I Returned as the True Heir

Ch-2 empty suitcase

For the first time since Ryan had entered the Harrington mansion, Ethan’s perfect expression cracked.

Only for a second.

But Ryan saw it.

“Open my suitcase?”

Ethan looked at Richard as if he hadn’t understood him correctly.

Richard remained seated at the head of the table.

“Yes.”

Silence filled the dining room.

Catherine said nothing.

Neither did Victoria, Sophia, or Emma.

Every pair of eyes rested on the black suitcase beside Ethan.

Ryan looked between them.

Why is everyone suddenly interested in his luggage?

Five people heard him.

Nobody reacted.

At least, they tried not to.

Ethan gave a small, confused laugh.

“Dad, why would you want me to open it?”

Richard picked up his glass.

“You said you’ve packed your things.”

“I have.”

“So open it.”

Ethan’s fingers tightened around the handle.

Ryan leaned back.

This was getting interesting.

This definitely didn’t happen in the novel.

He remembered the original scene now—or pieces of it.

Ethan had announced he was leaving.

Catherine had cried.

Richard had stopped him.

One of the sisters had hugged him.

Then somehow the entire situation had turned into proof that Ryan’s return was destroying their happy family.

But nobody had asked to inspect the suitcase.

Ryan looked at Richard.

Did I remember it wrong?

Richard’s expression didn’t change.

Possible. I skipped half the damn book.

Sophia suddenly coughed into her napkin.

Ethan looked at her.

“Sophia?”

“Food went down the wrong way.”

Ryan glanced at her plate.

She hadn’t been eating.

This family gets stranger every minute.

Sophia’s shoulders stiffened.

Victoria gave her a warning look.

Ethan slowly released the suitcase handle.

“I don’t understand why this is necessary.”

Richard’s voice remained calm.

“It isn’t. I’m simply curious.”

“Richard,” Catherine said softly.

Ryan looked at her.

For a moment, he thought she was about to stop her husband.

Instead she looked directly at Ethan.

“Open it.”

Ethan stared at her.

This time, his shock was harder to hide.

“Mom?”

Catherine’s expression softened.

“You said you packed because you’ve decided to leave. Let us at least see whether you remembered everything.”

Ryan almost laughed.

Nice save.

Catherine’s fingers twitched.

Ryan looked at the suitcase again.

Although unless he packed invisible clothes, there’s nothing in there.

Emma abruptly covered her mouth.

Ethan looked at her.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded too quickly.

“Mhm.”

Ryan frowned.

What exactly had happened to this family while their biological son was missing?

Ethan finally crouched beside the suitcase.

His movements were slower now.

Ryan watched him.

Come on, Empty Suitcase Guy. Show us the bricks.

Victoria turned away for a moment.

Sophia lowered her head.

Emma’s shoulders shook.

Richard picked up his glass again, though Ryan noticed he wasn’t actually drinking.

Ethan opened the first lock.

Click.

Then the second.

Click.

Nobody moved.

He pulled the zipper.

Slowly.

Ryan suddenly felt like he was watching the climax of a thriller rather than a rich kid opening luggage.

The lid lifted.

And—

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

The suitcase was empty.

Ryan stared at it.

Then at Ethan.

Then back at the suitcase.

No bricks.

Sophia made a strangled noise.

Ryan’s lips twitched.

I’m disappointed.

“Why is it empty?”

Richard’s question cut through the room.

Ethan stood quickly.

“I—”

His face went pale.

For perhaps the first time, he didn’t have an immediate answer.

Then his eyes flickered toward the servant who had brought the suitcase.

Ryan noticed.

So did Richard.

“I must have brought the wrong one,” Ethan said.

Ryan almost admired him.

Fast recovery.

“There were two suitcases upstairs. I probably asked them to bring the empty one.”

The servant looked terrified.

“I’m sorry, Young Master Ethan. You told me specifically to bring the black suitcase beside your bedroom door.”

Ethan’s expression darkened.

Only slightly.

“I may have confused them.”

Ryan looked at the suitcase.

Sure.

Then he looked at Ethan.

And I’m secretly the king of England.

Emma dropped her spoon.

Clang.

Everyone looked at her.

“Sorry.”

Ryan rubbed his temple.

He needed coffee.

A lot of coffee.

Catherine stared at Ethan for several seconds.

There was hurt in her eyes now.

Not anger.

That somehow made the atmosphere worse.

“If you wanted reassurance,” she said quietly, “you could have asked for it.”

Ethan’s face changed.

“Mom, that’s not what this was.”

“Then what was it?”

“I really did intend to leave.”

“With nothing?”

Ethan fell silent.

Ryan looked at Catherine.

Okay. This woman is much sharper than the novel made her sound.

Catherine heard him.

Her eyes immediately moved toward him.

For the first time since he arrived, something almost warm appeared in them.

Ryan didn’t notice.

He was busy trying to remember the novel.

Had Catherine always been like this?

No.

He vaguely remembered her being extremely protective of Ethan.

She wasn’t cruel to the biological son at first, but every misunderstanding had pushed her farther away from him.

Yet right now…

Everything was going wrong.

Or right.

Depending on perspective.

Ethan took a breath.

“I panicked.”

His voice became softer.

“I know Ryan is your real son.”

Catherine’s expression tightened.

“And I know that compared to him, I’m—”

“Stop.”

Richard’s voice was cold.

Ethan did.

Richard stood.

“Ryan returning does not erase the years you have spent in this family.”

Ethan’s eyes became red again.

“But.”

One word.

Ethan’s hopeful expression froze.

Richard continued.

“It also does not give you the right to turn his return into a test of our affection.”

Ryan slowly looked at Richard.

Whoa.

This was absolutely not in the novel.

Ethan’s face went white.

“I wasn’t—”

“You were.”

Richard didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t need to.

“You announced you were leaving during Ryan’s first meal in this house. You had an empty suitcase brought downstairs. What exactly did you expect everyone to do?”

Ethan couldn’t answer.

Ryan could.

Cry.

Richard’s mouth twitched.

Beg.

Victoria pressed her lips together.

Promise him the inheritance.

Sophia suddenly became extremely interested in her water.

Possibly organize a family group hug.

Emma turned red.

Ryan looked around.

Why did everyone look like they were fighting for their lives?

Whatever.

He picked up his fork again.

The steak was getting cold.

Ethan turned toward him.

“Ryan.”

Ryan stopped.

Here it came.

“I owe you an apology.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“For what?”

“I didn’t mean to make your first day uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.”

That was true.

Ryan was entertained.

Ethan hesitated.

“I hope you don’t misunderstand. I never wanted to take your place.”

Ryan stared at him.

That sentence triggered another fragment of memory.

Ethan had said something similar in the novel.

What happened after that?

Ryan searched his memory.

Nothing.

Then—

A necklace.

A bedroom.

Someone shouting.

He frowned.

There was something about Mom’s necklace.

Catherine’s hand moved instinctively to her neck.

She was wearing a diamond necklace.

Ryan noticed the movement.

His gaze sharpened.

Was it this one?

Catherine’s face changed.

Ryan tried to remember.

No. Maybe a sapphire?

Catherine looked down at her diamonds.

Damn. I can’t remember.

Richard’s eyes narrowed.

The sisters exchanged glances.

Ethan was still standing there, unaware that the entire family’s attention had shifted away from his apology.

Ryan shook his head.

No point forcing memories.

They usually returned when something triggered them.

“It’s fine,” he told Ethan.

Ethan blinked.

Ryan gestured toward the chair.

“Sit. Eat.”

That response seemed to surprise everyone.

Ethan stared at him.

“You’re not angry?”

“Should I be?”

“I…”

Ryan shrugged.

“You wanted to leave. Then you didn’t. It has nothing to do with me.”

Ethan’s fingers curled.

Ryan noticed.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

In the novel, the biological son had desperately wanted acceptance.

That was probably why Ethan’s tricks worked.

Every little thing hurt him.

Every comparison made him angry.

Every rejection pushed him into another argument.

But Ryan wasn’t that boy.

He had already lived an entire life.

He wasn’t going to beg strangers to love him just because they shared DNA with his current body.

You can keep the heir position if you want it that badly.

Ethan’s eyes remained on him.

Just don’t drag me into your drama.

Richard’s expression became unreadable.

Catherine lowered her eyes.

The three sisters were unusually quiet.

Ryan resumed eating.

He had no idea that five people at the table had just heard every word he never said.

⸻

Lunch ended twenty minutes later.

Ethan excused himself first.

His smile had returned.

But the moment he stepped into the hallway and turned away from the dining room, it disappeared.

He walked upstairs without looking back.

Ryan watched him leave.

He’s angry.

Obviously.

The suitcase humiliation hadn’t gone according to plan.

But something bothered Ryan.

Ethan shouldn’t have been humiliated at all.

Not today.

Not according to the story.

Which meant one of two things.

Either Ryan’s memory was worse than he thought…

Or the plot had already changed.

“Ryan.”

Catherine’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Yes?”

“Would you like to see your room?”

“Sure.”

“I prepared it myself.”

There was a strange nervousness in her voice.

Ryan stood.

Catherine led him upstairs.

The sisters followed.

So did Richard.

Ryan glanced behind him.

Was the entire family really escorting him to a bedroom?

Rich people have too much free time.

Emma snorted.

Ryan turned.

She immediately looked at the wall.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

He narrowed his eyes.

Definitely weird.

They reached the second floor.

Catherine stopped before a large door.

“This was always your room.”

Ryan’s hand paused on the handle.

Always?

Catherine opened it.

The room was large, modern, and carefully maintained.

But Ryan noticed something immediately.

On one shelf sat a small wooden airplane.

Old.

Worn.

A child’s toy.

Something inside his chest hurt.

Suddenly.

Violently.

A flash crossed his mind.

Tiny hands.

A woman laughing.

Someone lifting him into the air.

Then darkness.

Ryan grabbed the doorframe.

“Ryan?”

Catherine rushed toward him.

“I’m fine.”

But he wasn’t.

For one second, the body had remembered something the mind couldn’t.

Ryan stared at the wooden airplane.

So the original Ryan really did live here.

The family went silent.

Ryan walked toward the shelf and picked up the toy.

Dustless.

Someone had cleaned it regularly.

They kept his room for fifteen years.

Catherine’s eyes filled with tears.

Ryan swallowed.

This was dangerous.

He didn’t want to feel anything for these people.

Not yet.

Maybe never.

He put the airplane back.

“Thank you for keeping it.”

Catherine couldn’t answer.

Richard placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ryan looked away.

Then another thought came.

Cold and unwelcome.

Too bad the original Ryan never got to enjoy coming home.

Catherine’s breath stopped.

Victoria went rigid.

Richard’s gaze sharpened.

Ryan continued staring at the shelf.

If I remember correctly…

His brows slowly pulled together.

he died.

Nobody moved.

Ryan searched his broken memories of the novel.

There had been a death.

He was almost certain.

But when?

How?

Before the ending?

After being thrown out?

He couldn’t remember.

Damn it.

Then footsteps sounded in the hallway.

Ethan appeared at the open door.

“Ryan?”

Everyone turned.

Ethan smiled gently.

“I forgot to tell you. There’s a welcome dinner tonight. Some relatives will be coming.”

Ryan stared at him.

A welcome dinner.

Something in his memory shifted.

Dinner.

A necklace.

An accusation.

His eyes slowly narrowed.

Wait.

Catherine’s hand moved to her necklace again.

Ryan finally remembered one thing clearly.

Someone gets accused of stealing something tonight.

Five faces changed.

Ethan smiled.

“And I hope you’ll enjoy your first night home.”

Ryan looked directly at him.

A chill crawled down his spine.

Because this time, he couldn’t remember who the thief was.

Or who got blamed.

Well…

Ryan smiled faintly.

Looks like Chapter Two of my new life is going to be annoying.

Behind him, Richard Harrington quietly took out his phone.

And sent a message to the head of security.

Check every camera in the house. Now.