Chapter 1

The day I was fighting a stray dog for a piece of moldy bread, some very important guests showed up at the group home.

They were looking for the long-lost heir of a billionaire empire.

After finding him, they donated fifteen million dollars to the orphanage on the spot and handed out gourmet chocolates to every child.

I licked my lips, reaching out to take a box, when several lines of glowing text flashed across my vision.

【Silas, hurry! Pull out your family locket. They're here to take you home!】

【Don't let that fake heir steal your life. Everything belongs to you.】

The bullet screen told me that the billionaire couple were my biological parents.

The girl standing beside them, looking down her nose at everyone, was my betrothed.

But I just clutched my single box of chocolate and turned to run.

I knew the truth better than anyone.

They were only here for the imposter.

Even if I showed them the locket.

Their eyes wouldn't linger on me for even a second.

1

My mother's brow furrowed as her gaze swept over my skeletal frame and my filthy, tattered clothes.

She didn't speak. Instead, she reached into the crate, pulled out another box of chocolates, and silently held it out to me.

But a cold, sharp voice rang out the very next second.

"One per person. Don't break the rules."

He reached out and blocked my mother's hand, snatching the extra box away from me.

His grip was heavy, but his tone was as indifferent as ice.

"Taking two boxes? Do you think that's fair to the other kids?"

My mother looked at him, and the tiny flicker of pity in her eyes died instantly.

The thousands of words she wanted to say were reduced to a single, hollow sentence.

"Just take what you have and leave."

I clutched my only box of chocolate tight. My chest felt like it had been slammed by a sledgehammer.

An indescribable bitterness surged up my throat.

I already knew how this would end.

But seeing this blatant coldness with my own eyes was different. Watching that tiny spark of hope be snuffed out so easily hurt.

My vision blurred with uncontrollable heat.

Seeing this, the bullet screen exploded in a frenzy.

【Silas, just call them Mom and Dad! They came all this way for you!】

【You're their flesh and blood! That girl next to them is your future wife!】

【Show the locket! Once they see it, they'll know who you really are!】

【If you wait any longer, they'll take that snake Lucas instead, and you'll lose everything!】

I ignored them. I silently turned around, tore open the wrapper, and shoved a large piece of chocolate into my mouth.

The chocolate melted on my tongue.

It should have been sweet and silky, but it tasted like dry wax.

There was no sweetness, only a thick, bitter lump blocking my throat.

The comments continued to scream at me in a panic, but I remained deaf to them.

They didn't know that I had been reborn.

And from the way my parents looked at Lucas versus how they looked at me.

I realized I wasn't the only one who had come back from the dead.

Their attitude said it all.

Even though they knew Lucas was a fake, they were choosing to let the lie continue.

Just as I turned to walk into the dark hallway of the dorms.

A cool, detached voice came from behind me.

"Hold it right there."

I froze and turned around. The one speaking was my fiancée, Savannah.

She took a step forward, her eyes locked onto my chest.

"That thing around your neck... isn't that the Sterling family's heirloom locket?"