The day I came home from closing a deal in Europe, my brother’s latest conquest opened the door. I was used to Leo keeping a revolving door of women, so I didn't say a word, just moved to head past her up the stairs. But she grabbed my arm, her voice dripping with entitlement. "You the new help? Perfect. Come wash my feet." A smirk tugged at my lips. I couldn't be bothered to waste breath on someone so clueless. I tried to step around her. "Stay put!" she shrieked. Before I could react, the sharp crack of a slap echoed in the foyer, and my cheek exploded in pain. "Who told you you could walk away from me? How dare a servant give me attitude?" she sneered, puffing out her chest. "Let me make this clear: I run this house now. If you know what's good for you, you'll do as you're told. Otherwise, I'll have you thrown out on the street by tonight!" My cheek burned. I gave a cold laugh and pulled out my phone, dialing my brother's number. "You have ten minutes," I said, my voice low and even. "Ten minutes to get this woman you brought home out of my house. Or that last handful of stock you're clinging to? It's gone." … My family always favored the son, just not in the way you’d think. They believed in letting him run wild, indulge every whim, while their daughter was molded to carry the weight of the family empire. The result? While I was studying finance, Leo was showering gifts on his latest girlfriend. While I was negotiating international trade agreements, Leo was still showering gifts on his latest girlfriend. My parents weren't worried he'd turn into a useless degenerate; they were worried his lifestyle would corrupt me. So, the moment I turned eighteen, they shipped me off abroad. They called it "advanced studies," but it was really just "out of sight, out of mind." Now, with the family's entire fortune in my hands, Leo knew better than to do anything but obey my every command. So how dare his flavor-of-the-month try to step on my toes? Just as the call was about to connect, the woman snatched the phone from my hand and smashed it on the marble floor. She ground her stiletto heel into the screen, a contemptuous smile on her face. "Don't even try it. You're the tenth girl this week to show up claiming to be Leo Reed's sister. Do I look like an idiot?" She scoffed. "You clearly don't know that his sister, Evelyn Reed, is out of the country, do you? Hasn't been heard from in years. Probably dead in a ditch somewhere. Right now, in this entire estate, my word is law. So if you don't want to disappear from St. Jude City, you'll get on your knees and start washing my feet!" I bent down and picked up my shattered phone. Her words were so absurd, I almost laughed. Had Leo really not told her that his entire family, his entire lifestyle, depended on me? "And what, exactly," I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "makes you think you're in any position to call the shots for the Reed family?" "You ignorant little thing," Melissa said, tossing her perfectly curled hair as she crossed her legs. "First of all, I'm Melissa Morgan, of the Morgan family. I come from money. And second, I'm here for Adrian Vance. The Reeds' entire operation is under his control now. That useless waste of space, Leo, can't even sign a check without Adrian's permission. Who the hell are you to even bring up his name to me?" Adrian Vance? I froze. Wasn't Adrian the boy my parents took in when I was a child, the one who was supposed to be my future husband? I had asked him to help my parents with the business while I was away, to lighten their load. Just lighten their load. Since when did he become the man in charge? Seeing my silence, Melissa assumed I was terrified. She viciously kicked the suitcase by my feet. "What are you standing there for? Go get the hot water! If you don't serve me properly, I'll make sure you vanish from this city by tomorrow!" I ignored her, my eyes fixed on the familiar necklace around her throat. It was the birthday gift I’d had my assistant give Leo last year. He told me he’d given it to someone very important. So this was his "important" person. A woman using Adrian Vance as a cover to play my brother for a fool, right under my own roof. "Forget the water," I said, pulling the house's private intercom from my pocket. My voice was laced with a chill I didn't even recognize myself. "Where's the butler? Security? Get this woman out of my sight and tie her up!" I sneered. How dare she toy with my brother's feelings? Leo could be a hedonistic layabout, but he was my hedonistic layabout. No one else got to play him for a fool. But when I pressed the button, only a dead hiss of static answered. I tried three more times. The security camera in the entryway remained dark, not even a single red light flickering to life. Melissa burst out laughing, snatching the intercom from my hand. "Where did you get this?" She squinted, as if discovering a new continent. "This is an old model, the Reeds retired these ages ago… Wait. Are you a thief who broke in?" I said nothing. I had designed this mansion’s security system myself. A fly couldn't get through a window crack without tripping an alarm in the central control room, let alone a dead intercom. Why was nothing working? Melissa suddenly clapped her hands. "Oh, I know! You're that pathetic ex of Adrian's, aren't you? The one who couldn't let go after he dumped you? You actually stalked him all the way here?" Before I could process her words, the heel of her shoe slammed into the back of my knee. My leg buckled, and I crumpled to the floor. "You really think Adrian still has a soft spot for you?" she spat, looming over me. "He can't even stand the sight of you! Take a good look in the mirror. Do you really think you're worthy of a man like him?" The pain finally brought clarity. In the three years I was gone, Adrian hadn't just tampered with the core of my family's business behind everyone's back. He had cheated on me. Melissa smirked down at me, then pulled out a newer, sleeker intercom and summoned the butler and guards. Unfamiliar faces appeared. They didn't even glance at me. They walked straight to Melissa, carefully helping her up. "Please, Miss Morgan, don't upset yourself. You're pregnant. You must be careful not to risk the baby." "Pregnant?" My head snapped up, my gaze locking onto her flat stomach. "With Leo's child?" "Ugh, please!" Melissa spat on the floor in disgust. "As if I'd carry that loser's baby!" She cradled her belly, a triumphant glow on her face. "This is Adrian's. Once our child is born, I'll be the official Mrs. Vance. Then the entire Reed family fortune—no, the entire city—will be mine!" Adrian's? A moment ago, I thought he might just be playing around, indulging in a meaningless affair. Now, the disappointment was absolute. The boy who used to follow me around, promising to marry me the day I came back, had cheated on me. The man I had trusted with my family's legacy, the man I had begged to look after them, had gotten another woman pregnant with his child. "What are you staring at?" Melissa snapped, unnerved by my gaze. She gestured to the guards. "Slap her! The thought of this bitch ever being with Adrian makes my skin crawl!" "I dare you to touch me," I snarled, my voice ringing with authority. "I am Evelyn Reed, the daughter of this house. Open your eyes and look closely. Leo and I were cut from the same cloth. I am his sister!" My icy demeanor gave the guards and the butler pause. They hesitated, unsure. Seeing their reluctance, Melissa flew into a rage. "Are you really scared of this nobody? Does the daughter of the Reed family travel alone? Pin her down! If you won't hit her, I will!" "Don't you dare!" But I was no match for their strength. The guards grabbed my arms, holding me fast. Just as a hand was about to strike my face, the front door swung open. A familiar voice cut through the tension. "What is going on here?" The moment Adrian Vance stood silhouetted in the doorway, I pushed myself up from the floor, my voice shaking with a tidal wave of fury. "Adrian! You better have a damn good explanation for this!" When he saw me, the color drained from his face. The eyes that once held so much warmth were now filled with panic. "Adrian!" Melissa beat me to it, throwing herself into his arms, her voice sickeningly sweet. "You're finally here! This must be that obsessive ex of yours. She's so shameless—she was just trying to impersonate the Reed heiress! Don't worry, I already taught her a lesson for you!" I watched them tangled together and let out a low, hollow laugh. "Ex? Adrian, why don't you dare tell her what we really are to each other?" My finger shot out, pointing directly at his face, each word landing like a hammer blow. "The boy my family raised to be my husband—have you forgotten that? Or has playing king in my family's house for three years made you forget your place?" Adrian's face turned a blotchy, furious red. Melissa recoiled from his embrace, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared first at me, then back at him. "Raised to be your husband? What the hell is she talking about?" I scoffed. "Use your head, Melissa." I pointed to the grand portrait hanging in the center of the living room—a photo of me and Leo. "You've been telling everyone you're Leo's girlfriend. Now you're pregnant with Adrian's child. Has he given you a ring? Has he made you his wife?" "If he really held all the power," I continued, "why would he let you parade around as my brother's mistress?" Melissa's face grew paler with every word. She grabbed Adrian's arm. "Adrian, is it true? Have you been lying to me?" "Shut up!" The last shred of feigned gentleness in Adrian's eyes vanished, revealing a raw, ugly fury. "You bitch! How dare you try to drive a wedge between me and Melissa!" He pointed at me, his voice sharp as a shard of glass. "You wanted to teach her a lesson, Melissa? Go on. A psycho like her only understands pain!" The guards exchanged uneasy glances, but finally, they closed in on me. I looked at Adrian’s twisted, unrecognizable face, and the last flicker of warmth in my heart turned to ice. This was the man I had entrusted with my family's future. The man I had waited three years for. "Adrian," I said, my back pressed against the cold wall, my voice chillingly calm. "If you lay a single finger on me today, even if I can't do anything to you right now, my brother will make you disappear from the face of this earth." At my words, Adrian’s sneer deepened, as if I’d just told the funniest joke in the world. He grabbed a fistful of my hair, dragging me out onto the front steps. A searing pain shot through my scalp as my head was yanked back. "Leo?" he hissed, his voice low and contemptuous. "You're counting on that idiot I have wrapped around my little finger? He's probably passed out drunk in some club right now, waiting for me to send him an allowance." He shoved me away. I stumbled backward, barely catching my balance before the guards' slaps began to rain down. Explosions of pain erupted on my cheeks, my forehead, my lips. The coppery tang of blood filled my mouth. Adrian leaned in close, his voice a venomous whisper only I could hear. "Evelyn, your parents took off to travel the world right after you left. And your useless brother? He's a lost cause. No one is coming to save you today." His eyes glinted with a cruel light. "The long-lost heiress of the Reed family, tragically found dead after years abroad. How does that sound for a headline?" "You wouldn't dare," I seethed through clenched teeth. "Wouldn't I? In the years you've been gone, I've learned every inch of the Reed business. If my family hadn't fallen on hard times, do you really think I would have ever lowered myself to be your kept husband?"
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