After her outburst, Lin Shiyan stormed into the study, seizing a pen and paper.
She spread the paper on the side cabinet and fixed Lin Yu with a steely glare. "Are you sure about this? It's not too late to back out."
Lin Tianyang's pleading eyes met hers. "Second Sister, please don't write it. I-I'll leave. If Brother doesn't want me here, I'll go."
"This isn't your call," Lan Lin cut in, gripping Lin Tianyang's hand tightly.
"Lin Yu, think carefully," she continued. "The Lin family isn't a revolving door. If you walk away today, don't expect to return."
Lin Yu scoffed. "You're right. I want nothing from the Lin family, and I won't be back."
"Let's sever ties completely," he added. "No contact, no interference. Miss Shiyan, are you ready?"
Seeing his resolve, Lin Shiyan grabbed the pen and scrawled a meticulous, ironclad clause. When she handed it to Lin Yu, he skimmed it with a cold smile. As expected from a lawyer, the wording was airtight. The document stripped Lin Yu of all claims to the Lin family's wealth and status.
Lin Shiyan smirked inwardly. You think you can outlast us, Lin Yu? Let's see how long a country bumpkin like you survives without the Lin name.
Lin Yu's gaze flicked up. "You missed something, Miss Shiyan."
Lin Yuan scoffed. "She already wrote that you're cutting ties. What more do you want?"
Ignoring him, Lin Yu tapped the paper. "Add this: from now on, the Lin family's fortunes, successes, failures, and lives have nothing to do with me."
Lin Xiaotong's face twisted with outrage. "Disgusting! Can't stand to see us thrive, can you? You're still a Lin, whether you like it or not!"
Lin Shiyan sneered. "Fine. We'll add that whatever happens to you outside these walls is none of our concern. Agreed?"
"Gladly," Lin Yu replied without hesitation.
The agreement, legally binding and merciless, was finalized.
Lin Yu exhaled, seized the pen, and signed without a second thought. He slid the document toward Lin Shiyan. "Your signature, Miss Shiyan."
"You want all of us to sign?" she snapped.
"If you don't mind."
"Fine!" Lin Yuan barked, snatching the paper. He scrawled his name and thrust it at Lan Lin.
She hesitated, but Lin Xiaotong yanked it away and signed with a flourish.
When it reached Lin Tianyang, he squirmed, eyes brimming with tears. "Brother, please…" But under Lin Yu's icy stare, his trembling hand complied.
Lin Yu took the agreement and held it out to Lin Shiyan. "Make a copy. Keep yours or burn it, I don't care."
"Cold bastard," she muttered, signing before marching to the study to duplicate it.
Once finished, Lin Yu folded his copy, tucked it into his bag, and turned to Lin Tianyang. He extended his hand. "Give it back."
Lin Tianyang blinked, feigning innocence. "Brother? What do you mean? I'll give you anything"
Lin Yu's voice dropped, sharp and low. "Hand it over, or I'll take it myself."
A tense moment passed. Then, with a sigh, Lin Yu lowered his arm. "Never mind. I'll retrieve what's mine."
He turned to Lin Shiyan. "Miss Shiyan, come upstairs with me. I need to retrieve something, and I want you to witness it."
Lin Shiyan stiffened, her gaze darting to Lin Tianyang, who averted his eyes, the picture of innocent confusion.
When she looked to Lin Yuan for guidance, he gritted his teeth. "Go with him. Let's see what game he's playing." His lip curled. "We'll all go."
Lin Yu strode to the elevator and pressed the button. The doors slid open, and the group stepped inside. His finger hovered, then stabbed the sixth floor.
Lin Tianyang's domain.
The entire floor belonged to him a siting room, study, walk-in closets, private theater, sprawling bathroom, and two bedrooms, one lavish, the other merely extravagant.
In four years, Lin Yu had never set foot here. But after death, he'd seen it all, remembered it all from a future that no longer existed.
Now, the opulence left him unmoved.
He bypassed the reception area and study without a glance, heading straight for the bathroom.
Lin Shiyan's breath caught. How does he know the layout? She'd only been here a handful of times herself. Unless… Her nails dug into her palms. He's been sneaking in. Stealing.
Lin Tianyang paled, clutching Lan Lin's arm. His voice was a whisper. "Mom, stop him. I'll give him whatever he wants!"
"Let him dig!" Lan Lin spat. "I want to see what's so precious in your room that he'd crawl back for."
Lin Xiaotong sneered. "All that grand talk, and he's scavenging for scraps. Pathetic. Listen well, Lin Yu, you're taking nothing from this house!"
Lin Yu ignored them. He pushed open the bathroom door.
The space dwarfed his basement hovel. Light flooded the marble tiles as he stepped inside, making for the sunken whirlpool tub at the far end, an imported luxury worth millions.
Then he knelt.
Lin Yuan's eyes bulged. The maids cleaned this room daily. Nothing should be beneath that tub, certainly nothing old enough to belong to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu's arm disappeared into the gap. When it reemerged, he held a grime-streaked bundle.
Lin Tianyang's face turned the color of spoiled milk.
With deliberate care, Lin Yu unwrapped the cloth. Inside lay a tarnished silver lock, a child's longevity pendant, the kind hung around a newborn's neck for protection.
He fastened it around his throat. The metal rested against his collarbones, cold and familiar.
Lan Lin staggered as if struck.
That lock.
Her mother's most treasured heirloom, passed down for generations. She'd refused to give it to any of her seven daughters, saving it for the son she knew would come.
The day Lin Yu was born, she'd clasped it around his tiny neck herself.
The day he vanished, it vanished with him.
And now,
Her hands trembled. Tears splattered the tiles like sudden rain.
"Yu'er…" Her voice broke. "My son."