Returning Heir: I Enforce the Family Rules

I have always been a stickler for the rules. In elementary school, our class holds an election for class president. The teacher ignores the vote and appoints the principal's son instead. I follow the school's rule that whoever receives the majority vote should win, gather all 42 students, and take the election straight to the principal's office to redo the vote. When I grow up and start working, my boss hands me a thousand-dollar expense receipt and orders me to file a ten-thousand-dollar reimbursement claim. I refuse, as it violates company policy. The manager laughs. "Here, whatever the boss says goes. Learn to bend when you can, or the company may decide it needs someone more obedient." I nod, write down my boss' exact words in the approval section, and forward the invoice to the tax authorities. "This is a new company policy. It's not my call. I'm sure you can decide whether it passes inspection." After that, no one ever asks me to break the rules again—not until the Sylvester family finds me, 25 years after I've gone missing. On the day I'm to be officially acknowledged as their biological son, I discover something strange in the family records. Among my parents' children, the adopted son who has taken my place is listed above me. "The day Mom and Dad adopted me, they added my name to the family records," Cameron Sylvester explains casually. "It'd be a hassle to change it now. You're not going to make an issue out of this, are you?" I look at him without an ounce of humor on my face. "What exactly are you asking me not to make an issue of? That your name is listed above mine so you can keep calling yourself my older brother, or that you have no intention of returning everything that belongs to me?" Cameron's smile stiffens. Dad frowns. "It's just an order of names. Do you really think we'd cheat you out of your inheritance?" I raise my eyes to him. "So, am I to understand that my parents know perfectly well that our family charter says the eldest legitimate son inherits the family business, yet they still intend to hand the right of succession to an outsider? "That'd violate the family charter. Don't you think so?" Chapter 1 The family chapel fell silent. The family elder who was holding the fountain pen kept it suspended over the family records, unable to bring himself to make the next stroke. Mom was the first to recover. "Cameron isn't an outsider. He's lived with us for 25 years and calls us Mom and Dad. You've only been back for a year. I can understand that you're still getting used to things." I looked at her. "So, I'm the one who's supposed to get used to things?" "That's not what I meant. "What did you mean, then?" Mom parted her lips, but no words came out. My elder sister, Vivian Sylvester, stepped forward and stood between us. "Harry, Mom hasn't been feeling well lately. Stop putting her on edge. Today is supposed to be a happy day. Do you really have to make things uncomfortable for everyone?" I turned to her. "This past year, how many times did you guys postpone my family recognition ceremony because you were allegedly too busy?" Vivian's expression shifted. I answered for her. "Three times. The first time, Cameron had to represent the group at a signing ceremony. The second time, he got into a car accident. "The third time, he had to host a welcome dinner for my fiancee, who had just returned to the country." Standing among the crowd, Serena Sadler clenched her fingers. She was the only daughter of the Sadler family and also the woman my family had arranged for me to marry before I went missing at the age of three. After I came home, Dad told me the engagement would remain unchanged. Yet in the past year, Serena had attended six different banquets with Cameron Sylvester, while supposedly having no time to attend a single one of my family recognition ceremonies. "Why are you dragging me into this?" she asked, frowning. "Cameron's accident was serious. He could've died. And the welcome dinner had been arranged long in advance. Delaying your ceremony by a few days won't change the fact that you're the Sylvester family's biological son." I nodded. "Exactly. If waiting a few more days won't change my identity, then moving Cameron's name down one spot won't change the 25 years you've spent loving him, either." Cameron's eyes immediately reddened. "Harry, don't make things difficult for them. I'm the one who took your place. I'll cross my name out right now." He reached for the fountain pen in front of the elder. Mom swiftly caught his wrist. "Who said you could do that?" Vivian stepped in front of him as well, shielding him from me. "Cameron, you've been the eldest son for 25 years. Why should you give up your place just because he decided to come back and ask for it?" I looked at her. "I decided to come back? Weren't you guys the ones who tracked me down?" Her breath caught. When the Sylvesters found me last year, Vivian had held me and cried for a long time. She told me that the day I went missing, she had been the one who let go of my hand. She said she had regretted it every night since and promised that from then on, she would make up for everything I had been deprived of. For the past year, however, I had been living in the guest room. Meanwhile, Cameron lived in the east wing, the residence traditionally reserved for the eldest son. The risk assessment I prepared for Sylvester Group was submitted under his name. Even the first gift Serena ever gave me had been chosen based on his preferences. Every time I questioned them, I got the same answer. They were either too busy to make a change or told me to wait a little more. "Cameron is used to things this way," they said. "You've been independent all these years. You should have an easier time adjusting than he does." Now, even the family records were the same. Cameron's name was above mine because he was "used to things". My name was below his because I was supposed to "get used to it". It was then that Zoe Larsson stepped out from behind Mom. She was four years older than me. When we were children, I used to follow her everywhere, treating her like an older sister. After I went missing, she spent years helping my family search for me. Yet in the year since I came home, every time she spoke to me was to defend Cameron. "Harry, it's true that Cameron ended up with things that should've been yours, but he didn't take them from you on purpose. He's been learning the family business from your father since he was a teenager. "You can't expect him to hand over everything he's built his life around all of a sudden. He just can't accept it." "And what about me?" I asked. She froze. "What about you?" "I went missing when I was three. It took 25 years for me to find out that I had parents, a sister, and a fiancee waiting for me. "I've been back for a whole year, yet I live in the guest room and work on projects for him. I've watched my fiancee attend banquet after banquet with him." I pointed at the family records. "And now, I'm supposed to accept being listed below him, too. Do you think I can accept all of that just because I'm better at putting up with things?" Zoe's lips parted. "You grew up on your own. Of course, you're mentally stronger than Cameron." I nodded. "So, people who can endure are just supposed to keep enduring forever. Is that another new rule in the family?" No one answered. Dad's face grew darker by the second. "Are you finished? Cameron has already agreed to transfer part of his shares to you. You've only been back for a year. You barely know how the group operates. "Did you really expect him to hand the entire company over to you?" "Does the family charter say the eldest son inherits the family business only after he becomes familiar with the business, or is that just your rule?" I asked. "Rules are rigid, but we, as humans, are flexible!" he argued. I took the family records from the elder. "Got it." Dad seemed to think I had finally backed down, and some of the tension left his face. But instead, I placed the document back on the ancestral altar. "If the rules can be changed whenever it's convenient for Cameron, I see no point in putting my name in the family records." Mom seized my arm. "Harry, what are you saying?" "It's been a year since you found me," I said. "You never cleared out a room for me. You never dealt with the engagement. You postponed my ceremony three times. And now, you can't even give me back my rightful position." I pulled my arm free. "It's not that you haven't had time to make things right. It's that every time making things right meant asking Cameron to give up something, you decided I could wait a little longer." Cameron's eyes were red as he looked at me. "Then what do you want me to do? Move out of the Sylvester residence and give everything back to you?" I shook my head. "I never asked you to leave. I'm simply taking back the place that belongs to me according to the Sylvester family charter. "If getting back what's mine means you have to leave… That only proves that everything you have now was built on the assumption that I'd never come back." Cameron's face went pale. "Once you've figured out how many eldest sons this family is supposed to have, let me know." Dad's voice rang out behind me. "If you walk out of this chapel today, don't expect us to beg you to come back!" I stopped. "Fine." Silence fell behind me. Chapter 2 The family recognition ceremony ended on a sour note. When we returned to the Sylvester residence, the butler carried my stuff into the guest room. A year had passed, yet the plaque on the door still read "Guest Room". Mom said they had been too busy to change it, yet Cameron's suite, the one traditionally reserved for the eldest son, had been renovated twice in the past six months. The first time was because Serena thought his study didn't get enough natural light. The second time was because Zoe was worried his old back injury couldn't handle the humidity. Vivian personally oversaw the renovations. She had even picked out his curtains. I asked the butler, "Who lives in the east wing?" He lowered his head. "Every eldest son of the Sylvester family has lived there." "Am I the eldest son of the Sylvester family?" Mom followed me into the room, sounding increasingly impatient. "There you go again. Camera has lived there for 25 years. If you make him move out, what would people say about him?" "What would people say about me when they see me living in the guest room, then?" She froze. Vivian happened to walk in. "Harry, no one sees you as a guest." I pointed at the plaque on the door. "What does that say?" She pressed her lips together. Cameron came running when he heard the commotion. "I'll move. I'll move tonight." Mom panicked. "What about your back?" Serena grabbed his arm as well. "The doctor said you can't sleep on a hard mattress." Cameron smiled bitterly. "I can't let Harry spend every day feeling like I stole everything from him, can I?" Vivian turned to me. "Cameron is willing to move out. Are you satisfied now?" I smiled dryly. "When he was occupying my room, I was supposed to adjust. Now that he's willing to give it back, somehow I'm the one forcing him. I only asked who the room was supposed to belong to." Her expression turned ugly. "Family isn't only about rules." I nodded. "Right. In the chapel where the rules apply, you tell me to consider sentiments. Now that we're home, you tell me not to be sentimental and be the bigger person instead. So, when exactly is Cameron expected to be the bigger person?" No one answered. Suddenly, Serena placed a gift box on the table. "Enough. Let's stop fighting. This is the gift I prepared for your ceremony." Inside the box was a luxury watch. Cameron wore one from the same brand, but his was a limited-edition model released in only a handful of pieces worldwide. Meanwhile, mine was the basic model anyone could buy off the shelf at an authorized retailer. Serena quickly explained herself, "Cameron has worn this brand for years, so I know it pretty well. I figured most men would like it as well." I closed the box. "Thanks." She visibly relaxed. Cameron smiled and patted my shoulder. "Serena always puts a lot of thought into her gifts. She went to several stores to find this. You'd better show your appreciation." I glanced at his wrist. "Did she buy yours too?" "Yeah." "When?" "On my birthday, three years ago." "Which model?" He named the model without hesitation. I turned back to Serena. "What model is mine?" She looked down to check the box, but still couldn't answer. The room fell silent. I handed the box back to her. "You remember his birthday, his preferences, and even the exact model of his watch. When it comes to buying me a gift, you simply picked the brand he wears. "How am I supposed to appreciate something like that?" Serena's face went pale. "Harry, we've only known each other for a year. Feelings take time." "Does our engagement take time, too?" Mom quickly chimed in. "Of course, the engagement still stands." "Then why has the engagement party been delayed for a year?" She was at a loss again. Three months after I first came home, the family had planned to hold an engagement party for Serena and me. Then Cameron got drunk and was involved in a car accident. In the end, she stayed at the hospital with him for three days. The engagement party was never mentioned again. Everyone said that saving a life came first. I did not argue with that; I simply wanted an answer now. "The engagement is with me," I said, pointing at Cameron. "But your feelings are for him. Is that what you're saying?" Serena's eyes reddened. Zoe immediately pulled her to her side. "Harry, do you have to be so harsh? Serena has been trying hard to accept you this whole year!" "Why does accepting me require so much effort?" I asked. "What about me is so difficult for her to accept?" Zoe was stumped. Vivian rubbed her temples. "Just stop. We're all tired." I nodded. "Fine." This was the first time in the entire year since I returned to the family that I didn't press for an answer. I closed the door to my guest room and sent a message to my former boss, Nathan Chapman. "Mr. Chapman, is the offer still on the table?" He replied almost immediately, "Of course." I glanced at the guest room I was in and replied, "I'll be back next week." Chapter 3 Dad had no idea I was planning to leave. The next day, he called me into the Sylvester Group conference room. The Westside Data Center was our biggest project of the year. Cameron was in charge of getting it off the ground, while I was responsible for the risk assessment. Dad said it was meant to help me get familiar with the family business as quickly as possible, but for the past three months, every risk report I prepared had been submitted under Cameron's name. If the project went smoothly, it was because of his ability. If something went wrong with the paperwork, I was the one expected to sign off as the head of risk management. This time was no different. Cameron slid the project commencement approval across the table. "Harry, sign here." I went through the documents. "The fire safety inspection is forged. The contractor was blacklisted last month. I can't sign this." Dad tapped his fingers against the table. "Start construction first. We'll sort out the paperwork afterward. The investors are already here. We can't afford to lose the upper hand." I pushed the documents back. "Whoever approved it can sign it." Cameron smiled bitterly. "I know you're still upset about what happened yesterday, but you have to learn to separate business from family matters." "I'm not upset," I said, pointing at the inspection certificate. "The seal is fake." Vivian, who headed the group's legal department, was also in the conference room. She took one look at the documents and closed the folder. "Sign it first. I'll figure out how to deal with the rest afterward." "How?" "We'll fix the paperwork." "And if it can't be fixed?" She was starting to lose patience. "I'm your sister. You think I'd put you in danger?" I looked at her. "Precisely because you're the head of the legal department, you know better than anyone what signing this could mean." She said nothing. Serena was there representing Sadler Group. She tried to persuade me. "Cameron has spent a year preparing for this project. Once the data center is up and running, he'll officially join the board. Don't hold him back at the very last step." "What about me?" I asked her. "What about you?" "If the project succeeds, he gets a seat on the board. If something goes wrong, I go to prison. Do you think that's fair?" She pursed her lips. "Nothing will go wrong." "Then let him sign it." Cameron's fingers tightened around the edge of the table. Zoe was also present, serving as the investment advisor. She had watched Cameron grow up, so even now, she instinctively defended him. "Harry, it's not that Cameron is afraid to sign. He's the heir. He cannot afford to have anything questionable on his record." I nodded. "But I can." The conference room fell silent. Dad slammed the approval document in front of me. "Our entire family supported you." "No, you didn't." His face darkened. "We gave you a place back in our family." "No. My name is still not in the family records." "We gave you money!" "No. Haven't touched a single dime in the bank account you gave me." With every answer, Dad's expression grew stormier. Finally, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Then tell me, what exactly have you gained from coming home over the past year?" I looked at Vivian, Serena, and Zoe. "I'd like to know, too." Cameron stood up, his eyes red. "Stop pressuring Harry. I'm not joining the board—that's it." Just then, Mom happened to walk into the conference room. When she heard him, she rushed over and pulled him into her arms. "You've worked hard for this for a year. Why should you give it up?" She whipped her head at me. "Harry, all you have to do is sign one document, while Cameron's future is on the line!" I closed the file. "I understand." Her expression softened as she assumed I had finally given in. To their surprise, I pulled a resignation letter from my briefcase. "This is my resignation from Sylvester Group. As of today, this project has nothing to do with me." Dad shot to his feet. "You wouldn't dare!" "Why not?" "Because you're family!" "I'm family when you need someone to take the blame. But when it comes to giving me a room, putting my name in the family records, or giving me the right to inherit the family business, I'm supposed to be understanding because Cameron's lived there for 25 years." I placed my employee ID on the table. "I can't live by those rules." An exasperated laugh escaped Dad. "Where can you even go after this?" My phone rang at that exact moment. Nathan only had one thing to say. "Mr. Sylvester, the board just voted unanimously. The partnership agreement for the risk management firm is waiting for your signature once you get back." I hung up. The smile on Dad's face froze. Chapter 4 The day I moved out of the Sylvester residence, I told no one. Calling it a move was generous because I only had two suitcases. A year ago, I had arrived with the same suitcases. Mom had bought the suits hanging in my closet. She accidentally ordered them in Cameron's sizes and decided to give them to me instead. The ties Vivian had given me were originally meant for Cameron. Even the family portrait on my desk was later re-edited to include me in the far right corner. Of course, Cameron sat in the center. I only took my identification documents and my laptop. I left the watch Serena had given me on the desk. The plaque on the door still read "Guest Room". It was fine. Once I was gone, they wouldn't have to change anything. The day I returned to my previous company, the data center officially broke ground. Cameron stood onstage in a tailored suit and cut the ribbon. Vivian handled the project's legal paperwork. Serena stood beside him and announced an additional investment from Sadler Group. Meanwhile, Zoe posted on social media. "Some only know how to create problems, while people who actually get things done solve them." In the photo, Cameron stood surrounded by everyone. He finally secured his seat on the board. Mom sent a video from the ceremony to the family group chat. "Cameron took the biggest step of his life today. If you still consider yourself part of the family, come back and apologize to him." I left the group chat. Back at the office, Nathan slid the partnership agreement across my desk. "The department was a complete mess after you left. Some said you were too rigid, but I happen to think risk management needs someone who can say 'no' to signing something that isn't right." I lowered my head and signed the partnership agreement. He looked at me. "What are you going to do about the Sylvesters?" "Nothing. "Is there really no going back?" "They don't need me," I said, capping my pen. "And I don't need their validation either." The Sylvester family, however, remained convinced that I was simply throwing a tantrum. On the third day of construction, the data center was hit with an unexpected inspection by the regulators. The fire safety inspection certificate was found to be fraudulent. Construction was shut down on the spot. The investors demanded that the head of risk management come forward. Cameron waited for me in the conference room for three hours. When I didn't show up, he finally called. "Harry, forget about the project for now. Dad says that if you come back and sign off, we can reconsider your position in the family records." "And after I sign?" "We just need to get through this crisis first," he replied. "Keep your name below mine for now. We can move it later when the time is right." I laughed. "You want me to take on the responsibilities of the eldest son, but you won't even give me the name. Cameron, you're much more flexible than I thought." Cameron's voice turned cold. "We're family. Do you really want to take things this far?" "You guys are. I'm not part of the family," I said before hanging up. That night, Dad sent one final ultimatum to the family group chat. "Tomorrow at 9:00 am, get your ass back to the company and sign the documents. If you don't show up, I'll have the family elder strike your name from the family records for good!" Vivian immediately followed. "Harry, don't push Dad this far." Serena tried to persuade me, too. "Cameron just joined the board. He cannot afford to be saddled with responsibility for the fraud right away." Zoe was more blunt. "You grew up alone out there. I'm sure all you ever wanted was a family. Once your name is removed from the family records, you'll regret it. By then, you'll have nowhere to go back to." Funnily enough, no one noticed I had already left the group chat. At 9:00 am the following day, I didn't show up at Sylvester Group. In front of the entire board, Dad called the family elder. "Strike Harry's name from the family records." Mom looked uneasy. "Shouldn't we wait a little longer?" He laughed coldly. "He spent 25 years out there waiting for us to acknowledge him. Give him a scare, and he'll come running back." Meanwhile, back at home, Vivian went to check my room. Less than a minute later, she dialed Dad. "Dad, all his things are gone." Overhearing the conversation, Mom panicked. "What do you mean? When did he move out?" On the other end of the line, the butler, who had been handed the phone, answered softly, "Yesterday morning."