I was out wandering the streets with my brother, Ethan Stone, when a streamer suddenly rushed over with her camera crew and shoved the lens right in his face.

"Congrats, handsome! You just got picked as today's lucky passerby. You'll get 100 bucks if you work as my servant for three days!"

Before my brother could even respond, she barked orders at her team. They forced an apron and rubber gloves onto him and shoved a bucket full of rags into his hands.

"First task: clean my shoes!"

I had never seen Ethan look this pathetic before. I was already cracking up when I noticed the veins at his temple start to bulge.

Oh, boy. The devil of Avensville was pissed.

The streamer's assistant caught it, too.

She crept over nervously, tugging at our sleeves as she whispered, "We're live right now. That's the heiress of Stone Corporation, the only daughter of the richest man in the city. If you offend her, you won't survive in Avensville."

Wait a second. She was the Stones' only daughter? Then what were Ethan and I supposed to be?

I pulled out my phone and called my father, Arnold Stone.

"Dad, did you disown Ethan or something? Have you finally decided to leave the whole inheritance to me?"

My brother, Ethan Stone, was the billionaire CEO of a multinational empire, the so-called devil of Avensville's business world.

And right now, he was wearing pink rubber gloves, holding a filthy plastic bucket with two blackened rags floating inside.

His face, usually as cold and unmoving as ice, was now as dark as a stormy cloud.

The one responsible, the influencer claiming to be the Stone heiress, was smiling brightly at the camera like she was having the time of her life.

"Guys! This is today's lucky winner!"

The livestream chat was flying by.

[Holy crap, the heiress is savage! This guy's ridiculously hot, but even he has to bow to money!]

[Guess this is how the rich keep themselves entertained!]

Ethan took a slow breath. Those hands that usually signed billion-dollar deals were now gripping the bucket handle so tightly that they turned white at the knuckles.

I stood off to the side, holding back laughter so hard that my stomach hurt.

Ethan was obsessively clean. If a housekeeper left so much as a fingerprint while cleaning, he would stare them down with a freezing gaze until they nearly broke.

And now, he was being told to scrub someone's shoes in the middle of the street.

"Miss." Ethan's voice dropped low, calm in a way that felt like a storm was about to hit. "I never agreed to play your little game. Move."

He tossed the bucket onto the ground. Dirty water splashed out, and a few drops landed on Julia Stone's white shoes.

"Ah!"

Julia shrieked and jumped back.

"Are you blind? Do you even know what these shoes cost? They're limited edition! You couldn't afford them in a million years!"

The two burly bodyguards behind her stepped forward immediately, shoving Ethan.

"Watch how you talk to Ms. Stone. You didn't even bother asking around? In Avensville, nobody disrespects the Stones!"

Ethan staggered half a step, and his eyes turned cold and dangerous.

That was the look he'd have right before things went bad.

My heart skipped. Sure, seeing him get knocked down a peg was satisfying, but if this girl kept pushing, things were about to get ugly.

Her assistant, who had been hiding in the corner, must have felt it, too. She hurried over, trembling, and tugged at my sleeve.

"Miss, please just back down…" Kylie Mack's voice shook like a leaf. "She really is the Stone heiress, the richest man's only daughter. He spoils her rotten. The last time someone talked back to her, they got fired the next day and blacklisted from the entire industry…"

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the arrogant woman in front of me.

The Stone heiress? The richest man's only daughter?

I immediately pulled up her livestream on my phone and saw her name.

Julia Stone.

I snorted. Seriously? Even her name was close to mine.

I turned to Ethan and gave him a look. Since when did our father secretly create a whole extra daughter behind our backs?

Ethan let out a cold laugh. He calmly peeled off the pink gloves and flicked them straight into Julia's face.

Smack!

The sound was sharp. The entire scene went silent.

"The Stone heiress?" Ethan's lips curled slightly, his tone dripping with mockery. "Since when did my father have a daughter like you?"

Julia froze when the gloves hit her.

A few seconds later, she let out a piercing scream.

"You hit me? You actually hit me! Do you even know who I am?!"

She turned to the camera, tears spilling on cue like she had flipped a switch, her acting worthy of an award.

"Guys! Did you see that? He started it!"

The livestream exploded, the screen filling with insults aimed at Ethan.

[Let's dox him! Who does he think he is, hitting Ms. Stone?]

[You can tell he hates rich people. He's disgusting!]

[Call the cops! Get him arrested!]

Seeing the crowd turn in her favor, Julia got even more arrogant. She pointed right at Ethan's face.

"If you don't drop to your knees, clean my shoes, and apologize properly, neither of you is walking away from here today!"

The two bodyguards cracked their knuckles, clearly ready to jump in.

Ethan was about to snap, so I quickly stepped in front of him and blocked his arm.

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't protecting Julia. I just didn't want Ethan throwing a punch and sending her straight to the ICU. If that happened, she would latch onto us and never let go.

"Hold on!" I called out, pulling out my phone. "If you're really the Stone heiress, let's verify that right here."

In front of everyone, I dialed the contact labeled "Dad."

He picked up after two rings.

"Hello? Sweetheart! Why are you calling me right now? Are you running low on money? I just transferred four million into your account. Go buy yourself something nice…"

On the other end, the richest man in Avensville sounded absurdly eager to please, like an over-the-top butler.

I put the call on speaker, his voice echoing clearly through the street.

Ethan's expression darkened even further.

I cleared my throat and asked loudly, "Dad, quick question. Did you secretly have another daughter out there without telling Ethan and me?"

"Another what?" my father sounded completely confused. "Honey, what are you even talking about? Your mother's the only woman I've ever been with. Where would I get a secret daughter from? I swear I'm telling the truth!"

I glanced at Julia, whose face had gone pale, and pressed on.

"That's weird. There's a Julia Stone standing right in front of me, claiming she's your only daughter and that you really spoil her. She even said she's going to take Ethan as her personal servant and make sure we can't survive in Avensville."

There was a three-second silence on the other end.

Then came my father's cold laugh. "Impersonating my daughter? And she's bullying Ethan, too? That's interesting. I'll look into this right now. Where are you? Just come home first. Don't waste your time on a lunatic."

I hung up and smiled at Julia. "Did you hear that, 'Ms. Stone'?"

Julia's face shifted between pale and flushed. A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes before greed and stubborn denial took over.

She lifted her chin and sneered at the camera.

"Please! Anyone can hire some old guy to act. You think a phone call is enough to scare me?"

I just stared at her.

I used to think people this dumb only existed in scary movies. As it turned out, they were real.

When I didn't respond, Julia took it as fear. She smugly flipped her hair, her gaze sliding openly over Ethan.

He was wearing a simple white dress shirt today. It was stained now, but his broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and that cold, untouchable face still made him stand out.

Julia swallowed, her expression turning slick.

"Hey, handsome." She reached out, trying to touch his chest. "I was a little harsh earlier. Hope I didn't scare you. Be my personal attendant. That hundred bucks I offered was just a tip. Stick with me, and I'll make sure you've got luxury cars and mansions."

Her fingers moved toward the buttons on his shirt.

"Don't touch me." Ethan stepped back, disgust flashing in his eyes, as if he was looking at something filthy. "You're disgusting."

Ethan's comment completely set Julia off.

"You ungrateful jerk!" She snapped her hand forward. "Get him! If he doesn't know his place, teach him! Hold them both here. Nobody's leaving until this livestream is finished!"

Her two bodyguards charged in at once, one from each side, reaching to grab Ethan.

"Stop!"

Kylie suddenly rushed out, throwing herself in front of us with her arms spread wide, tears trembling in her eyes.

"Julia, please, just let it go! They don't look like ordinary people. If this turns into something serious…"

Smack!

Julia swung her hand and slapped Kylie hard across the face.

"You traitor! I pay you to work for me, not tell me what to do! Get out of my way!"

Kylie hit the ground, a streak of blood at the corner of her mouth. She clutched her cheek but still cried out to us, "Run! You can't win against her!"

That slap lit a fire in me. I joked around a lot, but I couldn't stand seeing someone pick on the weak.

Not right in front of me.

Ethan's expression changed completely. He calmly undid his cufflinks and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing lean, solid forearms.

"Juliet." He glanced at me, his voice quiet in a way that made the air feel heavy. "Step back."

I knew someone was about to regret their life choices.

"Ethan, just don't kill them. Leave them breathing so Dad can deal with it." I stepped back two paces and helped Kylie up from the ground.

The two bodyguards didn't take Ethan seriously at all. They grinned and lunged at him.

The next second, two dull impacts rang out.

Thud, thud!

No one even saw how Ethan moved. The two six-foot-three brutes flew backward, crashing into a trash can by the curb and staying down, unable to get back up.

Ethan dusted off imaginary dust from his sleeve, then walked toward Julia one step at a time. He looked down at her, his gaze cold and distant, as if she were nothing.

"You said you were going to teach me a lesson?"

Julia scrambled back in panic. Her heel twisted, and she dropped hard onto the ground.

"D-Don't come any closer! Someone help!" she screamed into the camera, her voice breaking. "Call the police! This lunatic is trying to kill me!"

The livestream chat went wild; people were stunned by what they had just seen. Some cheered, and some called him violent. The screen was a complete mess.

Ethan crouched down and grabbed Julia's chin with his fingers, forcing her to look up at him.

"How about I teach you the Stones' rules instead?"

His voice was cold as ice.

"No one gives me orders except my sister. And one more thing."

He let go of her face with obvious disgust, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his hand, then tossed it onto her face.

"Pretending to be a Stone… You really think you can get away with that?"

Julia trembled under his presence, tears and snot running together as her carefully done makeup smeared into a mess, leaving her looking ridiculous.

Even so, she was a seasoned influencer. She wasn't easily rattled.

After that brief flash of fear, she realized this was the perfect chance to play the victim.

She collapsed onto the ground and cried toward the camera.

"I can't take this anymore! I was just trying to make good content! I'm the Stone heiress. I've been spoiled my whole life. I've never been treated like this! Just because you can fight doesn't mean you get to bully a woman! I'm going to have my dad blacklist you! I'll make sure the entire internet blacklists you!"