Chapter 3
I arrived at the Thorne family’s grand mansion and pressed the doorbell. I’d been here once before, in my past life, for Liam’s party.
Back then, he’d invited me to celebrate him finding his family.
“Hello, who are you looking for?”
A kind-faced housekeeper opened the door. When she saw the bead around my neck, her eyes widened in astonishment.
She quickly turned and shouted, “Madam! He’s here! He’s here!”
The door remained open, and I stepped inside. I stopped just at the entrance to the living room.
After the housekeeper exchanged a few words with Madam Thorne, Eleanor suddenly looked up, her eyes wide as saucers. She was practically supported by the housekeeper as she slowly walked toward me.
She stared intensely at the bead around my neck, then swept her gaze over my face.
“You’re home. You’re finally home!” she cried, a bright smile breaking across her face. I noticed the streaks of silver in her hair.
At that party, I’d heard that Madam Thorne had been searching for her child for over a decade, losing sleep every night because of him.
Even after so much time, she’d never given up. The tender love in her eyes when she looked at Liam then had made me envious.
I wished I had a mother too.
My eyes welled up, blurring my vision. My heart ached. My mother must have suffered so much.
“Mom—”
A deep, resonant voice spoke from behind Eleanor. I looked toward him.
It was my brother, Julian.
His lips parted slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He froze for a second, then rushed forward and wrapped me in a tight hug.
“My little brother.”
A scene of profound brotherly affection. He patted my head and chuckled.
“Come, sit down. Talk to Mom.”
He murmured softly, and Mom pulled me down beside her.
She told me that when she was busy starting her business years ago, she’d left me with Julian. But he hadn’t watched me carefully enough, and I’d been snatched.
She’d searched endlessly, running to countless cities, visiting numerous orphanages, but I was nowhere to be found.
I listened in silence, noticing the discomfort on Julian’s darkened face.
Slowly, he spoke, a hint of self-reproach in his voice. “Little brother, I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have endured so much hardship…”
I gave him a comforting smile.
“Bang—”
The living room door burst open. Liam Thorne rushed in, looking flustered and covered in a fine sheen of sweat.
He gasped, panting, “He’s an impostor!”
Eleanor, who was holding my hand, flinched. She looked between us, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Just then, Chloe Miller emerged from behind Liam.
She cowered forward, looking at me with a strange mix of fear and pleading.
Her next words sent a fresh wave of ice through me.
“Asher, please, just give Liam back his bead, okay?”
Her words hit me like a physical blow. My mind went blank, and a deafening buzz filled my ears.
I realized they were conspiring to frame me. Liam was still trying to snatch my identity.