Chapter 1

When Kenneth Lawson was finally brought home, he stood in the foyer, meek and hesitant. At the time, I had just secured a partnership with Matrix Corporation.

On the way back, my assistant, Morgan Baker, told me the Lawsons' biological son had been found.

My heart had pounded at first, then slowly steadied. Now that he was back, we'd take care of him. The Lawsons had more than enough money for that, after all.

What I hadn't expected was the way Kenneth looked at me. The moment he saw me, the fear in his eyes turned to jealousy.

"You want me to come back, don't you? Then he should give back what's mine! He's had my place long enough. I don't want anything else. I want the company."

At those words, I let out a chuckle. "I've been running the company for ten years. Are you sure you can handle that?"

Kenneth caught the disdain in my tone, and his face flushed with anger.

"So what if I don't know how? I can learn. If I had grown up here, I wouldn't be any worse than you!" he snapped.

Some of the relatives started chiming in. "Greg, just give it to him. He's the real son, after all."

I turned to look at my parents, Robert Lawson and Nancy Brooks.

Dad hesitated before speaking. "Greg, we owe him. Ken has been through a lot over the years."

Mom, on the other hand, held Kenneth tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably. "Those damn traffickers sold him off to some remote place! If we hadn't found him, he might have had to spend the rest of his life…

"Greg, just agree to it. I won't treat you unfairly."

I looked at them and smiled. "Alright."

Right after I agreed, I moved to handing everything over. I'd always thought that even if the Lawsons' biological son came back, I would just stay in my lane.

I had never planned to fight him for anything. In fact, I felt sorry for him and had even picked out a gift. I hadn't expected to come back to a situation like this.

Well, since they wanted to make it up to Kenneth, I didn't want any of it anymore.

Right there, I had Morgan draft the transfer documents. Then, I signed everything and handed the company over to Kenneth.

The moment he took the papers, he lit up and threw himself into Mom's arms.

I took a deep breath and said, "That's everything. I'm heading upstairs to rest."

Only then did Mom look up. "Ken just got back. Let's have dinner together as a family."

"I'm tired. I don't feel like eating."

Kenneth looked at me, his eyes red-rimmed. "Greg, do you not want to see me? I just got back, and you already can't stand me?"

"Gregory Lawson!" Mom snapped. "Why are you being so immature?"

"I just got off a 20-hour flight," I replied evenly. "I'm exhausted. I haven't even adjusted to the time difference yet."

And only then did it seem to hit her that I had just come back from a business trip. When she saw how bloodshot my eyes were, she looked a little embarrassed.

Without another word, I went upstairs, ignoring the voices below.

Meanwhile, messages kept popping up in the family group chat.

After a shower, I checked my phone and sneered inwardly. One message read, "Kenneth's finally back! Rob, when are you hosting the welcome home dinner? This is a huge occasion for the family!"

Another text followed. "Exactly! Make it grand! And announce the company transfer while you're at it. On, and Gregory shouldn't be living at home anymore, right? What about the engagement? Should that be reconsidered, too?"

I ignored most of the snide remarks, but I couldn't overlook that one.

The Lawsons and the Shaws had an arranged engagement. But now that I was no longer a Lawson, where did that leave Victoria Shaw?

Messages kept flooding in. I lost interest and exited the group.

By their logic, I was no longer part of the Lawson family. Naturally, I had no place in that group chat anymore. Exiting on my own spared them the trouble of bringing it up.

Still, I needed to clear things up with Victoria.