said to himself.

He pushed the thought aside and focused on driving. When he arrived at the abandoned building where Samuel was waiting, he got out of the car and was greeted by Samuel’s men—all betas.

"Follow us, Mr. Rutherson," one of the men said. Valerian followed them inside.

Even though Valerian was a billionaire businessman, he had a habit as a dominant alpha: he was aggressive, physically strong, and settled scores with those who crossed him in his own way.

"The lion got away because—"

"Shut up, Samuel. Where is he?" Valerian cut him off sharply. Samuel smiled and pointed to the far end of the room, where Mr. Howart was tied up and blindfolded.

"I’ve taken care of his men. I roughed him up a bit because I knew you’d want to face him yourself," Samuel said. Valerian walked toward Mr. Howart.

When he got close, he pulled off the blindfold. Mr. Howart’s eyes widened in fear.

"M-Mr. Ru-Rutherson?"

"So you recognize me—the man you tried to betray by buying the pier I want?" Valerian sneered, releasing his alpha pheromones. Mr. Howart struggled to breathe, his strength fading.

"What I hate most, Mr. Howart, is being mocked to my face," Valerian said. He could feel Mr. Howart’s fear, especially when his eyes turned gold.

"P-Please forgive me, Mr. Rutherson. I-I’ll never do it again—" Mr. Howart’s words were cut off when Valerian gagged him with the hem of his shirt.

"I don’t accept apologies from people who try to mess with me."

Valerian spotted a pipe nearby and picked it up. Terror filled Mr. Howart’s eyes, but he couldn’t speak.

"From what I know, you’re a lonely old man abandoned by your family. So I assume no one will miss you when you’re gone permanently," Valerian said. Samuel turned away as Valerian began beating Mr. Howart until he stopped breathing.

"Tell your men to throw this garbage in the middle of the ocean," Valerian said, walking over to Samuel.

Samuel noticed a few splatters of Mr. Howart’s blood on Valerian’s white polo.

"I have an extra polo in my car. I don’t think you want to go back to the office looking like that," Samuel said, signaling his men to remove Mr. Howart’s body.

"Is there any way I could have a child who looks like me?" Valerian asked out of nowhere, pulling off his dirty shirt.

"What do you mean?" Samuel asked, frowning.

"Is it possible for a kid to look exactly like me?" Valerian repeated.

"It's possible if he is your son. Wait—why are you asking me this?" Samuel asked, confused.

"There’s no way I have a son!" Valerian yelled, leaving Samuel even more confused about his cousin.

"What happened to that man?"