Chapter 1

I’ve been painfully honest and hyper-paranoid about risk since the day I was born.

My mom can watch hundreds of millions of dollars evaporate in the stock market in a single day without even blinking.

My dad buys luxury high-rises the way normal people buy groceries at the corner store.

And Rachel, my sister, started investing her trust fund at the age of three, becoming a ruthless market shark everyone in the business world is terrified of.

Then there’s me. I’m the kind of guy who hesitates to pay extra for avocado on a sandwich.

I’ve lived this ultra-wealthy life in absolute terror, always feeling like God is going to come knock on my door one day to collect interest on a loan I never asked for.

So, on the night of my eighteenth birthday gala, when the real heir showed up at our front door holding a DNA test...

I let out a massive sigh of relief.

See? I knew it. How could a paranoid, penny-pinching guy like me ever be the actual heir to a massive empire?

On the night of the gala, I stood on the stage wearing a custom designer suit worth millions, feeling completely out of place.

"Dad, this fabric is itching crazy. Can I please change into something else?"

My dad glared at me, his face dark, and waved the makeup artist over to touch up my face.

"Arthur, remember. Your most important job tonight is to keep your mouth shut."

I pouted, metaphorically zipping my lips, and stared blankly at the bustling crowd of high-society guests below.

"Honey, sometimes I really wonder if Arthur is actually ours," my mom sighed.

Before she could say anything else, the grand heavy doors of the ballroom were slammed open.

A boy wearing a faded, washed-out T-shirt marched in. He held a thick manila folder high in the air, his voice echoing through the hall:

"Here is the DNA test! I am the real biological son of the Sterling family! You’ve all been fooled by Arthur!"

The room fell into dead silence, followed instantly by an explosion of wild whispers.

"The real vs. fake heir? I knew coming tonight was a good idea! This is pure drama!"

"Honestly, I always thought the Sterlings' son was weird. He has zero ambition."

"Last time my kid asked him to invest in a tech startup, the guy looked like he was going to cry and pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his pocket! Like, what was that even supposed to do?"

Hearing their gossip, I swallowed hard.

Yes! Thank God. I knew it.

I'm the type of person who needs a whole mental pep talk just to buy a premium sandwich. There was no way in hell I was a billionaire heir.

Looking at the boy who just stormed in, I actually felt like walking over, shaking his hand, and thanking him.

Before I could move, he pointed a finger at me and shrieked, "Arthur! You didn't expect this, did you? You didn't think I’d actually find my way here!"

"You knew all along that I was the real Sterling heir! Why did you hide it?"

I blinked, totally lost. What kind of fan-fiction plot was he running?

I had literally never seen this guy in my life.

I opened my mouth, instinctively reaching into my pocket for the little notebook I used to track my daily expenses.

But after fumbling around, I realized this fancy suit didn't have functional pockets, so I hadn't brought it.

Seeing me hesitate, the boy grew even more smug.

"My name is Tyler James. But of course, it’ll be Tyler Sterling very soon."

He puffed out his chest, confidently stroking past the guests to stand right next to me, and grabbed my wrist.

"Not only did you steal my life, you fake heir, but you even stole the family heirloom bracelet our father left for me!"

"You did it on purpose to keep me from finding my real family, didn't you?"

I looked down at the simple metal band on my wrist in confusion, then looked at my dad.

The script of this drama felt a bit off.

I had been wearing this bracelet for over ten years. It wasn't some Cartier gold piece; it couldn't be worth more than a few bucks.

"That bracelet is worth a million dollars, Arthur! You couldn't pay it off even if you worked for the rest of your life!"

"If you behave and act like my loyal dog from now on, I might consider letting you off easy."

Tyler James’s eyes were red, looking as if he were the most abused victim in the world.

"Are you saying the bracelet on his wrist is yours? And that it’s worth a million dollars?"

My dad set his champagne glass down. His voice was quiet.

But the entire ballroom instantly fell dead silent.

"Yes!"

Tyler James threw his head back. "Dad, we caught him red-handed! Throw him out of the house right now!"

Every eye in the room landed on me.

I clenched my fists. I wanted to defend myself, but I didn't even know where to start.

After what felt like an eternity, my dad spoke.

"Impossible."

"If you told me he robbed a bank, I’d believe that before I believed he had the guts to steal from you."