After five years that I've been into this world, my real parents finally tracked me down.

When they found me, I was scarfing down a burger from a food truck in the street. My own father stared at me like I was some punk.

My mother, on the other hand, was crying her eyes out as she stared at me—at a face that was practically a carbon copy of hers.

Behind them stood their golden boy Dave Graham, who'd been living the life I was supposed to have.

Right then, his eyes were daring me.

"My son! Oh, you've been through so much all these years! Come, come home with us now!"

Ingrid grabbed my hand, her voice shaking.

I stood up and gestured toward the group lounging at a nearby table—silently telling them to stay put.

What the Grahams didn't realize? All of them at that table were my men.

——

On the drive home, Dave's eyes burned into the side of my head, his whole face twisted with suspicion and hate.

At the same time, he kept his distance as if being too close might contaminate him.

I didn't bother sparing him a glance. Instead, I focused on the two people in the front seats—my parents.

Five years ago, I already knew who I was when I landed here. Their biological son. I even made it ridiculously easy for them to figure it out—the golden boy they'd been fawning over was a fraud.

And yet, it took them five damn years to come looking for me.

During that time, they had no idea I'd already built my own empire—ran a company and hired a team of loyal people.

"Our family has rules!"

William said with a gaze full of scrutiny, "Starting today, you'll learn to follow them. You'll be staying in the guestroom!"

"If you don't want me here, Mr. Graham, just say so. I'll leave right now."

I laughed coldly, meeting his stare head-on.

Here's the thing: when I got dropped into this reality, the system gave me one mission—deal with my damn family.

The moment they regret tossing me aside, I get to take every dollar I've earned here and return to my world.

And now, with billions to my name, I'm not about to play by their rules or beg for their approval.

William's face darkened, but before he could speak, Dave puffed up his chest and marched over, snapping, "How dare you talk to Dad like that?"

"He's only trying to help you!"

"And who do you think you are? You're just some outsider—who are you to lecture me?"

I gave him a long, hard look, my voice cutting like ice.

That shut him up. His face crumpled, tears spilling down his cheeks.

My parents rushed to his side, fawning over him like he'd just been mortally wounded. Meanwhile, I stood there like a ghost in the room, ignored.

I shook my head, watching the pathetic show unfold. This family is a joke.

They know I'm their real son, yet they treat the maid's kid—the one who stole my life—like he's their pride and joy.

What the hell is wrong with these folks?!

I'd had enough of this circus. Turning away, I headed upstairs.

"This room works. I'll stay here!"

I said down casually.

"No, absolutely not! That's Dave's room!"

William's voice thundered as he saw me about to settle into his adopted son's room. "Lucien! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Have you no respect for this family's rules?"

He glared at me, his face twisted with fury.

Behind him, his manipulative son started bawling louder. "B-Bro," he sobbed, "I know I took the life that should've been yours, so it's only fair you take that room back..."

The second Dave finished whining, he turned to Ingrid and William, looking as pitiful as humanly possible.

They fell for his act, pouring out all their sympathy, trying to soothe him like he was a toddler.

I couldn't care less about their ridiculous family drama. Without a word, I walked into the room and tossed all of Dave's stuff out into the hallway.

Before William could completely lose his mind, I slammed the door shut to his face with a loud bang.

The shouting started immediately, his voice full of rage on the other side of the door. But I just ignored him. Instead, I popped on my headphones and made a call.

"President, I just found out that there are some serious issues with G Industries. With the current strategy, are you really planning to take it over?"

It was my secretary reporting.

I nodded and replied, "I came back here out of curiosity, wanted to see what kind of people they really were."

"Well, turns out they're exactly what I expected—they don't give a damn about me at all. It's time. Go ahead and take down their shitty little company down!"

I said it with a cold tone.

My secretary got straight to work as soon as I hung up.

Meanwhile, the door started shaking under repeated blows. It wasn't hard to guess—my parents had lost their patience and were ready to teach me a lesson.

Just as I stood up, the door flew open with a bang, and William stormed in.

His face was set in a furious scowl as he glared at me, his scolding tone sharp.

"Lucien, you've gone too far!"

He shouted, "This is Dave's room!"

"Didn't Dave say he'd give it to me?"

I shot that back, staring behind him, where Dave stood there pretending to be the wounded angel.

But the burning hatred in his eyes told the real story.

Still, he kept up the act, sniffling as he said, "Dad, Dad, I'll let him have the room. I'll just move into the servants' quarters."

That broke whatever control William had left. He charged at me, hand raised to hit me.

Behind him, Ingrid cried like her heart was breaking.

Her eyes, though, fixed on me with barely concealed disdain.

The moment William's hand came down, I caught his wrist mid-swing.

Seeing me fight back, his expression froze.

"You arrogant little punk! I'm your father! Let go of my hand!"

He bellowed at me.

But I didn't bother to listen to his nonsense.

I just shoved him away without hesitation and stared at him with a scoff. "Seems like I'm not welcome here, huh?"

His face went beet-red, and he jabbed a finger at me, shouting, "You're way out of line now, Lucien"

"Lucien, why are you acting like this?"

Ingrid chimed in then, her face cold and disapproving as she said, "Dave is part of this family, too. You're brothers. You should be working together, not fighting like this!"

Her expression softened with compassion as she glanced at Dave, adding, "Besides, it's him who's been managing the company all these years!"

"And even though you've come back, we're not going to just hand the family assets over to you. Those belong to Dave!"

I listened to my parents' words with a faint nod.

I'd known all along that this was how it would end.

Years ago, even after William found out Dave wasn't his biological son, he never wavered in his affection.

In fact, William handed over most of the company's operations to Dave.

It was clear to me that their love for their adopted son had only grown deeper, to the point where they treated him like he was their real son.

So then, why bring me back at all? That's the part I couldn't figure out.

"Oh well, I'm not welcome here, so I might as well leave, right?"

I glanced at my so-called family in front of me and said it straight.

I hadn't planned on coming back to this fucked up family. The only reason I'm here was because they insisted I come back.

But if they don't want me here, I'm not sticking around.

Just as I was about to leave, though, William suddenly grabbed my arm.

"No, Lucien, you can't just leave!"

His eyes locked on mine, and for a second, I caught a flicker of panic.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I looked at him. His expression—his whole vibe—felt off.

Yeah, something's definitely up.

"Son, we've been searching for you for years! You can't just leave now!"

Ingrid jumped in, her voice all shaky as she continued, "It's not like we don't want you here! It's just… well, that room belongs to Dave, and you can't just take it over."

"We don't have any other spare rooms right now, so, for now, you'll need to stay in the servants' quarters. Don't worry, tomorrow, we'll make the arrangements, alright?"

She was talking fast.

Then, she clutched my hand as she begged, "My son, it took me forever to find you. Don't leave me now, please!"

I looked at both of them, and it was obvious there was more going on here than they were saying.

In the end, I stayed. But there was no way I was staying in the servants' quarters.

They had no choice but to have the maid clear out Dave's piano room for me to stay in.

As I stepped into the room, I couldn't help but chuckle coldly.

Dave had a massive piano room just sitting here, and they wanted to stick me in the servants' quarters?

It was crystal clear—I, their real son, didn't mean half as much to them as their precious adopted kid.

I called my secretary and told him to dig into this family's situation.

I mean, they've always known I existed, yet they never tried to find me all these years.

So why are they suddenly so desperate to drag me back now? There's got to be something behind this.

My secretary assured me he'd look into it. I had just hung up the phone when Ingrid walked into my room.

"Lucien, you've only just come home. We're worried about how life outside might have affected your health, so we've arranged for you to get a full checkup."

She said it with her voice gentle.

But hearing that, I frowned.

"Don't bother. I'm fine."

I replied it flatly.

By this point, I could feel something wasn't right.

First, they drag me back here out of nowhere. Now, they're all fired up about getting me to a doctor? Yeah, no. There's definitely more to this.

When I refused, she got even more insistent.

"Lucien, it's just a quick checkup! It'll give us peace of mind!"

Her tone was tense, her eyes pleading. But as I looked at her, I felt a chill settle in.

"And if I say no?"

I asked, my voice cold.

She frowned, and then, seeing that I had no intention of going, she left without another word.

Not long after, William came into the room.

"The driver's waiting downstairs. Go to the hospital, get the checkup done, and then come back."

He said it in a loud, straightforward tone.

His words left no room for argument.

I turned to face him, and he looked straight at me, dead serious.

"Now! Get your ass outta here!"

"I said no. I don't wanna go!"