Chapter 2

Tyler James’s face turned pale. "Dad, are you seriously protecting a fake heir?"

He collapsed onto his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I was kidnapped and taken to some remote mountain town when I was a kid. I barely escaped my abusive foster parents!"

"I came all the way to this big city, only to find out someone else had stolen my life."

"It was you, Arthur! You, the imposter, living like royalty every day! Don't you feel any guilt?"

My face remained blank, but in my head, I was nodding along.

Honestly, I had suspected I wasn't a biological Sterling for a long time.

The Sterling family was a dynasty. Everyone was a top-tier elite.

My mom was a wall street shark. She could lose hundreds of millions in a day without flinching, casually telling people, "Money comes and goes, but the game is forever."

My dad was the CEO of the Sterling Group. The first thing he did every morning was swipe through his iPad to see which commercial buildings he wanted to buy.

And Rachel, my sister, didn't even need an introduction. She started investing at age three. Last year, she used her allowance to fund a green energy startup and tripled her money in six months.

I was the only anomaly.

When I was six, my dad gave me a black card.

I casually took it to school and used it to play card-flipping games with the neighborhood kids on the dirt.

Later, when I found out it had an unlimited credit line that could buy a small country, I immediately returned it to my dad, untouched.

When I was eight, I found a penny on the school playground. I stood under the scorching noon sun for an hour waiting for whoever lost it.

When no one showed up, I literally walked to the local police station to hand it in.

I gave them the exact time, location, and a list of every ant that had crawled past the penny.

I knew I didn't fit in with the Sterling family.

Even in high society, whenever people talked about me, they always rolled their eyes.

"Arthur? The guy doesn't even know the difference between a Rolex and a Swatch!"

"I saw him at a charity gala once. He was literally counting the zeros on the donation board with his mouth wide open. It was hilarious."

I knew what they whispered.

And honestly, I agreed with them.

I mean, how could a guy like me ever be a billionaire heir?

My dad chuckled, taking a sip of his wine. "Arthur once asked me for ten dollars, and he insisted on writing a formal promissory note for it."

"And you’re saying he stole from you? If you have evidence, call the cops."

He smiled faintly, sitting back down. "But let me remind you, filing a false police report is a felony."

Tyler James’s crying stopped instantly.

He wiped his tears and handed the DNA report to my dad.

"Maybe... maybe I misremembered the bracelet."

"But the DNA test doesn't lie."

My mom flipped through the pages carelessly, then pinched the bridge of her nose.

She gave the butler a quick nod. Within ten minutes, the entire ballroom was cleared of guests.

"Honey," she said, looking at my dad. "Care to explain where you got this secret love child from?"

My dad froze. To prove his innocence, he dragged the entire family to the private hospital for a rush DNA test that very night.

While waiting for the results, Tyler James stayed at the Sterling mansion.

The next morning, we were all sitting at the long dining table for breakfast.

I was carefully arranging my plate—salad, eggs, and toast—in a precise layout.

Based on my calculations, eating them in this exact order optimized digestion.

No choking, no wasting, and most importantly, no getting sick. That way, I wouldn't cost the family any medical bills.

Just as I took my first bite, Tyler James started his drama again.