In my past life, I took the fall for the Reed family’s foster son and served five years in prison. But the day I was released, I was greeted by his extravagant birthday party. The Reeds stripped me naked and threw me into a snowdrift, leaving me to freeze to death. When I opened my eyes again, I was five years old, on the very day my biological parents, the Reeds, were supposed to take me home. That’s when my sister, Brooke Reed, suddenly burst out. She stood fiercely in the doorway, a desperate barrier, pointing at my tattered clothes. “Dad, Mom, don’t bring him back! He’ll destroy our family!” Seeing her reaction, so utterly different from my past life, I instantly knew she had been reborn too. After my parents left, looking disappointed, she walked up to me and forcefully shoved a piece of candy into my hand, her voice like ice, sharp and cutting. “The Reeds have enough with one son, Tyler.” “You, you menace. This time, you should just rot out here.” I squeezed the candy tightly, my nails almost piercing my palm. She was right. In her eyes, in my past life, my only purpose was to ward off misfortune for the Reed family, to step up and take the blame whenever Tyler got into trouble. Now that she had a second chance, she foresaw that my existence, this stain, would ruin the Reed family’s reputation. So, this useless thing that I was, naturally had no reason to return to the Reed home. I smiled, but my tears betrayed me, streaming down against my will. I fiercely wiped them away, telling myself that Alex Reed was dead. The person alive now was *me*. I turned and walked back to my quiet corner of the orphanage. Not long after, a black sedan pulled up at the entrance. Director Thompson led a distinguished elderly woman, with elegant white hair, inside. All the children in the orphanage erupted in excitement, like a flock of excited birds, chirping and fluttering around her, each desperate to show off. “Hello, Grandma!” “Grandma, I’ll sing for you!” “Grandma, look at my drawing!” Only I remained, quiet in an inconspicuous corner, feeling like an outsider. The old woman noticed me. She gently pushed through the crowd, leaning on a dark wooden cane, and walked step by step toward me. “Little one, why are you sitting here all by yourself? Don’t they like you?” I shook my head, looked up, and held out the candy in my hand, which had grown warm from my tight grip. “Grandma, have some candy.” I tried my best to appear calm and mature, far beyond my years. She paused, clearly surprised. She took the candy, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth, a relaxed smile spreading across her face. “Hmm, very sweet.” She looked at me deeply, then asked, “What’s your name?” “Director Thompson calls me Alex.” “Alex…” She repeated my name, then nodded. “Do you want to come home with me, little one? Be my grandson.” The room instantly fell silent. All the children’s gazes locked onto me, filled with burning envy. I didn’t hesitate for a second, nodding forcefully. “I do.” She burst into hearty laughter, her voice ringing out. “Good! Excellent! From today on, your name is Alex Vance.” She took my hand, her palm warm and dry. “Knowing the law and understanding speech, discerning right from wrong.” “My child, Grandma hopes you will become a person who upholds justice and fairness.” I understood the weight of her words, her high hopes. She was none other than the retired legal titan, a former Supreme Court Justice – Justice Eleanor Vance. In that moment, I tightly clutched her hand. I became the most cherished grandson of the Vance family. Grandma Vance treasured me like precious jade, personally teaching me legal principles and logic, taking me to observe court trials, and opening up a whole new world for me. My aunts and uncles in the Vance family, though all busy legal elites, always brought me various law books and fascinating case studies whenever they returned home, showing genuine care. The one who doted on me the most was my older sister, Scarlett Vance, ten years my senior. The first time she saw me, she took off her wire-rimmed glasses, a gentle smile gracing her beautiful face. “No one touches our precious little brother, Alex.” That was a phrase she often said. Surrounded by such immense love, I almost forgot the pain of my past life. I studied diligently. From law school to the bar exam, my grades were always top of the class. Debate trophies from various mock trials filled my room. Twenty years later, I became the youngest and most renowned star prosecutor in the country.
My days were calm and fulfilling. I thought the Reed family would vanish from my life forever. Until that day, when my assistant knocked on my office door. “Mr. Vance, there’s a Ms. Brooke Reed outside. She specifically asked to see you.” “She said she wants to hire you as a consultant for a major commercial fraud case her corporation is involved in.” Hearing that name, my heart still gave an uncontrollable lurch. I took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of emotion, my voice calm and steady. “Let her in.” A tall woman, dressed in a sharp business suit, walked in. Her face had shed the awkwardness of youth, becoming even more captivating and refined. Brooke froze the moment she saw me. Her deep-set eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. She never would have imagined that the rising legal star she had gone to such lengths to hire would be me, the boy she had personally abandoned twenty years ago. After a long moment, she finally found her voice, her tone full of doubt. “You… you’re Alex Vance, the prosecutor?” I nodded. “Ms. Reed, please have a seat. However, you might be mistaken. I am a prosecutor; I don’t handle private cases.” She seemed not to hear me, scrutinizing me instead. “Are you really a prosecutor? How confident are you that you can handle our case well?” Her attitude made it sound like I was some kind of charlatan chasing fame. My assistant, Chloe, could barely stand it, blurting out, “Ma’am, Mr. Vance is one of the top prosecutors in our system. His time is extremely valuable…” I looked at Brooke, a faint, almost imperceptible curve on my lips. “It seems Ms. Reed doesn’t have much faith in my professional abilities.” “In that case, this meeting is over.” “Chloe, please show our guest out.” Brooke’s face instantly darkened. She gritted her teeth, but in the end, said nothing, turning and slamming the door behind her as she left. Chloe stomped her foot in frustration. “Mr. Vance, that woman is so rude! Who does she think she is?!” I just smiled nonchalantly. “It’s fine, just a client who doesn’t know what’s what.” For me, it truly was just a trivial little incident. After work, Brooke suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Department of Justice building, blocking my way. Her face held a complex, somber expression. I instantly frowned. “Something wrong?” She stared at me, her gaze unyielding. After a long silence, she squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth. “Alex Reed, I’m warning you.” “No matter who you are now, don’t even think about using this case to harm Tyler.” I almost laughed in exasperation. Twenty years ago, she had cruelly prevented me from returning to my biological family. Now, she was calling me Alex Reed again. She came to me herself, yet her first impulse was to warn me not to harm Tyler? Why did she think I would waste my time on someone like him? I looked at her as if she were an unreasonable lunatic. “Ms. Reed, my surname is Vance, and my name is Alex Vance. Please don’t get it wrong.” “Furthermore, I don’t know you, and I certainly don’t know your brother.” “As a prosecutor, my duty is to uphold justice, not to frame others.” “So, why would I harm a complete stranger I don’t even know?” Brooke froze, a flicker of bewilderment crossing her face. “You… you don’t remember me?” She seemed unable to accept this fact, her voice unconsciously rising. “Twenty years ago, at the orphanage entrance! I was the one who stopped you…” She stopped mid-sentence, seemingly finding her past actions too shameful to articulate. I watched her embarrassment, feeling only speechlessness and disgust. Of course, I remembered. I remembered every look of revulsion she gave me, every hateful word she uttered. I remembered how she had personally pushed me away, severing all my illusions of family affection. But I chose to pretend I didn’t. I feigned a moment of deep thought, then adopted an expression of dawning realization. “Ohh—” I deliberately drew out the sound. “So it was you.” I looked at her, smiling innocently. “I’m really sorry, but events from twenty years ago are so distant. I’ve long forgotten them.” “After all, I have so many important case files to review every day. Who has time to remember petty little things?”
Brooke’s face instantly turned ugly. Petty little things? In her eyes, that had been a momentous event that determined my destiny. This hurt her more than any direct insult. She bit her lip, unwilling to concede. “Don’t play dumb with me!” “Are you telling me you’re not holding a grudge because I prevented the Reeds from adopting you back then, and now you’re looking for a chance to get revenge on me and my brother?” I finally couldn’t help but scoff. “Ms. Reed, are you perhaps a little too self-important?” I dropped my smile, my eyes turning cold. “Revenge on you? Are you even worth it?” “If anything, I should thank you. If you hadn’t been so determined to stop them back then, how would I have had the chance to become Justice Eleanor Vance’s grandson?” “How would I have achieved what I have now?” “So, I’m too busy being grateful to you. Why would I hate you?” Every word I spoke was light and casual, yet they landed like knives, piercing deeply into Brooke’s heart. She was utterly speechless, her face fluctuating between green and white. “Eleanor Vance? Don’t you dare spout nonsense here!” She seemed to have grasped some leverage, immediately retorting with sarcasm. “You think just because your name is Vance, you’re related to the Justice? Dream on! Someone like you could never get through the Vance family’s front door!” The moment her words fell silent. A black Bentley glided silently to a stop beside us. The car door opened, and a tall, elegant woman stepped out. She quickly walked to my side, naturally draping a trench coat over my shoulders. She didn’t even spare Brooke a glance, simply gently ruffling my hair. “Alex, why are you still here? Grandma’s getting impatient.” Then, her gaze finally fell on Brooke. “Little brother, who is this?” I linked arms with Scarlett Vance, smiling brightly. “Oh, it’s nothing, Sis. Just a client who wanted to consult about a case and chatted with me for a bit.” Brooke was utterly frozen in place. She stared incredulously at Scarlett and me, at our intimate gestures, then at the luxury car that proclaimed their status. She wasn’t foolish. Of course, she recognized Scarlett Vance, the founder of the country’s top law firm, Vance & Co. And of course, she knew that Scarlett Vance had a younger brother, cherished by the entire Vance family. But she never in her wildest dreams imagined that brother would be *me*. Unbidden, the image of the young man in a prison uniform from her past life, his eyes vacant as he looked at her through the glass in the visitation room, flashed in her mind. And now, that same young man was smiling, linking arms with another woman, and sweetly calling her “Sis.” While she was still in a daze, I had already gotten into Scarlett Vance’s car. The next day, my assistant told me that Brooke Reed was trying to use various connections to have her corporation’s case transferred to the Department of Justice where I worked, hoping I would intervene as the prosecutor. Chloe tidied up my documents while complaining. “Mr. Vance, is this Brooke Reed crazy?” “The day before yesterday, she looked like she didn’t trust you at all, and today she’s practically throwing herself at you again.” “I bet she just realized you’re a Vance and wants to climb the social ladder!” I merely smiled, saying nothing. I signed my name on the case transfer request. I wanted to see what kind of act she was planning now.
At three in the afternoon, the entire Reed family, including Tyler, arrived promptly at my office. This time, they were summoned as family members of a suspect in the case. Twenty years hadn’t changed Tyler. He was still meticulously dressed, maintaining that innocent, delicate look that made people instinctively want to protect him. Brooke’s attitude was a hundred times more respectful than last time. “Mr. Vance, I was too impulsive last time. I apologize.” Mr. and Mrs. Reed stood awkwardly beside her, their eyes on me filled with complex emotions. I couldn’t be bothered with them. My gaze fell directly on Tyler. “The suspect stays. Family, please wait outside.” The office door closed, shutting out their sight. Only Tyler and I remained in the room. The innocent, pale look on his face vanished instantly. In its place was an undisguised expression of jealousy and malice. He eyed me up and down, a mocking smile playing on his lips. “Alex Reed. No, I should call you Alex Vance.” “Who would’ve thought, you’re really hard to kill.” “Thrown out by our family, and you still managed to climb up the Vance family’s high branches. What a skill.” I looked at him calmly, as if watching a pathetic clown. “Tyler Reed, this is an interrogation. Please maintain your composure.” My coldness seemed to infuriate him. He leaned back in his chair, continuing to provoke me with a sharp, sarcastic tone. “What? Being a prosecutor makes you special? Don’t you still have to watch enviously as I live a better life than you?” “Let me tell you, what if you’re a Vance now?” “In my sister’s heart, you’ll never compare to even my little finger!” “She only asked for you because she didn’t know you were *the* Mr. Vance. Don’t flatter yourself!”
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