When the embassy ordered the evacuation, my parents only took two people. One was my sister. The other was the son who wasn't theirs. My sister, Isabelle, was their little princess. They would never leave her in a war-torn country. The fake son, Julian, was the treasure they had raised since birth. They couldn’t bear to see him suffer. As for me, they offered hollow comfort. “You’ve always had it tough, Leo. This kind of thing is nothing for you. We’ll come back for you as soon as they’re safe.” I clung to that promise, waiting week after agonizing week in a foreign land. But the only thing that came for me was a stray bullet that tore through my heart. And as I lay dying, all I saw was the global press release celebrating Julian’s lavish birthday. In this new life, I didn’t wait. I boarded the smuggler’s ship myself. From now on, I would gamble everything on my own future and ask for nothing from a family that never wanted me. 1 When I finally made it back home, Julian’s extravagant coming-of-age party was in full swing. Journalists from all over the world had been invited to document the grand ceremony for the Ashworth family’s beloved son. The moment a camera turned to me, the chorus of praise and admiration died. My tattered clothes and face, streaked with grime, were a jarring stain on the opulent scene. The woman standing beside Julian saw me first. She froze. I opened my mouth to speak her name. She was my biological sister, Isabelle. For a fleeting moment, I thought she might finally remember the brother she’d left behind. Instead, she frowned, pushing me out of the camera’s view and into a secluded corner. “Who let you back in?” she hissed. “Showing up dressed like garbage… are you trying to ruin Julian’s party on purpose?” Julian glided over, a practiced smile on his face. “It’s alright, now that my brother is back… God, Leo, where have you been? What is that smell?” He pinched his nose, recoiling in disgust. Isabelle immediately shielded him, glaring at me with contempt. “We only left you overseas to broaden your horizons a bit. Do you have to be so dramatic and upset Julian?” My parents approached, their faces etched with displeasure. “Today is Julian’s eighteenth birthday! Don’t you know how long he’s been looking forward to this?” I said nothing. They seemed to have forgotten. If Julian and I were switched at birth, it meant that today was my birthday, too. I had spent the last several weeks crammed in a smuggler’s cargo container with dozens of other desperate people. The stench of sweat and fear was ground into my skin. I simply bowed, offered no explanation, and walked past them into the mansion. My quiet compliance seemed to frustrate them, like they’d thrown a punch that met only air. Isabelle, accustomed to my begging for her approval, grabbed my arm. “We just said a few words. What’s with the attitude? Don’t think we don’t know what’s going on. That country looks unstable, but it’s not even a real war. You would have been perfectly fine there for another year!” The phantom pain of the bullet that had pierced my heart in my last life seared through my nerves. I instinctively clutched my chest. My parents just rolled their eyes. “Oh, stop it! Cut the theatrics! So pathetic.” “You’re right,” I said softly. They all stared, stunned. I turned back to them and bowed again, a deeper, more formal gesture this time. “It was my mistake. I shouldn’t have returned from a conflict zone and interrupted my brother’s party. I shouldn’t have shown up looking so unpresentable after such a difficult journey. I was wrong. I’ll go change now.” This was not the me they knew. In the past, I would have cried, trying desperately to defend myself against their accusations. As I walked away, I heard my mother’s voice, sharp with anger. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is he trying to be passive-aggressive with us now?” “Let it go, dear,” my father replied. “Julian’s party is what matters. I’ll have someone watch him. Make sure he doesn’t come out and bring his bad luck near Julian.” My hand tightened on the banister, my knuckles white. Then, I continued up the stairs. 2 After a long, hot shower, I opened my laptop and pulled up the Harvard admissions portal. My application had been accepted. A long, slow breath I didn’t realize I was holding escaped my lips. Before, I had hesitated. If I got in, how could I leave my family? I wasn’t hesitating anymore. There was just one problem: I had no money. Despite being born into a family that owned a Fortune 500 corporation, my entire existence had been funded by the scraps from Julian’s table. Still, what they considered scraps was more than most people saw in a lifetime. I counted my savings. I was five thousand dollars short. Later that night, after the last of the guests had departed, I presented my parents with a formally written IOU. “Five thousand dollars?” my father frowned. “What do you need that much money for?” “I’m an adult now, too. I’d like to see the world a little,” I said calmly. “Consider it a loan. I’ll pay you back with double the standard bank interest rate.” “Your main priority right now isn’t traveling, it’s getting into a decent college.” He took the IOU and, with deliberate slowness, tore it into tiny pieces. “Julian already has a guaranteed spot at UCLA; he can afford to relax. But you? We didn’t bring you back into this family just for you to embarrass us. I’ve already enrolled you in a tutoring academy. You will stay there until your college entrance exams.” He slid a business card across the table. I recognized the name. Just a few weeks ago, the academy had been in the news. A scandal involving tutors assaulting students. “I know it will be hard,” my father said, his tone dismissive. “But you’re mediocre at best. You might not even get into a community college without this. We have no choice.” He glanced at me, then his eyes fell on Julian, and his expression instantly softened into a proud smile. “Actually, Julian, forget UCLA. I’ve found something much better for you.” He handed Julian an embossed invitation. It was for a gala celebrating a five-hundred-million-dollar donation to an Ivy League university. “I made the donation in your name, son,” my father said, beaming. “You’re a man now. It’s time you learned to manage the family’s affairs. You’ll attend this university, and one day, this family’s legacy will be in your hands, and your sister’s.” Julian’s eyes widened. “Dad, I… can I really?” “Of course, you can,” Isabelle said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “And I’ll be there, too. I’ll look out for you.” The four of them shared a warm, happy hug. And I, the real son, stood on the outside, a ghost watching a happiness that would never be mine. The sharp rip of tearing cardstock broke the moment. They looked up, startled. I had torn the tutoring academy’s business card to shreds and dropped the pieces onto the pile of my destroyed IOU. “Leo! What is the meaning of this!” my father roared. I bowed slightly. “I cannot accept the Ashworth family’s charity. I will find my own way from now on.” Ignoring their sputtering rage, I turned and walked back to my room. That same day, I packed a small bag and left the estate for good. 3 I found a job that paid well but wasn’t exactly respectable. I became a waiter in an exclusive, high-end nightclub. With my departure date looming, I didn’t have the luxury of choice. I never expected that, just two weeks into the job, I would run into someone I knew. In one of the private suites, Julian was holding a bottle of champagne aloft, surrounded by two other men and a half-dozen giggling women. “That whole family is full of idiots,” he bragged, his words slurred. “Taking their fortune will be the easiest thing I’ve ever done!” Two of the women, perched on his lap, playfully stroked his chin. “Wow, you’re so impressive, Julian.” “Damn right,” he said, his hands roaming freely over their bodies. “My ‘father’ just donated five hundred million dollars to an Ivy League school in my name. With that kind of leverage, I guarantee you… I could probably kill someone on campus and the board of trustees would cover it up for me. The Ashworth empire? It’s going to be mine and my sister’s.” A strange, chemical sweetness hung in the air, sharp beneath the layers of perfume and spilled alcohol. I frowned, trying to place the smell, but my attention was pulled back to Julian, who was now messily kissing three or four of the women at once. I was so stunned by the scene that I didn’t notice one of his friends had spotted me in the hallway. The next thing I knew, I was yanked into the room and a foot slammed into my stomach, sending me to the floor. “Who the hell are you? Who sent you to spy on us? Talk!” A man with bleached-blond hair grabbed my collar, raising a bottle threateningly. Only Julian looked genuinely shocked. “Leo? What are you doing here?” Our eyes met. His face went white. “You were out there… the whole time?” 4 Before I could answer, the sound of approaching footsteps and familiar voices echoed from the hallway. Julian and I both froze. It was my father and Isabelle. They were talking with a business partner. I started to get up, but it was as if a switch flipped in Julian’s head. He scrambled out of the room, his face a mask of terror. “Dad! Isabelle!” “Julian?” Their voices were filled with surprise. “What are you doing in a place like this?” Tears streamed down Julian’s face. “I didn’t want to come! But I got a tip that Leo was in a private room with a bunch of women…” My father and sister’s eyes widened in disbelief. The door was kicked open. They stared in shock at the debauched scene, at the half-dressed men and women, and at me, standing frozen in the middle of it all. My father caught the strange, illicit scent in the air, and his face contorted with rage. A hard slap cracked across my face. “You worthless piece of trash! I wasted my life raising you!” Isabelle grabbed my shirt collar and slapped me again. “Look at you! Look at what you’re wearing! You are so goddamn cheap!” The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. I shoved her away. “I just work here!” The women in the room, sensing their cue, immediately played along. “He’s right,” one purred. “He’s our entertainment. We have a thing for the uniform.” My father and sister’s faces grew even darker. “Dad, Isabelle, I—” A brutal kick to my stomach cut me off, knocking the wind out of me. A cold sweat beaded on my forehead as I doubled over, every word caught in my throat. “You disgrace! If your mother saw you like this, how heartbroken do you think she’d be?!” My back hit the wall and I slid to the floor, completely drained of strength. My wallet, containing my pay card, slipped out of my pocket. Isabelle snatched it up. “What’s this?” she sneered. “Your earnings for the night?” She held the card between her hands and, with a sharp snap, broke it in two. “Get the manager in here! I want every cent this club has paid him refunded immediately!” “No!” My eyes flew open. That was everything I had earned in two weeks of grueling work. Ten more days, just ten, and I would have had enough. Now… it was all gone. My flight was booked. Where was I supposed to get five thousand dollars now? “Look at how pathetic you are!” The broken pieces of the card were thrown in my face. Isabelle draped a protective arm around Julian, looking at me as if I were garbage. “You can be trash if you want, but don’t you dare corrupt Julian.” My father shot me one last look of pure disgust. “We raised Julian to be a gentleman. If you drag him down with you, don’t blame me for what happens next.” That night, I was fired. With nowhere else to go, I went back to the mansion. It was empty. The staff informed me that Julian had been so “traumatized” by my "depraved" behavior at the club that the entire family had gone out for a special dinner to calm his nerves. Ignoring the servants' pitying stares, I walked like a zombie back to my room, collapsed into bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. The next morning, I woke up to a notification on my phone. A deposit had been made to my bank account. It was exactly five thousand dollars. 5 A message from my mother followed. 【Mom knows everything. I know you need money, but you should never resort to doing things like that.】 【Thank God Julian told us. You were heading down a very dark path.】 【Here is some money. If it’s not enough, just ask.】 【Dad and Mom still love you.】 I read the words and let out a soft, hollow laugh. I transferred the five thousand dollars right back to her account. I was done with this family. I wanted nothing more to do with them. After a full day of rest, my energy returned. I could earn the money again. Finding another job that paid as well would be difficult, but I knew I could find a way. I decided to leave for a different city first, to make sure they couldn’t interfere with my plans again. They returned while I was packing my bag. Isabelle saw me and sneered. “Don’t bother. You’re not invited on Julian’s graduation trip.” I paused and looked up. “Graduation trip?” “Don’t play dumb. How could you not know about Julian’s eighteen-country world tour? I know you want to go, but look at what you’ve done. Do you really think you deserve to?” A strange, cold feeling crept into my heart. “Does my brother get a world tour every year for his birthday?” My mother’s expression faltered. “Well… you were only recently welcomed back into the family. Otherwise, you would have had them too.” I didn’t say anything. They must have forgotten. I had been back for five years. Not “recently.” In all that time, I’d never even had a birthday cake. Every year, on Julian’s birthday, they completely forgot it was mine, too. Once, when I found out Julian was going on a trip, I had begged them to take me with them, just once. They finally agreed. And they dumped me in a war zone. The memories of my past life flooded back, and my hands moved faster, stuffing my few belongings into my bag. “I told you, you’re not coming! Why are you still packing?” Isabelle snapped, reaching to grab the bag from me. Julian quickly stopped her. “It’s okay, Isabelle. If he wants to come, let him. I don’t mind. After all…” his voice cracked, and he forced a brave little smile as his eyes welled up with tears, “…he’s your real family.” A wave of fierce protectiveness washed over Isabelle’s face. “Don’t be afraid,” she whispered, pulling him into a hug. “You will always be the only brother I will ever acknowledge.” Julian shook his head, his eyes red. “Don’t just say that to make me feel better…” “I swear it,” Isabelle said, her gaze intense. “Leo is a nobody. As soon as you get back from your trip, Mom and Dad are going to sign over half of the company’s shares to you.” Tears of joy streamed down Julian’s face. He threw his arms around Isabelle in a tight embrace. For a split second, Isabelle’s body went rigid. And in that moment, I saw it in her eyes—an emotion that was far too deep, too complicated, to be simple sisterly affection. “Since Julian agreed, you can come,” Isabelle said, her voice turning cold as she looked at me. “But you are not to go near him. I will be with him the entire time. Understand?” I nodded and continued packing. Of course, I wouldn’t go near him. I wasn’t going with them anyway. 6 Ten days later, the Ashworth family was packed and ready to depart. But they couldn’t find me anywhere. “What do you mean you can’t find him? Isn’t he still asleep in his room?” my father demanded, his voice tight with irritation. The head housekeeper looked uncomfortable. “Actually, sir… young master Leo hasn’t been home for ten days.” “What?!” my mother exclaimed. “That’s impossible!” She was the first to throw open my bedroom door. The room was pristine. All my personal belongings were gone. A thin layer of dust had already settled on the desk. There was no sign that anyone had lived there for days. “That little bastard!” my father exploded. “He’s throwing a tantrum because we scolded him! He was the one in the wrong, and he has the nerve to act out!” My mother’s voice was laced with disappointment. “We gave him the money, we told him he could come on the trip! What more does he want?” Isabelle scoffed. “He’s probably hiding somewhere, waiting for us to come find him. How childish.” “Ungrateful brat!” my mother said, turning on her heel. “Fine, let him play his games! Does he really think we’ll delay our trip for him?” The four of them started to leave without a second thought. But as Isabelle turned, her hand brushed against the corner of my old desk, jostling a stack of books. They tumbled to the floor. A single sheet of paper and an envelope slid out from between them. She picked them up, her brow furrowed in confusion. The stark title at the top of the page struck her like a physical blow. 【DECLARATION OF SEVERING TIES】
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