Chapter 3

Two days later, Mom and Dad called me to the living room.

They sat on the sofa, their expressions normal. Mom even waved gently at me, "Liam, come, sit with Mom."

I almost thought everything I'd heard was just a nightmare from my fever.

But the dream quickly shattered.

"Liam, ask Maria to help you get ready. Mom bought you new clothes, go try them on."

Mom smiled gently, pointing to a paper bag on the coffee table with a luxury brand's logo.

"For your future happiness, Mom and Dad have arranged a few blind dates for you this afternoon. They're all from good families; go meet them."

Dad echoed, "That's right, you're twenty now; it's time to think about your future."

I looked at their smiling faces and suddenly felt utterly alienated.

"Is this really for my happiness? Or are you trying to sell me off?" I heard my voice tremble.

Mom paused, then looked at Chloe, who was leaning nonchalantly by the window. "Did you tell him about his identity?"

Chloe stood with her hands in her pockets, gazing at the snow outside. "He was going to find out eventually. What's the point of hiding it?"

The smile vanished from Mom's face. She looked at me, her eyes cold and arrogant. "True."

She stood up and walked towards me.

"Since you already know your identity, then you should also know that we can't let you enjoy twenty years of our son's life for free."

Her voice was hard. "All those lessons, all those resources, they rightfully belonged to our biological son."

Dad also walked over, standing beside Mom. "Ethan suffered for twenty years out there, while you enjoyed twenty years of fortune in our home. That's not fair."

"This is the price you have to pay."

Mom said, word by word, "You owe him, you owe the Hayes family."

These words made my head spin; I could barely stand.

A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, my legs buckled, and I fell to the floor. My forehead hit the corner of the coffee table, and warm liquid trickled down.

Mom instinctively took two steps forward. "What's wrong with you?"

But she quickly stopped, the concern in her eyes fleeting, replaced by suspicion.

Chloe walked over and helped me into a chair. "Such a pain. Why are you so weak? Are you still feverish?"

Mom sneered, "He was full of life just two days ago. Yesterday, he heard Ethan was coming home and started faking illness. It's just his rotten nature; what kind of cheap sympathy trick is he playing?"

She walked over, her heels clacking coldly on the tile floor. Then she raised her hand and slapped me hard.

"SLAP!"

A sharp sound echoed in the living room. I fell to the ground, my ears ringing, my cheek burning.

I struggled to grab her sleeve. "Mom, I'm not faking it. I'm really sick…"

She disgustedly kicked my hand away. "Don't call me Mom! I only have one son, Ethan!"

Dad called for Maria. "Drag him out. Search him for anything valuable. From today on, he's no longer a Hayes." Two housekeepers came over, grabbing me by each arm. I struggled, but I was too weak from illness.

They started stripping off my coat, taking my jewelry, and snatching my bag.

I desperately clutched the watch on my wrist. It was a birthday gift Chloe gave me when I was fifteen. It was the only gift she ever gave me—a wristwatch studded with tiny diamonds, with "LM" (my initials) engraved on the inside of the dial.

The housekeeper forcibly pried my hand open, snatched the watch, and put it on her own wrist.

"Let you experience the hardship Ethan went through," Mom said, looking down at me with icy eyes.

"When your bad habits are gone, then you can come back!"

I was dragged out the door. The heavy wooden door closed behind me with a dull thud.