Chapter 1

I am the future master of the Scout family, yet I am a woman.

To help me secure my position as the heir in the future, my father, Henry Scout, adopted three boys. They grew up with me and were groomed into elites of high society.

He even implied that he would choose one of them to marry me someday.

However, all of them detest me deeply and have never looked at me with respect.

I confessed my love to Jason Reeves a hundred times, but none of those attempts succeeded.

That was until I caught him secretly dating the housekeeper's daughter.

He said, "I'll only marry Eleanor Scout for the status of heir. Once I become the heir to the Scout family, she will be no more than a servant to you."

When my parents asked me to pick a fiancé, I glanced at the reclusive-looking face in the news and smiled, "Mom, Dad, when choosing my husband, we must certainly seek someone of equal social status."

Then, I said, "I want to marry him."

My parents frowned as they looked at the cold and aloof man on TV. "He doesn't like women. Are you really determined to marry him?"

*****

I looked at Henry with a firm gaze. "Dad, only by allying with another powerful family will the Scout family ever decline. I don't care if Leonard likes women or not—he's still the best choice."

Mom and Dad's expressions grew heavier. After a moment of thought, my father, Henry Scout, looked at me with extreme solemnity. "You really aren't going to choose them?"

When my mother, Kara Scout, gave birth to me, she almost died from severe bleeding. Even though the family elders urged them to have another child, he refused to risk Kara's life.

Yet they worried I might not be able to take control of the Scout family someday. Later, they adopted three boys from an orphanage and raised them to be elites since childhood.

They even drew up three contracts—if I married one of them, that person would get 20% of Scout Group's shares.

Mom and Dad truly loved me, but they were also genuinely concerned about the Scout family's future.

I looked at their faces and explained seriously. "Leonard is a big name in the business world. He definitely understands how business marriages work."

I continued, "If he really likes men, we can still do IVF. Once the child is born, they'll be the Scout family's future leader—and the Evans family will only be happy about that."

Mom and Dad stared at me for a few seconds, then nodded in agreement. "Since you've chosen Leonard, those three boys don't need to stay in the Scout family anymore."

I didn't dare tell Mom and Dad that I'd confessed to Jason a hundred times and he still didn't like me. If they found out, they'd force him to agree to marry me.

Moreover, what he'd said was hard for me to accept. All these years—even if Jason didn't like me—it was a fact that Mom and Dad had raised them.

Yet these three actually wanted to take over my family. Leaving the Scout family was already the greatest mercy I could show them.

The next day, Jason stood outside Henry's study early in the morning. But when Henry came out, he didn't even glance at Jason.

After watching my dad leave, Jason turned to me with intense hatred. "What did you say to Mr. Scout again?"

I didn't want to waste my breath on him. But the next second, Ethan walked up the stairs and sneered at me. "All she does is play—she can't do anything else. She must have told Mr. Scout we wouldn't play with her again."

Matthew was the one who looked down on me the most. He mocked, "Ms. Scout, we aren't as noble as you. You go on and play—we still have to go earn money for you."

Every time they ganged up on me, they stood on the same side. I really couldn't figure out why they hated me so much.

After saying that, they ignored me and turned to leave.

Each of them felt nothing but disgust for me. I couldn't help but ask, "If you hate me so much, why don't you leave the Scout family?"