Chapter 4

The news that I had signed the high-stakes agreement spread like wildfire through the company.

Everyone thought I had gone mad.

My father was so angry his blood pressure spiked, and he was admitted to the hospital that night.

In the hospital room, he pointed at my nose and cursed. "Ungrateful child! Are you trying to drive our family to ruin?"

"Even your brother wouldn't dare sign such an agreement with Sean when he was alive. Who do you think you are!"

My mother wiped her tears beside him. "Liam, tell mom the truth. Did you really... hurt your brain? We can beg Sean to withdraw the agreement..."

"Beg?" I let out a cold laugh. "When did you ever see Liam Lane beg anyone?"

That sentence left them speechless.

Liam was a genius, a prodigy. He had his pride.

He never bowed his head.

My mother stared at me blankly, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "You... you just now, you really looked like your brother."

My father fell silent too.

Just then, Rachel walked in carrying a fruit basket.

Seeing the tense atmosphere in the room, she spoke up tactfully. "Uncle, Aunt, don't blame Liam. I believe in him. He must have his own plans."

She walked to my side and linked her arm with mine, her posture intimate. "Liam, I'll always support you."

That night, I returned to my brother's spacious apartment.

Rachel followed me in, saying it was to "take better care of me".

She hugged me from behind, her warm breath on my neck. "Liam, it's been so long... since you held me."

Her hands began to wander inappropriately over my body.

I suddenly grabbed her wrist. "I'm tired."

Rachel's body stiffened.

She looked up, her eyes filled with a mix of inquiry and dissatisfaction. "You weren't like this before."

I broke free from her embrace and walked straight to the study. "I have a lot of project work to deal with."

I closed the study door, shutting her out.

Leaning against the door, I waited until I heard no more movement outside before letting out a sigh of relief.

I turned on my brother's computer.

It was full of data on the "Genesis" project, dense and overwhelming, like an insurmountable mountain.

I couldn't understand any of it.

But I knew my brother's secret must be hidden in here somewhere.

I tried several passwords my brother commonly used, but they all showed errors.

I stared at the login screen with my brother's confident photo, suddenly remembering something.

Many years ago, when we brothers were still close, he had once pointed at the night sky and said to me.

"Lucas, look. That dimmest star, one day, I'll make it shine brighter than the sun."

That was a secret between us.

I typed the name of that star into the password field.

"Nyx".

The computer screen lit up, entering the desktop.

But what I saw wasn't research data for "Genesis".

It was an encrypted video file and a hidden folder.

The folder was named "Thief".