Proving Kinship: Who's the Billionaire's Real Son?

A man by the name of Michael Burke shows up one day. He gathers four of us who had grown up in the orphanage and introduces himself as the secretary to John Ferguson, the richest man in town. According to him, John's real son had been mistakenly switched as a baby 20 years ago. Anyone who can prove that he's the long-lost son will get to inherit the Ferguson family's entire billion-dollar fortune. The first time around, Luke Carter, ever the manipulative schemer, tricks me into handing over the locket I've had since arriving at the orphanage. He uses it to prove his identity to the Fergusons, but they end up ripping him into pieces. "You're a fake!" Somehow, the four of us are reborn after that. This time, Simon Davis, whose friendship was superficial at best, gets a tattoo of my birthmark and uses that to claim that he's the Fergusons' long-lost son. They end up skinning him alive. "We know you're a fake!" Third time isn't the charm. Tom Egan, my archrival, takes out a loan and pays for plastic surgery to give himself a face that resembles Mrs. Ferguson's. However, the Fergusons throw him into a cage and let a ferocious dog maul him to death. In our fourth life, all three of them are too scared to usurp my identity. They immediately deliver me right to the Fergusons' doorstep. When everyone sees the DNA report that proves I'm the Fergusons' long-lost son, they think that their nightmare has finally ended. But on my very first night back home, the Fergusons push me off the balcony. "Anyone who tries to steal our son's identity deserves to die!" … My eyes open yet again. Michael is standing in front of us, smiling as he asks which one of us is the Fergusons' son. Everyone backs away in horror, insisting that it's not them. "But we've already looked into it. We know that the family's long-lost son grew up in this orphanage," Michael says, his voice strangely ominous. Chapter 1 The four of us stared at the photocopy of the asset transfer agreement with a look of pure horror. Our ages matched that of the Ferguson family's long-lost son, and all four of us died after trying to claim that identity. Since that was the case, did the family's biological son really grow up in our orphanage? The conniving Simon Davis looked at Mr. Ferguson's secretary, Michael Burke, and asked tentatively, "Is it possible that you guys came to the wrong place? Maybe the real son never came to this orphanage." "Mr. Ferguson made sure a proper investigation was conducted," Michael replied. "His biological son did grow up in Sunshine Children's Home. We just don't know which one of you he is, but there is no doubt that he is among you." Pointing at the photocopy of the agreement, he added, "Mr. Ferguson has already prepared the asset transfer agreement. As long as you can prove your identity, you can sign it and immediately inherit the family fortune." Luke Carter had always dreamed of living a life of luxury, but he swiftly backed away and vehemently shook his head. "It's definitely not me! I… I'm actually a lot older than my recorded age!" Simon, who'd made it his lifelong mission to outdo me, lifted his shirt to reveal his lower back. "You said the Fergusons' son has a birthmark on his lower back, right? Well, I don't have one, so it's definitely not me!" Tom Egan, my archrival, also exposed his lower back and, just to cover all his bases, even started spouting a bunch of nonsense. "I'm actually female by birth. I went for gender reassignment surgery to become a man. Since I was born a girl, there's no way I'm the long-lost son." Once the three of them had all spoken, they exchanged a look between them and abruptly shoved me forward. Michael looked me over from head to toe. "Then it must be you, Mr. Smith. After all, you do bear some resemblance to Mrs. Ferguson. I'll need you to come with me now." A chill ran down my spine. Was it too late to disfigure my face? In my previous life, I'd felt pretty pleased with myself when I found out that Mrs. Ferguson and I looked alike. I thought that none of their desperate attempts to impersonate the Fergusons' son could compare to my trump card—my face. Besides, I was indeed the Fergusons' biological son. I had thought that I'd finally found my biological parents. I had thought that I was about to inherit a billion-dollar fortune and finally have the chance to crush all three of them beneath my feet. But immediately after checking the DNA report, the Fergusons pushed me off the balcony. The impact turned my body into a bloody heap. Their faces were twisted with rage as they scowled at me. "We'll never allow anyone to impersonate our precious son!" I would never be able to forget the agony of having every bone in my body shatter at the same time. And no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't figure out why this had happened. There was no denying that I was their real son. The DNA report hadn't been tampered with either, so why did they still say I was a phony? Snapping out of my thoughts, I tried to deny being the Fergusons' son, but Michael didn't try to force me into going with him. He thoughtfully said, "I know you might be upset with Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson for taking this long to find you, but they had only recently learned the truth." Chapter 2 "Why don't you take a little more time to process this?" Michael suggested. "Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson will come over in three days to bring you home themselves." He took his leave, but he left behind the photocopy of the asset transfer agreement for the Fergusons' billion-dollar fortune. No one would have any complaints if they were handed a massive fortune just like that—but in the first place, one had to stay alive to be able to enjoy the wealth. The four of us, who normally spent all our time sabotaging one another, fell silent. In the end, without anyone having to suggest it, we all sat down to have a proper discussion. They had all seen the birthmark on my lower back. Luke had even found the locket in my suitcase, which was said to have belonged to the Fergusons' real son. Plus, there was my face, too. There was no question as to who the real son was. That was exactly why the three of them had a hard time grasping the situation as well. "So you're saying that even the DNA test proved that you're biologically related to them... but they still killed you?" "Have you guys forgotten about it already?" I snapped back irritably. "You guys came to collect my body, but there was nothing but a pile of broken bones for you to claim! Why are you still questioning me about it?" Luke sighed. "Well, you're not wrong about that. After seeing that gruesome sight, I ended up having nightmares for days!" Tom frowned. "You think we're questioning whether you were really killed? Isn't it obvious that we're questioning why they treated you like a fake when you're obviously the real deal?" Nobody knew the answer. Even though the four of us put our heads together, we couldn't come up with a plausible explanation. "What should we do now?" Luke asked, his expression troubled. "The four of us are the only ones who match the age profile. There's no one else in the orphanage who might be their son. "And with how psychopathic that entire family is, I'm starting to think that if no one admits to being their son three days from now, they'll kill us all." It went without saying that none of us wanted to die. After considering every possible move, I made a suggestion. "Ms. Palmer has records of every child who stayed in the orphanage. Maybe we can comb through the information and see if there's been some kind of a mix-up. Maybe someone has already adopted the real son, and it's just a coincidence that I share a resemblance to him." To survive, everyone was willing to consider every possibility. We all marched right over to see Ms. Palmer, the orphanage director, in her office. Luke had always been her favorite. All he had to do was cajole her for a bit, and she allowed us to check the records. We pored over the file in the orphanage, checking both the ones who'd been adopted and the ones who hadn't. Alas, the four of us were truly the only ones whose ages matched. Ms. Palmer informed us that we'd only been a few months old when we were abandoned at the orphanage entrance, so there was no mistake about our ages. She also revealed another piece of information to us. As it turned out, Mr. Ferguson was certain that his real son had grown up in this orphanage because the housekeeper who'd switched the babies had said it herself. A wave of despair washed over me. "So the real son really is one of us." Simon immediately removed himself from consideration, pointing out, "Technically, it can only be you." I scoffed. "You think the three of you can walk away from this unscathed?" Their faces paled. All four of us had died at the hands of the Fergusons before, and all for the same reason. The three of them had even been killed the moment they claimed to be the long-lost son. None of us dared to take the risk and see if we'd be spared if we just denied being the Fergusons' son. Gritting my teeth, I said, "There's one more option." With three pairs of skeptical eyes on me, I continued in a clear voice, "I'll meet the Fergusons and see if I can unearth their secret." The three of them were deeply touched. They vowed to visit my grave each year and raise a glass in my honor on the anniversary of my death. I was not at all moved by their gesture. As it was, I wasn't trying to sacrifice myself for them anyway. More than any of them, I couldn't understand why the Fergusons thought I was an impostor. If they didn't want to bring me back into the family, they could've just gone on with their lives, pretending that they didn't know about my existence. Why did they dangle the family fortune in front of me to lure me back before killing me? I'd read a lot of stories about kids who got switched at birth and parents who ended up favoring the child they'd raised instead of their biological one. Yet none of them ever involved a twist such as this one. And, knowing how vicious the Fergusons were, I didn't dare walk right up to their doorstep. Chapter 3 I only made my move after finding out that the Fergusons would be dining at an upscale restaurant. Surely they wouldn't commit murder in a public setting with plenty of other people around. I'd done all kinds of jobs to earn money, so I happened to be acquainted with one of the restaurant's staff members. As a result, I got in without a hitch. When I deliberately walked past the Fergusons, making sure they got a good look at my face, Mrs. Ferguson immediately grabbed my arm in agitation. "Wait a minute! Did you grow up in Sunshine Children's Home?" Even though she was smiling, every hair on my body stood on end. Still, I pretended to be startled. "That's right. And you are…" Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson exchanged a glance. The two of them stood up, each taking one of my hands affectionately. "You've come to reunite with us, haven't you?" They repeated the whole story about how I had ended up getting switched as a baby. Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at us. Keeping my expression stiff, I asked, "Are you sure I'm your biological son?" The two of them stared intently at my face, the excitement in their eyes sending a shiver down my spine. "You look so much like me!" Mrs. Ferguson exclaimed before yanking up my shirt while I was distracted. "And look! You have the birthmark, too! Why don't you come home with us tonight?" I became even more terrified—because I'd just realized something. They'd said a lot of things up until now, but they never actually said outright that I was their biological son. They were just in a hurry to take me home with them! Doing my best to stay calm, I asked with feigned joy, "Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson, is that why you think I'm your son?" Seeing my doubtful expression, the two of them started to scrutinize me. "What's with you, you silly boy? You've already come to reunite with us, haven't you? And you have the birthmark and the features that prove you're our son, so why are you still asking us such questions?" I could barely stop myself from frowning. They were still giving me maddeningly vague answers without actually addressing my question head-on. Just when I was about to continue sussing them out, Mrs. Ferguson suddenly burst into tears, declaring, "It has to be you! Who else could it be? We're taking you home right this minute so that we can make it up to you for letting you suffer on your own for 20 years." They were looking at me with eagerness and agitation, their eyes a little teary. Growing up in the orphanage, I didn't get bullied or abused, but life wasn't easy either. There had been times when I was so starved that I even had to fight the stray dogs for food scraps. At school, the others mocked me and pushed me around because I had no parents. Because of that, I used to dream of having a family of my own. I didn't need them to be rich. I just wanted someone who would stick up for me when other people hurt me. So when the Fergusons showed up at the orphanage, I'd been pretty excited. If they were willing to give me the entire family fortune, that meant they must love me very much, right? But that very night, they pushed me off the balcony without any hesitation. "How dare you impersonate our son to enjoy our family's wealth, you vicious liar! What gives a bastard like you with no parents the audacity to set your sights on things that don't belong to you, huh? You can go to hell!" The painful memories left me unnervingly calm. I tried to figure out why they acknowledged me as their real son, only to deny it afterward. Had I done something to cause a misunderstanding? Out of nowhere, Mrs. Ferguson yanked on my arm and tried to pull me out of the restaurant. In her hurry, she knocked over the desserts on the table. But that didn't stop her. Her reaction made me narrow my eyes. Suddenly, an answer came to me. My voice trembled as I said, "The real son is—" Mrs. Ferguson cut me off. "It's you, of course!" Her nails dug into my arm, and the look in her eyes terrified me. "Why do you still have doubts about it?" Chapter 4 Mr. Ferguson shoved Mrs. Ferguson aside before looking at me with a kindly smile. "Your mother is just a little emotional because she's missed you so much. You don't need to be scared. I've already contacted our lawyer. Once you come home with us, you can sign the agreement and inherit the family's entire billion-dollar fortune. Consider it our way of making up for all your suffering." I'd never been more alarmed than I was at that moment. I hastily plucked a hair from my head and handed it over to them. I told them that I would wait until the DNA results confirmed our relationship before returning to the family, as I didn't want to get my hopes up prematurely. Once I fed them the excuse, I hurried off at once. The restaurant was packed, so the Fergusons didn't come after me. When I got back to the orphanage, Luke, Simon, and Tom immediately surrounded me. "So what's the secret?" "I don't know," I said, groaning. The three of them looked like they were on the verge of breaking down. Gaze hollow, they started mumbling, "Even if we pool our money together, we still can't afford a single flight ticket. We can't even make a run for it." "Why don't we just take our own lives? That's still better than being murdered by someone else." Nevertheless, none of them could actually bring themselves to do that. Luke grabbed all of our wrists. "Look, why don't we just dissolve a bunch of sleeping pills in some water, and we can all drink it together. That probably won't be very painful, right?" I hastily reassured them, "It's not a lost cause yet! Someone still needs to admit to being the Fergusons' son. I'll do it." The three of them looked at me like I had lost my mind. "Why are you saying that you'll do it when you know you'll die if you do? What's the point?" "Are you that greedy? You'd throw your life away just for money?" Memories of the horrific ways the three of them had died came flooding back to all of us. One had been ripped into pieces. Another had been skinned alive. And the third had been mauled to death by a dog. Each of them had died most painfully, and I was no exception. I was still alive when my body hit the ground. I had to suffer the excruciating agony of having every bone in my body broken, painfully aware that my life was slowly coming to an end. The so-called billion-dollar fortune had been our one-way ticket to hell. Clutching the photocopy of the asset transfer agreement, I declared in a firm voice, "Yes. I know I'll be walking to my doom if I knock on the Fergusons' door and claim that I'm their son. But this is also our only chance of making it out of this alive." But they didn't understand what I was saying. "Why do you say that?" I glanced at them but didn't bother explaining. At the moment, I wasn't even sure if I would succeed in exposing the truth. I figured that it would be better if I kept it a secret from them. That way, even if I failed, I could at least buy them some time to make their escape. I gave them all of my savings. "Buy whatever ticket you can to skip town. Do it as fast as possible. That's all you need to do right now." Luke teared up. "You don't actually have a plan, right? You're just trying to buy us time to escape?" "When did you become such a saint? Don't even think about it!" Simon snapped at me. Even Tom slammed his hand on the table. "They've already locked on to all of us. There's no way we can escape. Just tell us your plan—tell us how we can help." I was surprised and a little moved. Ever since we were kids, the four of us had always been competing with one another. We fought over everything and hated seeing any of the others do well. But now that I thought about it, we'd never caused any real harm to each other. Meanwhile, my so-called biological parents had killed me without a hint of hesitation, condemning me to a miserable and agonizing death. Seeing how they were standing by me, I decided not to hide what I knew from them. "In her rush to drag me back to their house, Mrs. Ferguson knocked over the desserts on the table, and that allowed me to realize the truth. The long-lost son of the Ferguson family really did grow up in the orphanage, and he's someone you all know." Under their expectant gazes, I finally gave them the answer.