Get out of the way! Let me see my little sister!”
“Get out of the way! Let me see my little sister!”
The voice exploded from the back seat of the Rolls-Royce, loud enough to echo off the brick walls of the precinct. Before the elegant man could even blink, a whirlwind of neon green hair and oversized designer streetwear burst past him.
It was Leo Song—better known to fifty million people worldwide as Vortex—the top-ranked professional gamer and streamer in the country. He looked exactly like he did on his billboards, minus the professional composure.
“Oh my god, it is you!” Leo yelled, skidding to a halt right in front of me. He didn’t care about the dirt on my sneakers or the fact that my plaid plastic tote bag looked like something used to store cheap laundry. He threw his arms around me in a crushing hug, smelling faintly of expensive cologne and energy drinks. “Look at you! You have Mom’s eyes! Julian, look at her, she actually has Mom’s eyes!”
The elegant man—Julian Song, the Wall Street titan—let out a slow, controlled sigh, though his sharp, dark eyes softened just a fraction as he looked at me. He adjusted the cuffs of his tailored charcoal suit, stepping forward with an air of absolute authority that made the tattooed guy beside me back up until he practically hit the precinct wall.
“Leo, release her. You’re suffocating her,” Julian commanded. His voice was smooth, deep, and carried the weight of a man who managed billions of dollars before breakfast.
Leo pulled back, gripping my shoulders, his eyes bright with a mix of awe and unshed tears. “I’ve been looking for you for five years, Autumn. We all have. When the police called Julian’s office… I thought it was a prank. I almost banned the mod who took the message!”
I stood there, frozen, still holding my cheap plastic bag. My mind was completely blank. The tattooed guy who had been hitting on me a moment ago was staring at us, his jaw dropped so low it looked unhinged. The “hundred-grand SUV” he had boasted about suddenly looked like a toy compared to the pristine, multi-million-dollar Rolls-Royce idling at the curb.
“Y-you… you’re really my brothers?” I stammered, my voice cracking.
Julian stepped closer, his imposing figure blocking out the harsh New York sun. He reached out, his long, well-manicured fingers gently taking the heavy, cheap plastic tote bag from my hands.
“We are,” Julian said softly, his serious face melting into a rare, genuine smile. “And you never have to carry your own burdens again, Autumn. Let’s get you out of here.”
Chapter 1: The Fortress in the Sky
The ride through Manhattan was a blur of leather, wood paneling, and an overwhelming sense of unreality. I was sandwiched between a financial mogul and a internet celebrity.
“Where is Christian?” Leo asked, leaning forward to yell at Julian, who was sitting in the front passenger seat while a private chauffeur navigated the chaotic city traffic. “He’s supposed to be filming in London, right? Did you call him?”
“Christian threw a tantrum on set, walked off the production, and chartered a private jet the second I sent him the DNA verification from the police registry,” Julian replied without looking back, his eyes fixed on his tablet. “He lands at JFK in three hours. He’s already demanded that my security team lock down the penthouse.”
Christian Song. The second brother. The Oscar-nominated movie star whose face was currently plastered on a massive Marvel billboard we just passed in Times Square. My stomach did a violent flip.
“Autumn,” Leo said, his tone suddenly turning incredibly gentle. He pointed to the half-peeled mandarin orange still clutching in my hand—a remnant from my mother’s bedside. “Are you hungry? Do you want anything? I can order a whole five-star restaurant to the apartment right now.”
“I’m… I’m okay,” I whispered, pulling my knees to my chest. “I just… I can’t believe Mom was telling the truth. She told me the Song family only cared about boys.”
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the luxury car. Julian stopped typing on his tablet. Through the rearview mirror, I saw his eyes darken with a flash of old, bitter anger.
“She was right,” Julian said, his voice dropping an octave, turning cold as ice. “Our grandfather and father are monsters. When they found out Mom was pregnant with a girl, they gave her an ultimatum: leave the boys and disappear with a payout, or they would use their legal power to ruin her completely and still take us away. She chose to protect you from them. She knew what the Song dynasty does to women. They view them as liabilities.”
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