From Rejection to Royalty: Rise of the Forgotten Heir

Chapter 0001 - The Call

“We've finally found you, Young Master,” A breathless, excited voice said from the other end of the line. 

Declan’s pupils widened for just a second and his breath caught in his throat.

Then reality kicked in. 

“Another scammer,” he muttered to himself as he ended the call. 

Slipping his phone back into his Walmart uniform pocket, he looked down at the gift box in his hand. 

A smile spread across his face. 

Today was Valentine's day. Laura had been so sweet about it too. She'd told him not to worry about taking her out - she knew that he was occupied with handling both his academics and part-time work, so she didn't want to add his load.

But how could he not worry? He wanted to surprise her. Three months ago, she'd told him she wanted a Dior bag and a Lululemon two piece set while they were window shipping downtown. 

 The price tag had made his stomach drop - two thousand, eight hundred dollars on a ten dollar an hour wage. But he'd worked every shift he could get for months, skipped meals, scraped together every cent just to see her smile when she opened this box.

Laura deserved it. She never complained when he couldn't afford to take her out on dates. She was patient and understanding 

That's why he wanted to do this for her.

Declan’s heart pounded with excitement as he stood outside her apartment door. 

He could already picture the excitement on her face when she opened up this box. 

The way her eyes would light up and she'd throw her arms around him and tell him that he didn't have to do this but he wanted to. 

He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

And his smile faded instantly. 

There on the living room couch, tangled together, were Laura and his younger brother, Carlos. 

Carlos’ hands were all over her, gripping her waist, sliding up her thighs. 

Her dress was halfway up, showing skin Declan thought only he had seen. 

They were kissing desperately like they couldn't get enough of each other.

The gift box fell from his hands and crashed to the floor. 

Laura turned to him, shocked. Her lipstick was smeared and her hair was a mess. "Declan, what are you doing here?" she gasped as she pushed Carlos away from her. "I thought you said you had a night shift?”

Declan’s throat burned. For a couple of seconds, he couldn't get any words out. 

The air felt too thick. 

 "I took the night off secretly, wishing to give you a surprise.” His voice came out bitter and raw. 

"I spent nearly three months' worth of savings on this bag for you." He pointed at the box on the floor. "I've been helping you with your rent all this time. And this is how you repay me?”

Being questioned made her fly into a rage out of humiliation. She stood up from the couch, adjusting her dress, her eyes blazing. "You entered my home without permission! You violated my privacy! What kind of payback did you expect?”

Declan stared at her in disbelief. "You're cheating on me with my brother and you're talking about privacy?"

She let out a cold harsh laugh, shaking her head, “You guys are from the same family anyway. Does it make any difference who I sleep with? How is it even cheating?”

Each word hit like a knife to his chest. His teeth ground together and he stepped forward, his body tensing, ready to lunge. He couldn't breathe or even think straight. 

Carlos sat up on the couch with a smirk plastered on his face like he'd just won something, “Why are you overreacting?" he said casually. "So what if I stole your girl?”

He leaned back against the couch again, completely relaxed like all this was some sort of joke to him.

“Don’t forget u were adopted into our family. Everything you have rightfully belongs to me, the real young master. You're just an ordinary orphan.”

“I'm not an orphan,” Declan shot back. He clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.

“Wake up, Declan,” Carlos said in a contemptuous tone. He stood up slowly and straightened his shirt, “You were nothing but a contingency plan. Mom and Dad thought they couldn't have kids, so they got you from some adoption agency. You know, as a backup. But then medical advances came along and boom, they had me. Their real son. Naturally, you got tossed aside."

Declan had always known he was adopted. His parents never hid it from him. But the way Derek said it, the way he threw it in his face like he was a worthless little thing made his blood boil.

Carlos walked over to the table and grabbed a bag, a brand new Hermès bag with the tags still on it. 

He waved it in front of Declan's face, "With all the family resources at my disposal, I can easily get things you couldn't afford even after saving for a year. Hell, I could buy ten of these without blinking. So of course she chose me. Who wouldn't?”

Laura stepped forward, her heels clicking. She grabbed Carlos by the collar and kissed him hard. Then she pulled back, breathless, and pressed the Hermès bag against her chest. 

"This is what a real man gets me," she purred, trailing her fingers down Carlos's jaw. "Not cheap garbage I have to pretend to like.”

She bent down and picked the box Declan had dropped, "Leave the bag and go," she said flatly, like she was dismissing a delivery guy.

"You don't deserve it," He said through gritted teeth.

Carlos's face twisted with rage. "How dare you speak to her that way!" He lunged at Declan, his fist flying toward his face.

Declan didn't have time to think. Carlos lunged at him, swinging wild and clumsy. Declan caught his wrist easily - years of hauling heavy stock had made his grip iron. 

He twisted and threw a punch that connected hard with Carlos' jaw. Carlos went down like a sack of bricks, crashing into the coffee table. The glass shattered and he hit the floor, groaning as blood trickled from his split lip.  

Laura screamed something but he didn't hear it. His ears were ringing. His vision was blurred with rage and pain and betrayal.

Without waiting to see if Carlos got back up, Declan turned and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him so hard the walls shook.

The cold night air stung. He stumbled onto the street with shaky legs and trembling hands. 

For a moment, he just stood there under a flickering streetlight.

His fists were clenched so tight that his nails drew blood from his palms. 

His chest heaved as he took sharp breaths. 

One day, he thought, he'd have the power to get back at everyone who'd wronged him. 

Everyone who'd looked down on him, stepped on him, treated him like he was nothing. 

Laura. Carlos. His adoptive parents who'd always favored Carlos over him and never failed to remind him of his position in the family. 

Every single one of them. He would make sure they'd regret it. 

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out, expecting to see another spam call. But what he saw on the screen made his heart stop.

**$100,000,000 deposited into account ending in 4829.**

**Balance: $100,000,247.83**

He blinked and rubbed his eyes rapidly. Was this a dream? 

He looked again but the numbers remained the same.

"What the hell..." He whispered, counting the zeros one by one. One hundred million dollars in his account. His hands started shaking worse than before.

His phone rang. It was the same unknown number from earlier.

His hand trembled as he answered. "Hello?"

"Young master, please don't hang up," the voice said urgently. "I know you think I'm a scammer. That's why I just wired one hundred million dollars to your account. Check it. It's real. I can wait while you verify it with your bank if you need to.”

Declan's mouth went dry. 

He stared at the notification again, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears. This couldn't be real. 

It had to be some kind of mistake. But he could see the numbers right there, glowing on his screen.

"Who... who are you?" He managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper.

"My name is Franklin. I'm the head butler of the Steele Family. And you, young master, are the heir we've been searching for.”

The Steele Family.

His mind reeled. That name echoed through his head.

The Steele Family was one of the top oligarch families in the country. 

Everyone knew their name. They controlled industries, influenced politics, and owned half the city's real estate. 

They were the kind of people you only saw on the news or in Forbes magazine. 

The real untouchables. 

And this man was saying he was their heir?

"That's impossible," Declan said, his voice shaking.

"It's not impossible, young master," Franklin said gently. "It's the truth. You are the young master of the Steele Family. And we've finally found you.”