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.”

That “suitable match” meant total exile.

She wanted me to marry someone who posed zero threat to the Delgado line of succession.

Either one of Gloria's sworn enemies, or some disgraced heiress living abroad.

The moment I was married off, even if Grandmother wanted to hand the family over to me, she'd have no legitimate grounds left.

Gloria held immense power in Kingsport. Without her approval, no one would dare accept a marriage arrangement with me.

Six in the morning. The emergency wing of the Delgado private hospital.

I'd just come out from having my dislocated shoulder reset when I ran into them in the corridor.

Gloria was helping Jayden out of the car. A square of gauze was taped over his ankle.

He walked unsteadily, brow pinched tight.

Sara Pruitt, Minnie, and May trailed behind, arms loaded with expensive supplements.

“Solomon?” Jayden spotted me and his eyes went red instantly.

His gaze dropped to the sling across my chest. “What happened to you? Was it because I took the pocket watch last night? Are you upset?”

Gloria looked up. The second her eyes landed on my sling, her gaze sharpened.

Minnie stood beside Jayden, her face ashen.

May leaned against the nurses' station, arms folded.

“Getting a wound treated.” I turned to leave.

“Solomon.” Jayden called after me. “I heard Mother's already picked a wife for you? Three days from now?”

The air in the corridor went still.

Gloria's expression darkened instantly. “Three days?”

She closed the distance in two strides. “Solomon Delgado, are you done with this nonsense? When did I ever say I was holding a wedding in three days?”

I stared at the tile beneath my feet and said nothing.

Less than five hours had passed since the conversation in the study ended.

Jayden hadn't just gotten hold of the information. He'd delivered it right in front of Gloria with surgical precision.

“Gloria……”

Tears spilled from Jayden's eyes. “If you really are going to marry Solomon, I'll be happy for you. I just think it's so sudden……”

Something unhinged flickered through Gloria's gaze.

She turned to Sara. “Take him inside for the exam first. Don't let the wound reopen.”