The applause lingered long after the final hammer fell. The charity auction was over.
Jayden wore the pocket watch—the one that symbolized bloodline—pinned to his chest, one arm looped through Gloria's as they circulated the banquet hall.
My three childhood friends, the ones who once swore they'd protect me forever, were busy running interference for Jayden now, blocking drinks and brokering introductions.
Gloria broke away from the crowd and walked toward me.
She stopped in front of me, her tone flat.：“That watch is the only thing keeping Jayden's footing in this circle. You're already the Delgado heir. You don't need one antique.”
“It's just an old keepsake. Be the bigger person.”
“If that old keepsake had ended up in a stranger's hands tonight,” I looked at her, “how would Grandma see me? The Delgado heir who can't even hold on to his father's last possession?”
Gloria's brow knotted tight.
“It's always about leverage with you. Inheritance rights, shares. Is there anything else in that head of yours?”
When I didn't answer, her voice dropped lower.“Solomon, you're ruthless. You'd survive just fine outside the Delgado family. But Jay can't.”
“If I hadn't given him that watch tonight, the elders would've written him off completely. He'd be thrown out.”
I stared at the tips of my shoes.
She didn't know. The succession struggle had already entered its final phase.
My mother's hints couldn't have been clearer.
Either I passed tonight's test and proved I had absolute control over my judgment.
Or she would marry me off to the Wallace family's notorious eldest daughter in exchange for an investment from the Summers family.
I'd been willing to gamble on three years of what Gloria and I had.
But this one bid stripped away every last illusion.
Jayden came trotting over with a glass of juice, his whole body tilting into Gloria's side.
“Gloria, I want to go say hello to that couple over there.”
“I'm scared I'll say the wrong thing. Could you teach me, Solomon?”
He turned to me, eyes wide with rehearsed innocence.“You've been networking so hard for the family. Your desk is covered in lists of what all those executives like, when they smoke, what they drink. You've got it all memorized.”
He caught himself mid-sentence and clapped a hand over his mouth.
“I'm not saying you're scheming or anything...I just think you work so hard.”
The faces of several socialites nearby shifted.
“He tracks every little detail like that? The Delgado heir's got quite the calculating mind.”
“Figures. Raised on the outside. You can smell the social climbing.”
The whispers settled on me like dust.
Those lists were Grandma's assignment. She'd told me to memorize the habits and preferences of every elder in Kingsport, all to fortify the Delgado family's foundation for the next hundred years.
Gloria had praised me for it at the time. Called me thorough.
But now she looked at me with nothing but disgust, and didn't say a single word in my defense.
Jayden tugged at Gloria's sleeve.“Did I say something wrong again? I'm no good with words, not like Solomon. He always knows how to charm people...”
Gloria smoothed his hair.“It's fine. Your brother has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He's not going to hold a little thing like this against you.”
Then she took Jayden and walked toward the center of the crowd.
