THE BASTARD SON IS REAL HEIR

CHAPTER 6

Minutes before Arjun's arrival, Vittorio Kyler stood at the center of the grand hall, champagne glass raised high, his face glowing with triumph.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" His voice boomed across the marble expanse. "Tonight marks a historic moment for the Kyler family!"

Applause erupted. Guests pressed closer, eager to bask in his glory.

"In just moments, I will sign the official partnership agreement with the Harper Group!" Vittorio gestured grandly toward Alessandro Romano, who stood nearby with his signature neutral expression. "This alliance will elevate the Kyler family to heights previously unimaginable!"

"Congratulations, Mr. Kyler!" voices chorused.

"You've done the impossible!"

"The Harper Group rarely partners with anyone!"

Isabella stood beside her husband, preening like a peacock. "My husband is a genius, truly. Where others fail, he succeeds."

"And our son Marco," Vittorio continued, placing a hand on his son's shoulder, "will marry the beautiful Giulia tonight, cementing our family's future!"

Marco grinned despite his bandaged nose, pulling Giulia close. She allowed it with cold grace, her expression perfectly composed.

"Mr. Kyler, how did you manage to secure such a prestigious partnership?" an elderly businessman asked.

"Vision," Vittorio said smugly. "Strategic thinking. The Harper Group recognizes excellence when they see it. They understand that the Kyler family represents the future of this city's business landscape."

"Remarkable!"

"Truly inspiring!"

"The Kyler name will be legendary!"

Alessandro Romano watched the display with careful eyes, his expression revealing nothing.

Giulia accepted congratulations from a cluster of society women, her voice smooth as silk. "Thank you all. I'm honored to be joining such a powerful family."

"You're so fortunate, dear!" an older woman gushed. "Marco is such a catch—young, handsome, and now heir to the Harper partnership!"

"Indeed." Giulia's smile didn't reach her ice-blue eyes. "Far better than my previous... mistake."

The women laughed knowingly.

"Oh, you mean that Arjun boy?"

"The one who got thrown out?"

"I heard he was completely useless," another woman whispered conspiratorially. "Couldn't even keep his own fiancée interested!"

"Three years together and she never let him touch her," someone added with a snicker. "What kind of man can't even—"

"A pathetic one," Giulia interrupted smoothly. "Trust me, I wasted three years on that failure. Thank goodness I realized my mistake before it was too late."

Marco pulled her closer, kissing her temple possessively. "You deserve a real man, darling. Not some weak mama's boy."

The crowd laughed.

Vittorio raised his glass again. "A toast! To new beginnings! To the Kyler-Harper partnership! To—"

The grand doors opened.

Every head turned.

Arjun stood in the entrance, Priya beside him, both dressed in clothes that cost more than most guests earned in a month. The light caught them perfectly, making them appear almost ethereal against the darkness behind.

Vittorio's toast died in his throat.

Isabella's face went white, then red with fury.

Marco's champagne glass trembled in his hand.

For three heartbeats, the hall remained frozen in shocked silence.

Then the whispers began.

"Is that—"

"Arjun?"

"What's he doing here?"

"Who let him in?"

"The audacity!"

Vittorio recovered first, his face twisting with rage. "Guards! Who authorized this trespasser to enter my home?"

"Trespasser?" A woman in the crowd laughed nervously. "Isn't he your son?"

"Not anymore," Isabella spat. "He was disowned. Thrown out like the garbage he is."

Giulia stepped forward, her expression cool and indifferent. "Arjun. Did you follow me here?" Her voice dripped with disdain. "How pathetic. Can't accept that I've moved on?"

"He probably snuck in through the servant's entrance," Marco sneered, touching his bandaged nose. "Like the dog he is. Come to beg for scraps?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"He snuck in?"

"How shameless!"

"After being kicked out, he comes crawling back?"

Vittorio's expression shifted from rage to cold contempt. "Arjun. Have you come to apologize? To beg your way back into this family?" He laughed harshly. "Is that it? Have you finally realized what you've lost?"

"Look at him," Isabella added, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Standing there like he has any right to be here. Like he hasn't spent the last two days sleeping on the streets!"

"Actually," an older gentleman near the entrance interjected, "I saw him arrive in a luxury limousine. With this woman."

All eyes turned to Priya, who stood beside Arjun with regal composure.

"Oh, so he found a sugar mama!" A woman's voice rang out, followed by cruel laughter. "How desperate! Selling yourself to some rich woman just to afford decent clothes!"

"How disgusting," another guest added. "He really has sunk that low."

"Who even is she?" Isabella's voice was venomous. "Some desperate older woman who needs to buy companionship? How tragic for both of them."

Priya's expression didn't change, but her eyes glinted dangerously.

Marco stepped forward, his confidence growing with the crowd's support. "Let me guess, brother. You borrowed money from this poor woman, got dressed up, and came here thinking... what? That we'd take you back? That Giulia would suddenly want you?"

"As if," Giulia said coldly. "I'd rather die than lower myself to your level again, Arjun. Being with you was the biggest mistake of my life."

"Absolutely pathetic!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"He should be arrested for trespassing!"

"Throw him out!"

Vittorio raised his hand, silencing the crowd. His smile was cruel, satisfied. "Arjun. I'll give you one chance. Get on your knees. Apologize for assaulting Marco. Beg for forgiveness. And perhaps—perhaps—I'll let you sleep in the servant's quarters tonight instead of the gutter."

The crowd went silent, waiting.

Isabella leaned close to her husband, her voice carrying. "Make him grovel, darling. He needs to learn his place."

"Yes," Marco added eagerly. "Make him apologize for breaking my nose. Make him admit he's nothing without this family."

Giulia examined her nails, bored. "This is embarrassing. Someone should really escort him out before he ruins the evening completely."

"Well, Arjun?" Vittorio's voice hardened. "What will it be? Your pride, or a roof over your head? Choose wisely. This is the last mercy you'll receive from me."

All eyes fixed on Arjun, waiting for him to break, to beg, to crumble.

Instead, his lips curved into a cold smile.

"Mercy?" Arjun's voice was soft, but it carried across the hall with crystalline clarity. "You think I came here begging for your mercy, Father?"

"Then why else would you—" Vittorio began.

"I came here," Arjun interrupted, his tone dropping to something dangerous, "to watch you realize what you've lost."

Confusion flickered across Vittorio's face.

"Lost?" Marco laughed. "What have we lost? You're the one with nothing! We have everything—the Harper partnership, the money, the power, the respect!"

"Do you?" Arjun's eyes were ice. "Are you certain about that?"

"What are you babbling about?" Isabella snapped. "You're delusional! Homeless and delusional!"

Arjun turned to Alessandro Romano, who'd been watching the entire exchange with careful interest. "Mr. Romano. Tell me, does the Harper Group typically partner with families who employ thugs to desecrate graves? Who hire criminals to vandalize the dead?"

The hall went deathly silent.

Alessandro's expression sharpened. "What?"

"That's a lie!" Vittorio's voice rose. "He's lying! Making up stories because he's bitter and—"

"Am I?" Arjun's voice cut through. "Shall we discuss the three men Isabella hired to spray paint my mother's grave? The ones who were urinating on her headstone when I found them?"

Gasps erupted throughout the crowd.

"That's not—" Isabella went pale. "I never—"

"They confessed," Arjun continued coldly. "Told me everything. How you paid them. How you specifically instructed them to 'ruin it good.' How you said the whole Kyler family thought my mother was nothing but trash."

"You have no proof!" Vittorio shouted, but his voice wavered.

"Don't I?" Arjun's smile was razor-sharp. "The Harper Group values integrity above all else. Family honor. Respect for the dead. Tell me, Mr. Romano—does hiring criminals to vandalize graves align with Harper Group values?"

Alessandro Romano's expression had gone from neutral to glacial. He turned slowly to face Vittorio. "Mr. Kyler. Is this true?"

"No! Absolutely not! He's lying! He's a bitter, jealous—"

"They're already being questioned," Priya spoke for the first time, her voice like silk over steel. "By Harper Group security. As we speak. Would you like to hear their recorded confessions, Mr. Kyler? Or shall we skip ahead to the part where your partnership crumbles to dust?"

The color drained from Vittorio's face.

Marco's champagne glass slipped from his fingers, shattering on marble.

Giulia's cold mask finally cracked, surprise flickering across her features.

The crowd erupted into shocked whispers.

"This can't be real—"