LOGINThe naive little rebellion started by an illegitimate son trying to flip the whole board was over, just like that. The price was someone else's total ruin, and a long new string of zeros added to my bank account.[Wait... That's it?][Damn, I love this ending! Villains should go down this clean and fast!][So, Luis Wade really is the chosen one after all. This kind of nerve, this kind of skill, and the "real heirs" before him were just cannon fodder?][So satisfying! This is what a real heir to a fortune looks like!]I looked at the handful of scattered comments in front of me and felt nothing much.That evening, I went back to the main house. Cody and Isabel sat in the study, a long mahogany desk stretching between them like they were in the middle of a negotiation.When they saw me come in, Isabel spoke first."About Sebastian, his mother's side sent word through someone. They said they'd give us an explanation.""No need." I walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured myse
Silence lasted a few seconds on the other end. "Short it?" Chelsea's voice turned serious. "You're going for their throat. How much capital would that even take?""Every asset I have. Property, real estate, stocks, funds, all of it mortgaged." My voice stayed perfectly even. "If that's not enough, count your share in too.""Sure, go big, I like it. Consider it my down payment on backing you as the Wade heir.""Pleasure doing business."After hanging up, I called my private legal team and authorized them to handle the asset mortgage. Once that was done, I turned back to the television. The financial anchor was still analyzing Stevens Group's troubles in a grave tone. But in front of me, the tide of the comments had already started quietly turning.[Wait, why do I get the feeling this fake heir's actually got something going for him? He's super calm under pressure.][Mortgaging everything he owns? Is he insane? Win and it's champagne; lose and he's flipping burgers?][No, wait
After hanging up, he slipped his phone back into his pocket. Then he lifted his head and looked me in the eye for the first time."Luis," he said, "if I can't have it, I'll destroy it."With that, he stood, smoothed down his slightly wrinkled clothes, and climbed the stairs with steady steps, back to his room. The mansion settled back into an eerie calm. But instinct told me this was only the brief, suffocating quiet before a storm.Two days later, my phone rang. It was Chelsea, her voice carrying a rare edge of urgency."Luis, turn on the finance channel. Don't ask why, just do it now."I turned on the television and switched to the finance channel. On the screen, a bright red arrow plunged in a sheer drop, jarring to look at. The anchor's voice was barely holding back shock."Stevens Group's stock has suffered an unprecedented crash. Rumors are circulating that its core trade secret has been leaked, and the company is facing its worst crisis of confidence since its founding..
[I'm floored! What is this script?]The comments went wild, but Cody's and Isabel's expressions didn't shift at all."My marriage to Isabel was a business arrangement from the very start." Cody's voice stayed frighteningly level. "The alliance between the Wade Group and the Stevens Group needed an heir who was absolutely stable and absolutely neutral, someone who wouldn't favor the Wade Group or the Stevens Group."He paused, his gaze landing on me. "So we had Luis."Isabel picked up where he'd left off. "Luis received the finest heir's education from childhood, and more importantly, he shares no blood with either of our families. He's the perfect manager, the sole legitimate heir to this business empire."When she finished, the whole world seemed to go quiet.Tyler's mouth hung open. The fantasy he'd played out countless times, of the real heir's grand comeback, had torn to shreds in his head. As for Sebastian, his head stayed bowed, and I couldn't read his expression. But I s
I paused awhile and looked at Sebastian, my gaze calm and unruffled behind my glasses."Everything you said is correct. Just a little late."The air went rigid instantly. The color drained visibly from Sebastian's face. He'd only seen the news. I had already finished setting the whole play in motion.Cody finally set down his newspaper. He glanced at me first, then turned his gaze to Sebastian, and finally said, coldly, "Don't talk about things you don't understand at the dinner table."Tyler looked from me to Sebastian's ashen face, opened his mouth, then thought better of it and went back to eating.Sebastian's knuckles went white around his spoon. He kept his head down, so I couldn't read his expression, but I could sense that his gentle, harmless mask had finally slipped for good. He slowly raised his head and looked at me across the long table. What was left in his eyes was nothing but cold, undisguised hostility, like a snake that had just been stepped on.The next day, A
With that, Cody went straight upstairs to the study. Isabel stood up as well and walked over to Sebastian, looking down at him with a hint of warning in her tone."One more thing," she said. "My legs are expensive. Don't go grabbing them again."The living room fell into dead silence.Sebastian was far smarter than Tyler. He quickly worked out that tears were the least useful currency for gaining a foothold in this house, so he changed tactics.The very next morning, he stopped wearing the faded old clothes that made him look like a helpless waif. Instead, he put on the new clothes the household had prepared for him and combed his hair neatly, looking a good deal more put-together.He started making small talk with the staff on his own, especially the young women who'd just started working there, handing them a glass of water, saying "you must be tired," always with a perfectly calibrated warm smile. It worked well on the young women who were new to working in a household like thi







