The gavel fell at Beijing's top auction house, and my late father's antique Patek Philippe pocket watch was pushed to a staggering one billion.

The bidders were my fiancée,Gloria Summers, and three of my childhood sweethearts from wealthy families who had always vowed to protect me.

I stared at the pocket watch on the stage; it was the only proof of my status as the rightful heir to the family.

Gloria Summers, with one arm around Jayden's shoulder, raised her paddle in full view of everyone: " Said his suit tonight is a bit plain, he needs a matching accessory. Eleven billion." The surrounding guests laughed, mocking me, the newly recognized young master, for not even being able to protect my biological father's heirloom.

"Don't bother, you can't beat Jayden," the three childhood sweethearts taunted me from below.

The whole room was watching me make a fool of myself, but my mother, was furious.

They didn't know that the family was watching this very test.

If I were to use my private trust fund for this pocket watch, or kneel at an's feet begging for money, I would completely lose my inheritance rights to the Lu's Medical Group.

I looked at the four women who were willing to spend lavishly forJayden and put down my bidding device.

……

That pocket watch represented the seat of power in the Delgado family.

I'd been lost to the outside world for twenty-two years before they found me and brought me back three years ago.

Tonight was the first time I'd ever represented the Delgados at a charity auction. My grandmother's instructions had been clear: bring back my father's pocket watch.

Gloria Summers knew what that watch meant to me.

And she still raised her bidding paddle. Her eyes never once drifted in my direction.

The overhead lights bore straight down on my face.

I sat in my bidding seat and watched Gloria take the pocket watch from the presenter, then tuck it into the breast pocket of Jayden Delgado's suit jacket with her own hands. My nails dug deep into my palms.

Camera flashes erupted across the room.

The whispers around me bored into my ears：

“Ms. Summers is making it crystal clear she's backing her future husband, and it's not the real heir. Doesn't matter if he's the fake one—if she wants him, he's the one who matters.”

“That legitimate eldest son of the Delgados is pitiful, really. Came home thinking his birthright meant something, and he's lost the woman and the heirloom in one night.”

Gloria leaned in to straighten Jayden's collar, her gaze soft with a patience I had never once been offered.

I'd known her for three years. All she had ever shown me was cold restraint.

In her eyes, I was a schemer who had clawed his way into a wealthy family. My pain, my silence—just leverage. Just tools I used to extract what I wanted.

Jerome Delgado walked over, champagne in hand.

My uncle. Trailing behind him was a pack of young heirs from the business elite.

“Solomon Delgado, seeing as Ms. Summers clearly doesn't give a damn about you, what are you still doing here?”

“If you ask me, a man's got to know his place. You can dust a pigeon in gold and it still won't be a phoenix.”

“Jayden grew up in this family. He's the one fortune smiled on. You waltzed in trying to shove him out, and now even the heavens have seen enough—they've sent Ms. Summers right back to his side.”

Every word landed on my dignity like a fist. My knuckles went white around the glass.

Before the auction started, Gloria had promised me in the lounge, face to face.

She said she would 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 distribution contracts with several other families for their medical equipment lines.

But one minute before the watch went up, Jayden leaned close to her ear and cried.

That was all it took. Gloria changed her mind.

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

She knew about the internal review within the Delgado family.

If I lost my composure tonight, or failed to bring back that heirloom, the inheritance rights to Delgado Medical Group would tilt decisively toward Jayden.

The applause lingered long after the final hammer fell. The charity auction was over.

Jayden wore the pocket watch—the one that symbolized bloodline—pinned to his chest, one arm looped through Gloria's as they circulated the banquet hall.

My three childhood friends, the ones who once swore they'd protect me forever, were busy running interference for Jayden now, blocking drinks and brokering introductions.

Gloria broke away from the crowd and walked toward me.

She stopped in front of me, her tone flat.：“That watch is the only thing keeping Jayden's footing in this circle. You're already the Delgado heir. You don't need one antique.”

“It's just an old keepsake. Be the bigger person.”

“If that old keepsake had ended up in a stranger's hands tonight,” I looked at her, “how would Grandma see me? The Delgado heir who can't even hold on to his father's last possession?”

Gloria's brow knotted tight.

“It's always about leverage with you. Inheritance rights, shares. Is there anything else in that head of yours?”

When I didn't answer, her voice dropped lower.“Solomon, you're ruthless. You'd survive just fine outside the Delgado family. But Jay can't.”

“If I hadn't given him that watch tonight, the elders would've written him off completely. He'd be thrown out.”

I stared at the tips of my shoes.

She didn't know. The succession struggle had already entered its final phase.

My mother's hints couldn't have been clearer.

Either I passed tonight's test and proved I had absolute control over my judgment.

Or she would marry me off to the Wallace family's notorious eldest daughter in exchange for an investment from the Summers family.

I'd been willing to gamble on three years of what Gloria and I had.

But this one bid stripped away every last illusion.

Jayden came trotting over with a glass of juice, his whole body tilting into Gloria's side.

“Gloria, I want to go say hello to that couple over there.”

“I'm scared I'll say the wrong thing. Could you teach me, Solomon?”

He turned to me, eyes wide with rehearsed innocence.“You've been networking so hard for the family. Your desk is covered in lists of what all those executives like, when they smoke, what they drink. You've got it all memorized.”

He caught himself mid-sentence and clapped a hand over his mouth.

“I'm not saying you're scheming or anything...I just think you work so hard.”

The faces of several socialites nearby shifted.

“He tracks every little detail like that? The Delgado heir's got quite the calculating mind.”

“Figures. Raised on the outside. You can smell the social climbing.”

The whispers settled on me like dust.

Those lists were Grandma's assignment. She'd told me to memorize the habits and preferences of every elder in Kingsport, all to fortify the Delgado family's foundation for the next hundred years.

Gloria had praised me for it at the time. Called me thorough.

But now she looked at me with nothing but disgust, and didn't say a single word in my defense.

Jayden tugged at Gloria's sleeve.“Did I say something wrong again? I'm no good with words, not like Solomon. He always knows how to charm people...”

Gloria smoothed his hair.“It's fine. Your brother has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He's not going to hold a little thing like this against you.”

Then she took Jayden and walked toward the center of the crowd.

Minnie Cox and May Mason followed me out.

“What happened?”

Minnie glanced at my swollen, reddened knee. Her eyes were cold.

“What's the act this time, Young Mr. Delgado? Trying to guilt Gloria into staying with an injury?”

May had her hands in her pockets. “Solomon, you pulled this same stunt three years ago. Aren't you tired of it?”

“I bet that notebook of yours has the exact angle of the fall calculated too.”

Minnie pressed two fingers to her temple. “Solomon, you've already cornered Jay. All he wanted today was one pocket watch. Did you really have to hurt yourself in public over that?”

“If what you want is face,” her voice was completely flat, “I'll dance the rest of the evening with you. That enough to save it?”

I gritted my teeth against the pain and stood, pushing past both of them.

“Move.”

“Solomon!”

Minnie lost her patience. She seized my arm. “If we hadn't pitied you back then and helped you get your footing, you think you'd even be standing here today?”

I wrenched hard, trying to break free of her grip.

She flung my arm away.

The sound of bone sliding out of joint.

My left shoulder dislocated.

The pain swallowed every sound in my throat.

Minnie's hand froze in midair.

She stared at my arm hanging limp, but her voice stayed rigid. “You had to fight me on this? All so you could chase after a woman?”

I clenched my jaw, right hand clamped over the dislocated shoulder.

Sweat ran down my face and dripped onto the tailored suit.

May's lip curled. “Drop the act.”

“You're Solomon Delgado—the real heir who grew up rough. A little injury like this is nothing to you. Don't expect us to go soft.”

My face was drenched in cold sweat, but I smiled at her.

“You're right. I grew up rough. It doesn't hurt.”

I let go of my right hand. My left arm hung dead at my side.

The smirk vanished from May's face. She turned away, unable to look at my shoulder.

Minnie's voice shook. “I'm calling the private doctor.”