Chapter 2

"Ava, watch how you talk to your brother!" Arthur snapped at her.

"Brother?" Ava lifted her chin, her eyes starting to well up. "I don't have a brother who's a rapist."

The word "rapist" hit the room like a switch — everything went quiet. Then the relatives snapped back to reality and started piling on all at once.

"Arthur, have you lost your mind?" Lena Collins stood up. "Julian comes here for the first time today, and you bring someone like this? Are you trying to embarrass everyone?"

"Exactly. After what he did back then, he stopped being family. He's only back because he heard Ava found a rich boyfriend. He's here for money, obviously." Another relative jumped in right away.

Leon watched them calmly. Five years had thrown every kind of insult at him — this little bit of mockery couldn't touch him.

"Everyone shut up! It's my birthday, this is my house, and none of you have any right to lecture my son!" Arthur grabbed a glass off the table and slammed it on the floor.

The sharp crack of breaking glass finally silenced the room, though the contempt in their eyes didn't go anywhere.

"Dad, please don't get upset — your health comes first." Julian stood up, straightened his jacket, and walked over to Ava with a smile, giving her shoulder a pat.

"You must be Leon. Ava's mentioned you." Julian turned to look at him. "Let's leave the past in the past. Everyone makes mistakes." He glanced back at Ava. "Sweetheart, he just got back. Since Mr. Collins wants him to stay, let's just let him sit down and have dinner."

"You're so sweet." Ava said warmly, then turned a cold look toward Leon. "You heard him. If it weren't for Julian, you wouldn't have even gotten through the door. Leon, come outside with me."

She walked toward the balcony without looking back.

Leon patted Arthur's hand gently. "Dad, it's fine. I'll go talk to her."

He followed her out. The rain hadn't let up, and the evening wind carried a chill. Ava stood with her arms crossed, her back to him.

"The night they took you away five years ago, I stood outside the police station in the rain all night." Ava didn't turn around, her voice slightly unsteady. "I begged the officers to let me see you. I told everyone there was no way you could do something like that to a woman you didn't even know."

"But then the evidence was right there — the blood report, the surveillance footage... all pointing to you. I completely fell apart." She turned around, a cold smile on her face. "I was proud of you for twenty years, and you threw it all away in the most disgusting way possible. From that day on, you stopped being my brother."

Leon said nothing. He just looked at her quietly.

"That night, Martin drugged me." His voice was calm, with no trace of desperation. With the power he held now, one word from him could make Martin pay. But Leon knew that saying any of this right now, Ava wouldn't believe a single word.

To everyone in San Francisco, Martin was the undisputed king of business — virtually untouchable.

Ava let out a cold laugh. "Drugged? You're still using that excuse?"

"I brought you out here because there are things I need to say to you directly." Ava took a deep breath. "My fiancé Julian is the heir to Firmament Property. They're going public soon, and he can take me into a whole different world."

"I know Dad always favored you growing up — he even had ideas about pairing the two of us together. But things are different now. You can't even hold down a regular job, and I'm about to step into high society. We haven't been living in the same world for a long time."

"So I'm warning you — stay away from me and my family. If you try to use Dad's feelings to get close to me, or do anything to mess up my relationship with Julian, Julian has more than enough ways to make sure you can't stay in San Francisco. Do you understand?"

When she finished, Leon's mouth curved into a slight smile.

"Done?" His expression didn't change. "Ava, you think too highly of yourself. I came back to see Dad. That's it. As for you —"

He paused, his voice steady. "Who you date, what circles you move in — none of that is my business. What happened five years ago, I stopped caring about it a long time ago."

"And one more thing — don't make assumptions about me. And tell that fiancé of yours, he'd better not come looking for trouble with me."

He turned and walked back inside.

Ava stood frozen on the balcony, jaw tight with anger. She had expected Leon to grovel and beg. She hadn't expected him to be this completely unbothered.

Inside, Martha was getting everyone seated. The head of the table was left for Arthur, but he insisted on pulling Leon down beside him, which made the other relatives visibly annoyed.

Julian noticed Ava come back in with a dark expression. He picked up a glass of red wine and strolled around to the other side of the table.

"Leon, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier. I'm Julian." Julian extended his right hand, tilting his wrist just enough to show off a limited-edition mechanical watch. "I heard you just got out. That must've been rough — prison's no easy place."

He drew out the word "prison" just a little longer than necessary.

Leon leaned back in his chair and glanced at the outstretched hand. He didn't stand up — just reached out casually. It was Arthur's birthday. He didn't want to make things harder for him, so he'd give him that much.

Their fingertips were almost touching.

Julian yanked his hand back.

He pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped the back of his hand with visible disgust, brow furrowed:

"Sorry, Leon — I'm a bit of a germaphobe. When I think about everything your hands have touched in there over five years, and what you did five years ago... my hand just pulls back on its own."

Julian raised an eyebrow with a look of casual superiority and dropped the handkerchief into the trash can by Leon's feet. The relatives around the table burst out laughing, watching the whole thing over their drinks.

"Mr. Klein is hilarious." Lena covered her mouth, giggling.

Martha grinned too. "Julian, why bother with someone like him? Come sit down and eat."

Arthur slapped the table and started to rise. Leon placed a hand on his shoulder — and Arthur felt a firm, steady pressure that held him right in his seat.

Leon stayed where he was, looking up at Julian with a calm, even gaze.

The little performance over, Julian walked back to Ava's side and snapped his fingers.

A driver in a black suit came through the door carrying a gift box printed with dark gold patterns.

"Mr. Collins, today is your birthday. I heard you collect pipes." Julian looked around the room and slowly lifted the lid.

Resting on red velvet was a beautifully crafted briar pipe.

"I pulled some strings to have this made by a master craftsman in Naples, Italy. Limited to fifty pieces worldwide — this one is number seven." Julian smiled. "It also comes with two tins of tobacco sourced directly from a Cuban estate. The whole set runs about a hundred thousand dollars. Just a small token — I hope you'll accept it."

A hundred thousand dollars.

The number sucked the air out of the room. A hundred thousand dollars — enough to buy half an apartment in East San Francisco.

"Oh my God, a hundred-thousand-dollar pipe — you really shouldn't have!"

"Ava is so lucky to have found someone this generous."

Martha was beaming. Before Arthur could even think about refusing, she scooped the box into her arms. "Julian, you really didn't have to do this."

Ava lifted her chin and glanced across the table, waiting to see the embarrassment on Leon's face.

The flattery kept coming in waves. Lena's eyes shifted, and she smoothly steered the conversation toward Leon:

"Julian brings a hundred-thousand-dollar gift on his very first visit. I wonder — Leon's been away for five years and made a special trip back today. What did he bring?"

Every head in the room turned toward that lean figure, all of them wearing the same look — waiting for the punchline.