Prologue

“God—that's absolutely disgusting. As far as I know, I came from an orphanage. There's no way that makes me connected to you. You didn’t even adopt me legally. You just stole me from there, didn’t you?”

My eyes widened as a wicked smile crept across my lips. A chill ran down my spine.

This is it. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for—to slap these two with the harshest dose of reality.

“What did you just say?! The audacity! You actually dare talk back?!” shouted my useless excuse of an uncle—well, this body’s uncle—Benjamin. I couldn’t help but laugh at his pathetic display. No manners. No dignity.

“So what? Yelling at me won’t do anything, will it? So why don’t you shut up and keep a shred of dignity, old man?” Sometimes I swear I want to strangle this guy.

He was about to retaliate when his hypocrite of a wife jumped in first.

“This... how could this happen? Eli, we took care of you, didn’t we? How could you treat us this way? Let’s talk, please…” Jeraldine clutched her forehead dramatically, then had the nerve to walk up to me unannounced and grab my hands.

Oh God. My patience… is hanging by a thread.

“Is this really how you’re going to repay everything we’ve done for you, Eli? Please, think it over while you still can,” she said gently.

Yeah, right. I bet they’re planning to squeeze some money out of me. After all, I come from that rich, twisted family.

I cackled internally. This fucking hypocrite. How dare she spew this crap to my face?

“Auntie…” I said sweetly, carefully pulling my hands away from hers. She looked startled, her brow twitching as she stared me down.

“I’m leaving this house,” I said coldly. “And I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, is it? You mongrel.” I couldn’t help but spit the word at her. They treated this girl’s body like a puppet all these years. The nerve.

“Ha—have you gone mad?!” she recoiled instantly, then lashed out and shoved my hand away. What a shameless hag. She deserves a lesson.

“You ungrateful brat! We raised you! You should be thankful someone even took you in! You don’t get to complain! Return the documents you stole from us, or else you’ll regret this for the rest of your life!”

Wow. Just a minute ago she looked all gentle. Now she’s a fire-breathing dragon. Her voice was starting to piss me off.

I fixed my posture, tucked some hair behind my ear, and placed a finger on my chin.

“I really don’t think there’s anything to regret about what I’m doing right now,” I said with an innocent smile. Her jaw clenched, anger clearly rising in her eyes. Fantastic.

“You brat! Someone like you needs to be taught a lesson!”

I barely had time to react. From the corner of my eye, I caught the movement—hands shooting toward my throat.

Goddamn it! My instincts are dulling?!

In a flash, Benjamin’s hands were around my neck, squeezing, his crazed grin twisting his face.

“I should’ve done this a long time ago! Maybe then you’d learn not to disrespect us!”

He reached for my hair, clearly intending to drag me across the floor.

Oh no you don’t.

“You scum of the earth...!” I growled and kicked him square in the groin. “Do you seriously think I’m some kind of joke?”

My fist clenched at the thought. “Still not enough.” I slammed a punch into his gut. He released me with a pained groan, collapsing to the floor.

“AARGH! You little shit!” he cried, writhing in pain. Jeraldine rushed to help him, her voice shrieking in protest.

“No gratitude—yeah, sure! Thanks a lot!” I cut her off, grabbed the glass of water from the nearby table, and dumped it all over them.

“Ahh! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Jeraldine screamed, clearly rattled.

“I’m stating a fact,” I said, locking eyes with both of them. “From this day forward, we are strangers. We share no connection. Remember that. Or get assassinated—your choice, Ms. Jeraldine.”

Their eyes widened. They swallowed hard, stunned into silence.

“Hmph.” I rolled my eyes and turned toward the dining table.

I glanced back at them. “I’m taking this pizza. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” I asked coolly. She only nodded, too shaken to speak.

She must be petrified. Hah.

“Well then. I guess I’ll wish you… bad luck?” I grinned one last time, ignoring the way their faces twisted with the urge to lunge at me. And just like that, I walked out.

“El! Wait—did you really run away from home? For real? Or is this another one of Shin’s pranks?” I paused mid-step at the familiar voice. It was Val, waving and jogging toward me.

“Yup,” I said casually, taking a bite of the pizza.

“See?! I told you!” Shin suddenly popped up from behind Val. “You never believe me! Why don’t you ever believe me?! I hate this world!”

“Can you guys stop crowding El?” Sasha suddenly spoke from behind me. “Look at her face.”

“Yeah. That face,” she pointed dramatically. “She looks totally depressed. Like, the face of someone about to break down. She's so lonely. Poor El,” she added with a sarcastic smile.

I raised a brow at her. Typical Sasha—always dramatic.

Killian arrived just in time to lightly smack her on the head. “What the hell are you saying?! You seriously have no empathy. What if she does cry?! Are you gonna comfort her?!”

I almost choked. She's e’s actually making it worse.

“Quiet. Can’t you see Eli just wants peace of mind? Maybe try being mature for once,” Blanche said seriously, hands in her pockets.

Val smacked Blanche on the back. “Okay, but seriously—where are you all sleeping tonight? You all ran away. I’m literally the only non-homeless one left!”

I stopped chewing. Oh right… where am I even staying tonight? I hadn’t even gotten a single cent out of that damn family.

“…Crap.”

“Mother Father... Why I'm so pretty—kidding!”

“….”

“Shut it,” Blanche muttered, throwing a shoe at Killian.

“I’m serious, guys!” Val said, sounding exasperated.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sasha replied, raising an eyebrow. We all turned to look at her as she licked her ice cream.

“Of course we're staying at YOUR house,” she said innocently.

“Huh?” Val blinked, processing what she just heard.

I tilted my head. Why not? She’s been bragging about having a house. Let her pay the price for that brag.

“Sorry, Val... don’t worry, we’ll pay you back once we have money,” Blanche assured.

“That’s right! And when I take over our company, you’ll be my most trusted ally!” Sasha chimed in.