I Have Five Kick-Ass Brothers – Episode 05
Raina’s announcement sent a current of energy through the cramped dining room. She began listing supplies before anyone could object: insulated containers, disposable boxes, a folding table, and enough ingredients for at least fifty lunches. To her, every detail was a step toward keeping her newly discovered family safe. To the Lincolns, it was proof that she had accepted them without condition.
“Sweetheart, you don’t need to carry all of us,” Mrs. Lincoln protested. Emotion loosened her caution, and the truth nearly escaped. “Our family is actually—” She stopped when Noah cut in with unusual speed.
“Actually very good at working together,” he finished, sending his mother a pointed glance. The test was not over, even if his own doubts were fading. They needed to know whether Raina’s resolve would survive more than one emotional evening, and revealing billions now would make sincerity impossible to judge.
Mrs. Lincoln understood. “What would we sell?” she asked instead. Raina answered by pointing at the dishes on the table. Her mother’s cooking would be the heart of the business; Raina would shop, package meals, and manage customers. The construction site near Noah’s supposed job would provide a ready crowd.
“Mom, people will love this food,” Raina said. The word made Mrs. Lincoln still again, a smile trembling across her face. For almost twenty years she had wondered whether her lost daughter would ever say it. Now Raina used it as though their bond had merely been delayed, not destroyed.
Noah volunteered his coworkers as customers. He could make one call and order the entire site to buy lunch, but Raina’s pride mattered, so he promised only to spread the word. Henry immediately offered to abandon his imaginary delivery route and help serve. Joshua cracked his knuckles and suggested bringing “a few guys” to discourage trouble.
Raina eyed Joshua warily. “No intimidating the customers.” When he protested that he could be friendly, Henry laughed hard enough to nearly fall from his chair. The easy teasing loosened something inside Raina. That morning she had possessed a mansion but felt alone; tonight she owned one suitcase and could barely hear herself over family laughter.
Two more men entered while plans were still flying across the table. Luke had the quick hands and alert eyes of someone accustomed to moving faster than everyone around him, while Mathew carried the calm confidence of an international dealmaker. They had returned from obligations neither could truthfully explain without exposing the family.
“We heard our little sister is starting a business,” Luke said. “I can handle online promotion.” Mathew nodded and offered to keep the books, carefully omitting that he managed companies across several continents. Raina stared at them, overwhelmed by the simple certainty with which they included themselves in her plan.
Noah extended his hand over the center of the table. One by one, their parents and all five brothers stacked theirs above it. Raina placed her hand on top, feeling seven lives close around her instead of shutting her out. When they shouted their agreement together, the humble house seemed to glow with a wealth no disguise could hide.
Across Brookfield, servants moved through the Smith mansion preparing for a visitor whose name carried more influence than the entire Smith family. Black luxury cars lined the circular drive. Mr. and Mrs. Smith waited in the formal salon with Coco, each trying to conceal excitement over the arrival of Theo Jones.
Theo entered with the quiet assurance of a man who had never needed to announce his power. Young, handsome, and heir to one of Brookfield’s greatest fortunes, he was pursued by socialites who would have traded anything for his attention. That evening, however, he had come seeking only one woman.
Mr. Smith greeted him eagerly. “To what do we owe this honor?” Theo’s gaze moved to Coco, identified by the new DNA report as the Smiths’ biological daughter. His family’s investigators had followed a name and an old household, but they had not accounted for two girls trading identities at birth.
“I came for your daughter,” Theo said. Mrs. Smith gasped softly, and Coco’s pulse raced. She had barely adjusted to one wealthy family; now the heir to an even greater empire stood before her as though fate intended to reward every choice she had made.
Theo explained that a Smith girl had saved his life years earlier. The memory had survived in fragments—smoke, pain, a courageous child refusing to abandon him. He had spent years searching for her, determined to repay a debt that had gradually become something more personal.
Coco’s excitement faltered. She possessed no memory of saving Theo Jones, but she understood immediately who might. Raina had been the Smith daughter during those years. If Theo discovered that distinction, the dazzling future forming before Coco would disappear as quickly as it had arrived.
Mrs. Smith clasped Coco’s hands, mistaking her silence for modest shock. “You never told us.” Coco forced a delicate smile and said the accident had happened so long ago that details were difficult to recall. The lie tasted dangerous, yet no one challenged it.
Theo lowered himself to one knee. The room seemed to stop around him. “Miss Smith saved my life,” he said, looking at Coco but speaking to the brave girl in his memory. “I have never forgotten her, and I came today to ask for your family’s blessing.”
“I intend to marry her.” The declaration sent joy across Mrs. Smith’s face and naked ambition across Coco’s. Theo saw only the polished daughter the investigation had placed before him, yet an uneasiness stirred when her smile revealed greed rather than recognition.
While Raina celebrated a food stand with the family who loved her, Coco reached eagerly for a future built on Raina’s courage. Theo rose and searched Coco’s face for the girl who had once bled to save him. He found no trace of her—and the first crack appeared in a mistake that could destroy them all.