The Forgotten Heir's Payback

Chapter 1: The Divorce Settlement

The smell of fried bacon and toasted bread filled the white kitchen. Lucas stood by the stove, holding a wooden spatula. He wore a faded apron over his simple blue shirt. 

His eyes were fixed on the kitchen clock. The black hands pointed to eleven in the morning. He had just sixty minutes left.

For three long years, Lucas had cooked every single meal in this house. He cleaned the polished marble floors until his knees hurt. 

He washed the dirty dishes and washed every piece of clothing by hand. He did it all without complaining. He stayed silent even when people walked over him like dirt on a rug.

Nobody in the Vance family knew the true reason behind his actions. They did not know about the promise he made to his dying grandfather three years ago. 

His grandfather was a powerful man who wanted Lucas to hide his real power. He wanted Lucas to live like an ordinary, poor man for three full years. The old man wanted Lucas to learn humility and patience before taking over the family kingdom.

That trial period was about to end today at exactly twelve o'clock noon.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. Beatrice Vance walked into the kitchen wearing a silk robe. She was Lucas’s mother-in-law. Her eyes were sharp, filled with hate as she looked at Lucas standing near the stove.

"Look at you," Beatrice spat out, her voice sharp like a razor blade. "Three years you have lived in my daughter's house. Three years you have eaten our food and spent our money. You are just a useless dog."

Lucas did not raise his voice. He kept his eyes on the frying pan and flipped the bacon over. "Breakfast is almost ready, Mother."

"Do not call me your mother!" Beatrice shouted, banging her hand hard on the clean table. "You do not have the right to call me that. You are nothing but a poor loser who got lucky. My daughter Chloe made a terrible mistake when she brought you into this family."

Lucas stayed quiet. He placed the cooked food onto shiny glass plates. He poured hot coffee into two porcelain cups and carried everything to the main dining table.

Just then, Chloe Vance walked down the grand stairs. She was dressed in an expensive red dress. Her gold jewelry shined bright under the chandeliers. She was beautiful, but her eyes were cold as ice when she looked at Lucas.

Behind Chloe walked a young man in an expensive navy suit. It was Julian Sterling. Julian was the heir to Sterling Enterprises, one of the richest companies in the city. Julian had a smug smile on his face as he walked into the house like he owned the place.

"Good morning, my love," Julian said softly to Chloe. He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. Chloe did not pull away. She smiled back at him, ignoring Lucas completely.

Lucas stood near the dining table, holding a coffee pot. His heart burned with anger, but his face remained calm. He looked at his wife of three years standing in another man's arms inside his own home.

"Lucas," Chloe said, her voice dry and without any feeling. "Put the coffee down. We need to talk."

Lucas placed the glass pot on the table. He looked Chloe straight in the eyes. "What is it?"

Julian chuckled loudly, pulling out a chair for Chloe to sit down. "Tell him the good news, Chloe. The poor boy needs to know his place now."

Beatrice walked over and stood right behind her daughter. She crossed her arms, looking down at Lucas like he was trash on the street. "Go on, Chloe. Show him the paper. Throw it in his face."

Chloe opened her designer handbag. She pulled out a thick document and dropped it on the table right in front of Lucas. The white paper landed on top of the breakfast table with a loud thud.

The big black letters at the top of the page read: DIVORCE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

"Sign it," Chloe said, looking away toward the large window. She could not even look Lucas in the eye. "I am divorcing you today. Julian has promised to invest fifty million dollars into my family's business. He is a real man. He can give me the life I deserve. You are just a burden."

Julian grinned, pulling out a gold pen from his pocket. He tossed the pen onto the table, right next to the white papers.

"Sign the paper, poor boy," Julian mocked, stepping closer to Lucas. "Chloe is out of your league. You spent three years serving her tea and sweeping her floors. I am taking her now, and there is nothing a beggar like you can do about it."

Beatrice laughed out loud. "Look at him! He cannot even say a word. He knows he is worthless. Sign the papers and get out of my house before I call the guards to drag you out!"

Lucas looked at the clock on the wall. The time was 11:55 AM. Five minutes left.

He looked down at the white paper. He looked at Chloe, the woman he had protected secretly for three long years. 

Every contract her business had won over the past three years was arranged by Lucas behind the scenes. Every debt her company owed was paid off by Lucas’s secret account. She thought she achieved everything through her own talent, but it was all because of the man she was tossing away like trash.

"Is this really what you want, Chloe?" Lucas asked softly. His voice did not shake.

Chloe frowned, looking annoyed by his question. "Yes, Lucas. I am tired of being embarrassed by you. When I go out with my friends, they laugh at me because my husband is a stay-at-home loser. Julian is rich, powerful, and respected. We are getting engaged tonight at the Royal Crown Club. So sign the paper and leave."

Julian patted Lucas on the shoulder, applying pressure like he wanted to break Lucas’s bone. "Do not make this difficult, buddy. You get nothing from this divorce. You entered this house with nothing, and you will leave with nothing."

Lucas looked at Julian’s hand on his shoulder. Slowly, Lucas raised his hand and grabbed Julian’s wrist. He squeezed it just a little bit.

Julian’s face went pale instantly. He gasped in pain, feeling like an iron pipe was crushing his wrist. He quickly pulled his hand back, staring at Lucas with shock and fear in his eyes.

The clock on the wall began to chime.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

It was exactly twelve o'clock noon. The three years were officially over. The promise was fulfilled.

Lucas picked up the gold pen from the table. Without saying another word, he flipped to the last page of the document and wrote his name down in quick, strong strokes.

He dropped the pen onto the table. Then, he unbuttoned the faded apron around his waist. He threw the apron directly onto the floor, right at Chloe’s feet.

"You think Julian built your success?" Lucas asked, his voice now deep and full of power. The weak look in his eyes was completely gone, replaced by a cold, sharp glare that made Chloe shiver. "Everything you own today was paid for by patience you never earned. You threw away a king to pick up a piece of glass."

Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. She had never seen Lucas look or speak like this before. For a second, a strange feeling of regret hit her chest.

Beatrice spat on the floor near Lucas’s shoes. "Shut up! Stop talking nonsense and get out of here! You have nothing!"

Julian held his sore wrist, screaming in anger. "Get out before I kill you, you loser!"

Lucas did not argue. He turned around, walked up the stairs, and grabbed a single black suitcase he had already packed. He walked back down the stairs, passing Chloe, Julian, and Beatrice without giving them another glance.

He opened the front door and stepped out into the cold afternoon. Outside, heavy black clouds covered the sky, and cold rain was pouring down from above.

Lucas walked down the concrete driveway, holding his single suitcase in the rain.

Behind him, Chloe, Julian, and Beatrice walked out onto the covered porch to watch him leave, laughing at his wet clothes.

"Look at him!" Beatrice sneered. "Walking in the rain like a stray dog!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Deep engine roars echoed down the street.

A convoy of ten identical, shiny black Maybach cars drove down the road. They stopped right in front of the Vance family gates, blocking the entire street.

The doors of the Maybachs opened at the same time. Twenty men dressed in black suits and dark sunglasses stepped out into the pouring rain. They held black umbrellas and formed two neat lines along the driveway.

The middle Maybach door opened. An old man in an expensive gray suit stepped out. It was Butler Thomas, the chief manager of Grand Dragon Financial Group, the largest private banking empire in the world.

Butler Thomas ignored the rain pouring on his head. He walked quickly toward Lucas, stopping right in front of him.

In full view of Chloe, Julian, and Beatrice standing on the porch, the powerful old manager dropped to his knees right in the mud, bowing his head deeply before Lucas.

"Young Master Lucas!" Butler Thomas shouted in a loud, respectful voice. "The three-year promise is over! The Dragon Bank awaits your command!"