On the day I turned a month old, the Fairchilds booked the most luxurious hotel in the entire city to host a banquet. I lay peacefully in my cradle. [These demons are definitely going to stir up trouble again today.]

Mom stood beside my cradle, gently patting my little tummy, her eyes filled with reassurance. While the guests were showering me with flattery, my fourth-oldest brother, Emerson Fairchild, my fifth-oldest brother, Evan Fairchild, and my sixth-oldest brother, Ezra Fairchild, walked in and gathered around Natalie.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to them.

Natalie wore an exaggerated pink puffy dress and a large rhinestone-encrusted bow on her head, hugging a teddy bear. "Ev, is it really okay for me to dress like this? Won't I steal Nev's spotlight?"

I almost threw up the milk from the night before. [Whose baby dresses like a pink poisonous mushroom that came to life?]

Evan was a racecar driver with the most flamboyant personality. He threw his arm around Natalie's shoulders. "You look great in everything you wear, Nat. You'll always be the most spoiled little princess in our family!"

Ezra was a painter, and he gently stroked Natalie's head. "Even though Nev's the guest of the hour, you are forever number one in your brothers' hearts."

The guests around them looked at one another in awkward silence.

Natalie skipped over to my cradle. "Happy one-month-old, Nev! I prepared a gift for you."

Then, she pulled out a rattle. "I bought this with my allowance. You won't dislike it, right, Nev?"

Batting her eyelashes, she abruptly swung the rattle toward my face. In the blink of an eye, a sharp spike on its edge went straight for my eye.

I lifted my eyelids disdainfully. [Seriously, this stunt again? Out of the eight worlds I fought my way through, five fake heiresses pulled this same stunt. Is your manual for stirring up trouble wholesale from the same supplier?]

Even though this body was sluggish, my combat instincts were still intact. I swung my chubby little arm and smacked the rattle aside. The sharp spike grazed right past my cheek.

In a heartbeat, Damian wrenched the rattle from her grip.

Natalie conveniently tumbled into Evan's embrace and burst into aggrieved tears. "Why did you take my gift, Mr. Lockwood? I just wanted to play with Nev. Why'd you hit me, Nev?"

Evan instantly flew into a rage. "How dare a lowly bodyguard like you lay a hand on Nat!"

Damian's expression was grim as he thrust the rattle in front of Evan's face. "Mr. Evan, if this spike had pierced Ms. Nevaeh's eye, they wouldn't just be 'playing around' anymore."

Evan was stumped for a moment before curling his lip indifferently. "Isn't it just a cheap toy that wasn't polished properly? It's not like Nat did it on purpose. Do you really need to blow things out of proportion like this?"

With that, he clapped his hands, and a waiter pushed a display case forward. Inside it sat a dazzling and radiant diamond tiara.

"Ignore them, Nat. This is a gift from Ezra and me. It might be Nev's one-month celebration, but you will forever be our little princess!"

The entire venue went into an uproar. This tiara had fetched an astronomical price at an auction just a few days ago.

Covering her mouth, Natalie was so thrilled that her tears were about to spill over. "Ev, Ez, this is way too expensive! I can't accept it... Nev will be upset." Even as she spoke, her eyes were glued to the tiara, as if she wished she could put it on her head right that instant.

Lying in my cradle, I watched them coldly. [Playing the big shot on Dad's dime just to disgust me… Do these fools really think the agreement's just for show?]

Mom let out a derisive chuckle before slamming her coffee mug heavily onto the table and bursting their little bubble. "Since he thinks a spiked toy is merely a trivial matter... Damian, pass down the word to lock up Evan's garage. He's banned from racing for the next three months. Send him to the team's logistics crew to work as a mechanic, and have him personally polish ten thousand parts."

Evan's expression changed drastically. "Mom, you can't—"

"Also, Ezra," Mom cut him off sharply, eyeing Ezra coldly. "Since you have so much free time on your hands, your touring art exhibitions for the second half of the year are completely canceled. Go to the suburban orphanage and paint exterior walls for free!"

Ezra trembled all over, his gentle and refined image shattering completely.

Noticing that things were going south, Natalie hastily hugged Evan's arm and started shedding tears again. "Mom, please don't blame Ev and Ez! This is all my fault. I don't want the tiara anymore. I'll give it to Nev…"

Mom looked at that astronomically expensive tiara, her eyes filled with nothing but mockery. With a flick of her wrist, she said, "Damian, since Natalie said she doesn't want it, go ahead and smash that eyesore of a thing! Let's see how much noise it makes."

Without a moment's hesitation, Damian brought a hammer down, shattering the display case into pieces. The invaluable tiara was crushed beyond recognition, its diamonds popping loose and pelting the ground in every direction.

In the blink of an eye, I turned two years old.

For the last two years, the Fairchild residence had been absolute chaos.

On this particular day, I was sitting in my stroller, sunbathing by the pool.

Natalie dragged my seventh-oldest brother, Elias Fairchild, over to the pool. "Eli, you spend way too much time typing away at your keyboard every day; you need to get some sun!"

When she turned her head and spotted me, a nasty look flashed across her eyes before she adopted an innocent expression. "You're out here soaking up the sun, too, Nev? Shall I push you over to the edge of the pool so you can look at the little goldfish?"

I sneered. [Goldfish, my ass. Who on earth raises goldfish in a swimming pool? If you're going to try to murder me, at least put some effort into the cover story. Honestly, she's got more water in her brain than there is in this damn pool.]

Natalie walked up behind my stroller, gripping the handlebars. Right at that moment, Damian stepped forward and stopped her. "Mrs. Fairchild has given strict instructions that you are not allowed near Ms. Nevaeh, Ms. Natalie."

Natalie pouted before turning to look at Elias and turning on the waterworks instantly. "Eli, look at them. I don't even have the right to go near Nev anymore…"

Elias' brows knitted, and his fingers flew across his keyboard. "Damian, you're just a bodyguard. Don't abuse your authority."

Damian stood his ground, unfazed. "This is stipulated in the agreement."

Elias scoffed. "What a load of bull. It's nothing but a bunch of broken systems!"

He slammed his finger down on the Enter key. "I just breached your security network. As of now, your communications are cut off, and your surveillance is fried. I'd love to see how you enforce the agreement without your precious system backing you up!"

Damian's expression changed slightly. The moment his hand went to his earpiece, Elias ambushed him with a stun pen, sending him crashing to the ground.

Natalie's eyes lit up when she saw that. She abruptly grabbed my stroller and shoved it toward the pool. "Nev, go look at the little goldfish!"

The wheels rolled rapidly, bringing me closer and closer to the edge. In the nick of time, a figure darted out from the side. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

A redheaded teenager grabbed my stroller and yanked it back. It was my eighth brother, Everett Fairchild, who had just returned from abroad. "Natalie, are you fucking insane? Are you trying to murder my younger sister?"

A murderous glint flashed in Natalie's eyes. Instead of backing off, she threw her entire body weight against the stroller.

With a loud splash, both my stroller and I were pushed into the deep end. Then, she collapsed to the ground, burying her face in her hands and sobbing loudly. "Why'd you push me, Ever? I was just trying to hold onto the stroller, but you pushed Nev in!"

Everett was just about to dive in to save me when Natalie tackled his legs, clinging to him for dear life while bawling her eyes out. "You bullied me the second you came back. What did I do to deserve this?"

Elias couldn't remain indifferent, after all. He had just rushed to the edge of the pool when Natalie clutched his pant leg. "Don't go over there, Eli! Ever has lost his mind. He'll push you in, too!"

Elias immediately shielded her behind his back. "You've gone too far, Everett! Nat was just keeping Nev company. Why'd you push her?"

Ethan and Elliot, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, also joined in to condemn Everett. "Everett, you cause trouble the second you set foot back home. Apologize to Nat right now!"

"You've seriously let us down. How did our family raise such a malicious creature like you?"

Stripped of any way to defend himself, Everett trembled with pure rage. "Are you guys fucking blind? She was the one who pushed the stroller! Where's the surveillance camera? Let's pull up the security footage!"

Elias stared at him blankly. "Save your breath. The security system just went down; it didn't catch a single thing."

Everett was beside himself with rage and panic. "What the hell are you all waiting for? Save her!"

Ethan and Elliot looked utterly confused. "Save who?"

Natalie immediately beat him to the punch, pointing at the pool and wailing, "Everett lost his mind. He pushed Nev into the pool. He almost pushed me in, too! Nev is probably... dead by now!"

While Ethan and Elliot forced Everett back into a corner until his eyes welled with frustrated tears, I sighed and crawled out of the pool on all fours. "You're all so noisy."

I looked coldly at these intellectually challenged brothers of mine. "Who said… the surveillance cameras… were down?"