Chapter 1

At his engagement party, Ethan Bennett caught sight of the person walking in, and his champagne glass shattered on the floor.

“What are you doing here?”

I stood at the entrance in an old suit, looking nothing like the guests filling the ballroom.

The woman beside him, dressed in a white evening gown, frowned and asked quietly, “Ethan, who is he?”

Ethan didn’t answer her. He strode over and blocked my path.

“Daniel, this is my engagement party. Who invited you?”

I didn’t look at him. My eyes were on the enlarged engagement agreement displayed onstage.

The first line was perfectly clear: The eldest son of the Bennett family shall marry the eldest daughter of the Whitmore family.

“The eldest Bennett son,” I read aloud.

“You’re sure that means you?”

Ethan’s face darkened.

The woman walked over, her gaze sweeping over me.

“Ethan, there’s another son in your family?”

“He’s my half brother,” Ethan said through gritted teeth. “He grew up elsewhere. He has nothing to do with the Bennetts.”

“Then whose name belongs under ‘eldest son’?”

I pulled a document from my pocket. Its notary seal caught the light.

“Richard Bennett’s eldest son, Daniel Bennett, born April 1998. Richard Bennett’s second son, Ethan Bennett, born July 2000.”

“I’m the eldest. Want to count?”

The entire room fell silent for three seconds.

Ethan took the woman’s hand and turned to the guests.

“Please don’t misunderstand. My brother never had much schooling. He’s a little confused.”

Then he turned back to me and lowered his voice.

“Daniel, if you make a scene today, I guarantee you won’t even be able to save that old man’s garage.”

I looked at the dark green jade pin fastened to his lapel.

It had belonged to my mother.

“Interesting.”

The woman in white stepped out from behind Ethan and stood in front of me.

“Your name is Daniel?”

“Yes.”

“I read the notarized document. It does name you.” She tilted her head. “But do you know the background of this engagement agreement?”

“I know it says ‘the eldest Bennett son’ in black and white.”

“In black and white.” She repeated it with a short laugh.

“When the Whitmores say ‘the eldest Bennett son,’ we mean someone who can represent the Bennett family.

You were sent away at seven and grew up in a garage. You’ve never had anything to do with a single Bennett business deal. Do you think you can represent them?”

I didn’t answer.

Because those were facts.

“My name is Claire Whitmore.” She extended her hand.

I thought she meant to shake mine.

She didn’t. Instead, she tapped the notarized document I held against my chest.

“You can keep this. But this engagement party is for Ethan and me. Standing here will only embarrass you.”

A middle-aged woman in a charcoal pantsuit approached. Victoria Whitmore. Claire’s mother.

“Claire is right.”

Mrs. Whitmore didn’t even glance at me. “Fiona and I have spent two years discussing this marriage. I’ve met Ethan at least twenty times. You can’t just appear out of nowhere and expect our family to accept you.”

“Mrs. Whitmore,” I said.

“Yes?”

“Were you negotiating with Fiona, or with my father, Richard Bennett?”

She paused.

“Does it make a difference?”

“Of course. The agreement bears Richard Bennett’s seal, not Fiona’s. If Fiona was the one you negotiated with, what authority did she have over this agreement?”

The corner of Mrs. Whitmore’s mouth twitched.

Ethan came around behind Claire and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

“Daniel, don’t put Victoria on the spot. You know what Dad intended.”

“What did he intend?”

“He sent me here to get engaged. My name is on the invitations. I booked the reception. I invited the guests. You show up with a notarized document to cause trouble—did you even ask Dad?”

He took out his phone and put the call on speaker.

It rang twice before someone answered.

“Dad, Daniel’s here. He says the agreement names the eldest son, so it should be him.”

The other end went quiet for a few seconds.

I tightened my grip on the document.

“Danny.” My father’s voice came through the speaker. “This marriage was arranged for your brother. Why did you go there?”

The corners of Ethan’s mouth lifted.

The guests began whispering.

“Stop making trouble. I’ll send Fiona to get you. Come back first, and we’ll talk.”

Ethan put his phone away and cocked his head at me.

“You heard him. Dad said it himself. Why are you still standing here?”

I looked at the dark green jade pin on his lapel.

“The agreement says the eldest Bennett son, not Ethan Bennett. Which do you think a judge will believe—your father’s words or his seal?”

Claire turned around.

“Security, please escort this gentleman to the lounge.”

Two men in black suits approached.

As they led me away, I heard Ethan say to Claire behind me,

“Don’t take him seriously. He’s always been like this. Mom says he’s just like his mother. Neither of them ever knew their place.”