Chapter 4

I took one look at the boy's face, noting the striking resemblance to Julian, and immediately knew who he was.

This had to be Selena and Julian's secret lovechild.

They had hidden him well, keeping him completely out of sight for over twenty years.

This family drama was turning out to be far more entertaining than I expected.

Margaret, sitting at the head of the room, fixed her sharp gaze on the boy. "Selena, what is the meaning of this?"

The room froze again.

The boy’s eyes reddened, looking on the verge of tears.

"Brother, my name is Gavin. I... I've always known you existed."

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke with a timid stutter.

He shot a nervous glance at me before quickly lowering his head, looking like a frightened puppy.

"My... my dad always talked about you. He said you were amazing, handsome, brilliant..."

Right on cue, Julian began to weep softly, his shoulders shaking.

"River, my baby boy... I've missed you so much all these years..."

He lifted his tear-stained face, acting as though he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

"Gavin... he missed you too. We used to watch you from afar all the time..."

Gavin nodded vigorously, chiming in with desperation, "It's true! Brother, I even enrolled in your alma mater just so... just so I could feel closer to you..."

He pulled a thick stack of photos from his coat pocket and offered them to River with trembling hands.

"These are pictures of you... I took them secretly..."

River took the stack and flipped through them. There were photos of him smiling in his graduation cap and gown, looking exhausted after basketball practice, fiercely debating in a mock trial...

River’s skin crawled. A creep had been stalking him and taking surveillance photos of his life for years!

Selena didn't waste a second. She hurried over to Margaret, pointed at Gavin, and spoke with heavy emotion.

"Mom, this boy carries Sterling blood! With the whole family here to witness it today... please, acknowledge him!"

Selena thought she was being clever. She knew that after her father passed away, Margaret held the final say in the family.

Calling all these relatives over was her way of publicly cornering Margaret into accepting the boy.

She was betting that if Margaret accepted Gavin into the family, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

After all, over the last twenty-five years, she had watched me treat Margaret with nothing but utmost respect and filial devotion.

Gavin caught on fast. He immediately turned toward Margaret and bowed politely. "Grandmother!"

Margaret stared at Gavin, then glanced at me, her expression guarded and complex. She didn't respond to him.

I knew she cared about me and felt awful about what was happening.

Not wanting to put her in an awkward position, I spoke up and broke the tension.

"Selena, getting this bastard recognized so he can inherit the Sterling estate is your real goal, isn't it? Why drag River into this?"