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MAX LOOKS OUT AT the window of the car that he's in. He takes a deep breath and stares at the trees that lead to the exit of their campus. They drive past a lamppost, causing Max to see his reflection on the window. He grits his teeth when he caught a glimpse of his tire-stained peak cap. He takes the cap off and throws it on the seat beside him, startling Étienne who was driving.

     "Is there are problem master Leigh?" Étienne asks, but Max just crosses his arms and ignores him.

     Today was Max's first day of school, and at the same time, it was his first time experiencing being just Max, and not the respected heir - Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire. It was refreshing like how he expected, but it was exhausting. Max wasn't going to lie about that. All the things that he learned today were overwhelming. From the different houses to the types of students, and down to the brotherhoods and their system. All of those things were things that felt too unreal to be real, but Max saw it in his own eyes so his mind and rational thinking just completely shut down.

      And then there are the Elites...

     "Talk to me again without the dirt on your cap and maybe I'll take you seriously and consider it." He remembered Gavriil Alexeev's answer earlier when he proposed to make him his mentor. That was one of the few moments Max felt genuinely embarrassed. And the waves of laughter from his classmates made things worse. If it weren't for Felix pulling him away from the scene then he might have shouted like a spoiled child and embarrassed himself even more.

     "How was school today master Leigh?" Étienne suddenly asks.

     Max glances at his butler through the rearview mirror and questions him instead, "What are you? My father?"

     "No, but it would be nice to report it to your actual father," Étienne answers back, and this time, Max chuckles. He knew deep down that the last thing his father would be interested in would be knowing about how his first day of school went. Étienne's just being considerate since he knows how distant Max and his father's relationship is.

      "Tell him, if he is by any chance even interested, that I had a great day," Max says, emphasizing the word great so the sarcasm of his answer becomes more obvious.

      "I'll send him the message."

     Max rolls his eyes and looks out of the window again to watch the cars that drove past them so he could distract himself. The last thing he wants now is to worry about his father and his school life. Two things that do not combine well.

     He places his elbow on the door's armrest so he could rest his chin on his palm. He continues to watch the cars, counting the ones that are red, and subtracting that number every time he sees a black car. It went on for a while until they finally got back to the Sinclaire residence where they were welcomed by a large gate with a family crest placed right in the middle.

     "Negative twelve. Not a lot of people like red cars," Max says out of nowhere when Étienne parked the car in front of the entrance of the mansion.

     "Pardon?" Étienne asks with a confused expression.

     Max doesn't answer as a man in uniform opens the car door for him. He steps out of the car with a blank expression without even looking back at the person who opened the door. He then heads straight inside, maids bowing their heads from the sight of him.

     "Welcome home master Leigh." They all greet in unison.

     Max slightly nods his head back to acknowledge them. 

     When he got to the second floor, he catches a glimpse of his brother, Marcus, blocking the doorway to his room. He sighs in irritation and turns around so he could leave, but Marcus spots him and immediately runs and grabs his hand.

      "Wait—"

     Max pulls his arm away and looks at his brother. "I'm tired. I don't want to talk right now," he says before pushing him aside. 

     Max heads to the door to grab the doorknob. But before he could even reach it, Marcus grabs him by the arm again and pulls him away from the door so he wouldn't be able to get in. "Come on Max, you're being unfair."

     "Unfair?" Max asks with disbelief.

     Marcus sighs, "Okay, that's not what I meant."

     Max doesn't say anything anymore and heads inside his bedroom. He slams the door, but Marcus stops it with his bare hand and follows his brother inside.

      "I know you're mad. And I know that not telling you about the brotherhood system isn't the reason why you're mad," Marcus starts while Max removes his belt and coat. He doesn't look back at Marcus, but Marcus continues anyway, "You told me that I've always lied to you, and within those lines, you also told me that you've always wanted the truth from me. You're right okay? I've always lied to you. I admit it."

     Max throws his belt and coat on a sofa and walks in front of a full-body mirror. While undoing his necktie, Marcus continues, "You want to know the truth right? Then okay, let me tell you. I've always hated your mother."

     Max immediately stops what he's doing and looks at Marcus through his reflection in the mirror.

     "I despised her. I got sick of her every time she reminded me that I'm just a bastard son and I'll never be able to reach your level. Because of her, I wasn't allowed to go to school until I was ten. For god's sake, she didn't allow me to share the same surname as you," Marcus tells him, and Max finally turns around to face his brother.

     "Stop this nonsense," He commands him, but Marcus ignores the order and proceeds with his truth. "I wasn't allowed to carry my own father's name and I accepted it. But Max, every single day, I was treated as an outcast. I hated father for bringing me into this household because everything I did was wrong to her."

     "Why are you suddenly bringing this up now?" Max asks him with a desperate look on his face. He wanted to know if this conversation was even necessary.

     "Because I know that's more important to you than hearing excuses on why I didn't tell you about J.S High. And come on, when else will we talk about this matter?" Marcus asks back.

     "Obviously not right now," Max answers, pulling his undone necktie off his collar and heading to the bathroom to wash his face.

     "No, we're talking about this whether you like it or not," Marcus persists, following his brother and standing right in front of the doorframe of the bathroom. Max ignores him and turns the faucet on. While washing his face, Marcus presses on, "You told me you're worried about your safety in J.S High, but you've been secretly looking for your mother's killer for the past five years."

     Max stops washing his face after hearing what his brother just revealed to him. The water from the faucet continues running, but Max doesn't bother to turn it off as he looks back at Marcus with irritation, "I don't interfere with you and your mission to secretly meet up with your mother every week, so as common courtesy, shouldn't you be doing the same?"

     "For christ's sake this isn't about me Max," Marcus says with a now frustrated tone. Max turns the faucet off and wipes his wet face with a dry towel. He then throws the towel on the counter and walks past Marcus, purposely hitting his shoulder with his before walking back to the bedroom. But Marcus grabs Max's left arm and pulls it so Max could forcefully face him. "You've been distant ever since she died. When will you accept the fact that the only reason you can't find her killer is because she killed herself in the first place!"

     Max reaches his limit and slaps Marcus on the right cheek. Marcus wasn't even surprised. He lets go of Max's other arm and touches his cheek before laughing to himself, "You wanted my truth right? Did you honestly think it wouldn't hurt you?

     Max stares back at Marcus, his eyes turning red as tears were getting ready to stream down any second. His brother's words felt like a sword that was pierced right in his chest. It was the reality that he needed to face, but his ignorance kept him numb.

     "You know why I told you this, don't you?" Marcus asks right after composing himself. He approaches his little brother and takes out a handkerchief. He shows it to him, but Max gently pushes Marcus's hand away from him and walks towards a drawer.

     Max swallows his tears as he pulls a drawer open, revealing a small antique box. He takes out the box and opens it. Inside is a silver necklace with a blue letter L pendant. "Did uncle talk to you about this? Did he tell you about Viktor?" Max asks while staring at the pendant.

     "No, but isn't that the obvious route? Victor is a Stepanov, and the only family who stood a chance against them was your mother's family," Marcus answers.

     Max takes out a deep breath and sits down on the edge of the bed. He then pulls out the necklace from the box and touches the cold pendant.

     "You know you can't keep on pretending like you're not a Lemieux. You have their blood, and at the end of the day, you are still the last in line as their inheritor. I know you despise them because of what you suspect they did to your mother, but we're not kids anymore Max," Marcus tells him while Max continues to stare at the necklace.

     "It's not an easy decision to make. I made a promise to my mother," Max answers without removing his eyes on the necklace.

     "Face the last living Stepanov who inherited his clan's riches as a Sinclaire and he will easily destroy you. Our family name will be forgotten like the Lemieux, is that what you want?" Marcus asks, and Max finally removes his eyes on the pendant to look back at his brother.

     "Max, your mother knew she failed. She knew she destroyed their company, which is why she gave it to our father. Our father brought it back to the top, and now it's your turn to put it back to where it came from. That is what your mother wants you to fulfill, not your unspoken promise." Marcus tells Max who was putting the necklace back in its box.

     Max's mother grew up with the mindset that she's the most powerful heir in the world. That mindset created a monster so strong that people feared and hated her at the same time. Her own people turned against her, making sure that their company falls with her as the chairman. To save face, she sold their family company to a Sinclaire, who later became her husband. It was supposed to be the perfect love story, but it only turned tragic.

     "Why do all of you even think that I'm the missing link to all this madness?" Max asks, obviously puzzled by what's happening since he wasn't even involved with this problem, let alone know it even existed a few hours ago.

     "Don't you still get it? During their time, it was the Lemieux family and the Stepanov clan. They were the elites of the elites. The Sinclaire wouldn't even be known if our father didn't marry your mother. But the Stepanov clan was destroyed just years after the Lemieux family disappeared. Fortunately, Viktor returned, and he knows that the Lemieux family won't do the same. Prove him wrong Max. That's all you have to do." Marcus persistently tells him like it was the easiest thing in the world, when in fact, it was the complete opposite.

     Max stands from the bed and walks back to the mirror to stare at himself. He gazes at his ocean blue eyes, the rare eye color that the Lemieux family was known for. It reminded Max of his mother, and how cold she'd stare at him whenever he does something that she doesn't like.

     People always said that Max resembled his mother, but Max knew that other than his eyes, there's nothing else that's similar. There was also one obvious fact that Max kept on telling himself ever since he was young. He isn't a monster like her. He loved her, but he wasn't like her.

     "These are some of the rare moments where I am reminded that you are four years older than me. But alright, when the time comes I promise I'll think about it," Max truthfully answers before looking away from his reflection, "I'll take my place as the inheritor of Lemieux, but I want you to make me another promise." Max says, looking back at Marcus with a serious expression. He knew the risks of taking the Lemieux name, but he also knew the consequences of leaving the Sinclaire behind. The only solution to avoid such consequences is none other than through his half-brother.

     "I will take the Lemieux name, and I want you, my dear brother, to take the Sinclaire family name and hold it with pride."

     Marcus looks at Max with a blank expression. Then the blank expression turned into a frown like he heard a distasteful joke and he wants Max to take it back.

     "Let me rephrase that then," he tells him, "I'll take what is rightfully mine, and I'll take what my mother gave to our father and put it back to its former place. But as I do that, I want you to officially change your surname and take what is rightfully yours in return."

     Marcus still looked like he didn't understand a single word that came out of Max's mouth even though Max's words were crystal clear.

     It's not like Marcus didn't understand it. It's just that he couldn't believe it.

     "I apologize for two things. One is for not understanding your situation earlier about the brotherhoods. I was just overwhelmed so I acted that way. The second thing is about my mother. I knew how she treated you, but I didn't do anything. For that I am sorry," Max reveals, surprising Marcus even more.

     Marcus's initial plan was to apologize for what happened at school, and then talk about the problem regarding Viktor and the important role that Max has to take in order to win against that cruel king, but apparently, the tables have turned.

     "I know you want to take your revenge and prove her wrong," Max says next, "So as the eldest, become the rightful heir to the Sinclaire family. Take whatever father intends to give you. Be by my side as one of the greatest, and only then will you be equal to me. If you do that, you will definitely be able to take your long-awaited revenge," Max says with a determined voice that made the hair on Marcus's skin stand.

     For the first time in a long time, a tear fell from Marcus's eyes. He laughs it off at first while he wipes his cheek with the back of his hand, but soon he starts sobbing. Max doesn't say anything, but he moves closer to his older brother and pats his shoulder as a way of comforting him.

     "Is this your way of making up with me? After everything that I just said?" He asks Max.

     Max chuckles and puts his hand down from him.

     "That's not even half of what I intend to give you."

- END -