Chapter 1

The gavel came down at the capital's most exclusive auction house, and my late father's Patek Philippe pocket watch had just been driven to a billion.

The ones bidding it up were my fiancée, Barbara Summers, and the three childhood friends who'd sworn since we were kids that they would always protect me.

I stared at the watch on the stage. It was the only proof that I was the rightful heir of the Delgado family.

Barbara had one arm draped around Carter's shoulders. In full view of every guest in the room, she raised her paddle—“Carter says his tuxedo tonight is a little plain. Needs an accessory with some weight to it. One point one billion.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Mocking me — the real heir, only just brought home — who couldn't even hold on to his own father's keepsake.

“William Delgado, give it up. You're never going to beat Carter.” The three of them sneered at me from across the floor.

The entire room was watching me like I was the evening's entertainment. But my mother, Maura Delgado — her face had gone dark.

They didn't know the family was watching this. Grading it.

If I touched my private trust fund for this watch, or if I got on my knees and begged Barbara for help, I would lose my claim to the Delgado Medical Group for good.

I looked at those four women throwing away fortunes for Carter Delgado, and I set down my paddle.

……

That pocket watch was the symbol of whoever held power in the Delgado family.

I'd been lost for twenty-two years. The family only found me and brought me home three years ago.

Tonight was my first time officially representing the Delgados at the charity auction. My grandmother had told me I had to bring back my father's watch. No exceptions.

Barbara knew what this watch meant to me.

She raised her paddle anyway. Her eyes never landed on me. Not for a single second.

The overhead lights bore straight down onto my face.

I sat in my bidding seat and watched Barbara take the watch from the presenter's hands, lean over, and tuck it into the breast pocket of Carter's tuxedo. My nails dug deep into my palms.

Camera flashes erupted across the ballroom.

The whispers drilled into my ears:

“Ms. Summers isn't even being subtle. She's backing her future husband right out in the open. Doesn't matter if he's the fake heir — as long as she wants him, he's the one who matters.”

“That so-called real eldest son is pathetic. Came home thinking a name was enough, and now he's lost the woman and the heirloom in one night.”

Barbara leaned down and straightened Carter's collar, her gaze full of patience and indulgence.

I'd known her for three years. I had never once seen anything from her but cold composure.

In her eyes, I was a schemer who had clawed his way into a wealthy family. My pain, my silence — just leverage I was hoarding, just another play for a bigger payout.

Earl Delgado strolled over with a glass of champagne.

My second uncle. A pack of young tycoons trailed behind him like an audience.

“William. Ms. Summers clearly doesn't give a damn about you. What are you still sitting here for?”

“The way I see it, a man's got to know his place. You can dust a sparrow in gold — it still won't be a phoenix.”

“Carter grew up in this family. He's the one fortune smiled on. You show up out of nowhere trying to push him out, and now even God's had enough — sent Ms. Summers right back to his side.”

Every word landed on what was left of my dignity. My knuckles went white around the glass.

Before the auction started, Barbara had given me her word in the lounge.

She said she'd win the watch for me. A gift for our third engagement anniversary.

I believed her.

To hold up my end, I'd even turned down exclusive medical-device distribution deals with several other families.

But one minute before the watch went on stage, Carter had leaned into her ear and cried.

That was all it took.

She didn't just fail to help me. She became the sharpest blade in Carter's hand.

She knew about the inheritance evaluation.

If I lost my composure tonight, or if I walked out without this heirloom, the Delgado Group's line of succession would tilt toward Carter.