Genius Kids' Scheme Claiming Daddy's Billionaire Empire novel Chapter 306

Chapter 306

“Good thing I’ve never cared much for those. Adam nodded toward the humming equipment. While this thing’s still doing its job, tell me about little Irene. The version nobody else gets to hear.”

Irene played with the dials, watching the lights blink. She rarely talked about her past–even the triplets only knew bits and pieces. But something about the warm glow in the room and the bracelet shining on her wrist made her open up just a little.

“The suburbs weren’t exactly Silver City,” she finally said, voice dropping to near–whisper. “Always wearing the wrong clothes, stretching every meal, counting pennies.”

Adam watched her, fingers tapping a gentle rhythm against his armrest–waiting, not pushing.

“My foster parents were…” She paused, trying to find the right words. “Let’s just say I was their free helper. Everything somehow became my job.” Her hands stopped moving for a moment. “I used to wonder if life would ever slow down.”

“How old were you?” Adam asked quietly.

“Started around eight.” She went back to fixing the pads on his legs. “After school, straight to the fast food place, then home to do everyone’s laundry before making dinner.” Her voice stayed flat, like she was just reading a shopping list. “No breaks allowed.”

“That’s messed up,” Adam said bluntly.

Irene sighed, a short laugh escaping her. “Yeah, it was. Sometimes I’d watch other kids just… being kids. Not working, not constantly exhausted.” She swallowed hard. “Usually hungry, occasionally freezing–hard not to feel cheated, you know?”

She wrinkled her nose, voice suddenly lighter. “Plus I looked like hell back then. Grease–splattered uniform, hair always smelling like fries. Nobody looks twice at the invisible girl behind the counter.”

What hung unspoken between them was how that same invisibility had greeted her at Sterling Manor–everyone choosing convenient blindness, dumping everything on her shoulders. She’d survived that darkness once; she

wouldn’t go back.

“You’ve never been invisible,” Adam said simply. The certainty in his voice made her fingers fumble with the electrode.

The soft light caught in her hair, creating shadows that made Adam’s fingers itch to touch it.

“Things got better abroad,” she shrugged. “But Ethan–he was my lifeline through the worst of it.”

Adam caught the instant warmth that transformed her face at the boy’s name.

“He’d sneak around doing my chores when no one was looking,” her lips curved upward. “Once when I had this raging fever, the kid was six–six–and somehow got out at midnight to borrow medicine from a neighbor three blocks over.”

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Chapter 306

She leaned back, rubbing her lower back absently. “Got caught. Got punished. Still grinned that gap–toothed smile and told me it was totally worth it.”

Adam nodded, something shifting behind his eyes. “And now you’re there for him.”

“Circle of life or whatever.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

He’d never known that kind of struggle–the gnawing hunger, the bone–deep exhaustion, the constant fear. Looking at her now, competent and composed, Adam felt something twist in his chest. The Sterling princess who should have grown up surrounded by luxury had instead been scrubbing floors and flipping burgers.

Ethan had given her warmth when her world was cold. Adam silently promised that from now on, she’d never feel that chill again.

“We’re finished here,” Irene said, carefully removing the last pad from his leg. She met his eyes with a mix of professional concern and something warmer. “And next time you decide to practice standing, you tell me first. Doctor’s orders.” Her finger wagged in mock sternness, but her eyes were serious. “I don’t want to find you in a heap on the floor because you overdid it. That’d ruin all my hard work.”

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