Chapter 101: Come Home

ELIThe gold-embossed seal of an unassailable global trust fund slapped flat against my desk, naming a Iris the sole heiress to a fortune.The thick, leather-bound folder hit the wood with a hard smack. Beside it lay an official trust establishment document and the faded archival photograph from Saint Luke's Orphanage. It was unquestionable. It was indisputable.I stood behind my desk, my broad chest rising and falling slowly as I stared down at the documents. My jaw was locked so tight the muscles ached. Beside me, Liam stood like a carved stone statue, his arms crossed over his chest, his blue eyes fixed on the silver-haired billionaire sitting calmly across from us.Max Cooper leaned back in the high-backed leather chair, steepling his long fingers together. The businessman mask he wore was gone. "I didn't adopt Joseph at Saint Luke's by accident," Cooper said, his deep voice smooth, steady, and ruthless. "When I went to the orphanage to make some donations, I saw a small silver

Chapter 102: My Baby

IRIS My mind was still spinning in circles, trying to piece together the unbelievable reality that was unfolding around me. For my entire life, I had been nothing. I was an unwanted orphan girl, a nameless housemaid who scrubbed floors until her knees bled, came to this massive estate by debt, fear, and a need to keep little Joseph alive.Now, in a single afternoon, everything had been torn apart and rewritten. I was no longer a servant. I was the daughter of the towering, powerful billionaire standing directly beside me.Inside the silence of the study, my father gently turned his head toward the two men who had claimed my body and soul."I will not leave my daughter in a maid's uniform for another hour," Max Cooper said, his voice dropping into a firm, powerful tone that left zero room for negotiation. "I am taking Iris home tonight."Eli stood behind his broad desk, his posture tensed like it was carved from stone. His dark, impenetrable eyes remained fixed on me with an unreadabl

Chapter 103: My Mother

IRIS My whole life, Savannah Hawthorne had treated me like dirt scraped off the bottom of her shoes. She had sneered at me in the hallways, loaded me with backbreaking chores, mocked my poverty, and had even tried to frame me for stealing Madam Paisley's heriloom just days ago to throw me into prison. Yet here she was, weeping badly at my feet, clutching my knees like I was the most precious, irreplaceable treasure in the entire world."Savannah, what on earth are you doing?" Madam Paisley demanded, her brow furrowing in utter confusion as she sat up straight in her armchair. "What is the meaning of this ridiculous outburst?"Savannah looked up from my skirt, her tear-streaked face twisted into a picture of heart-wrenching agony. She looked at Madam Paisley, then at the rest of the room, her chest heaving as if she were drowning in her own sorrow."I was so young... so terribly foolish," Savannah wept, her trembling voice dripping with tragic sorrow. "Years ago... long before I ever

Chapter 104: Far From Over

IRIS A fleet of pristine white luxury vehicles lined the Hawthorne driveway.I stood on the cool marble steps of the grand entrance, staring down at the endless line of polished SUVs gleaming under the pale moonlight. Their engines purred in unison, smooth and quiet, like a pack of untamed beasts waiting for a command. Just a few hours ago, I was clutching a worn broom, scrubbing floors until my palms burned. Now, this multi-million-dollar escort was here for me.Savannah stood beside me, her eyes red-rimmed and damp with lingering tears, though her face had regained a quiet, deliberate composure. She turned slowly toward Max, giving him a small, solemn nod of silent appreciation."Thank you, Max," Savannah whispered softly, her voice thick with emotion as she reached out to gently touch my sleeve. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with a pleading tenderness that made my throat tighten. "I know everything has happened so fast tonight, my sweet girl. But I promise you, I will pay y

Chapter 105: Welcome Home

IRIS The towering iron gates of the my father's estate clicked shut behind me with a final thud, sealing me into a world of incomprehensible luxury.The sound echoed through the cool night air, vibrating in my chest like a lock turning over a cell door. Outside those bars lay everything I had ever known—the dusty servant quarters, the cold marble floors of the Hawthorne estate, and the dark, possessive shadows of Eli and Liam. Inside, a broad stone driveway stretched out toward a palace made of glass, white marble, and glowing amber lights that made the dark sky look dim.The white luxury sedan smoothly glided to a stop in front of a grand arched entrance. Before the engine even fully died down, two liveried footmen stepped forward and opened my door, bowing their heads low."Welcome home, Lady Iris," one of them said softly, his voice dripping with smooth, practiced reverence.I flinched, my small hands clutching my duffel bag tighter against my chest. Lady Iris. The title felt wron

Chapter 106: Stayed Behind

IRIS Joseph turned his back to the floor-to-ceiling windows, his usual sweet, fragile expression replaced by a chillingly cold, arrogant glare.I froze mid-step on the sunroom floor, my breath seizing in my throat. For a little bit of second, the boy standing in the bright morning sunlight didn't look like the helpless, sickly little brother I had spent years starving to protect. He looked foreign. He looked distant, cold, and calculating.Then, he blinked, and a brilliant, full-blown smile spread across his face.I blinked back my shock, pressing a hand against my chest as my breathing hitched. My eyes must be deceiving me, I thought, forcing a nervous breath out of my lungs. I am just exhausted. I'm letting the stress of this crazy night play tricks on my mind."Iris!" Joseph called out, his voice smooth and bright, sounding exactly like the sweet boy I remembered from the orphanage dormitories."Joseph!" I cried out, the lingering tension in my muscles immediately melting away int