Reborn From Ashes novel Chapter 1

"Hayden, how could you peep at Lily while she's showering and also steal her bra? She's your sister!"

At the Sterling residence, Morgan Sterling, who was dressed in a tailor-made suit and wearing a Patek Philippe watch, gaped at Hayden Sterling in disbelief and reproach.

A frosty look colored Julia Sterling's face as she fixed her contemptuous gaze on Hayden. She bit out icily, "We were wondering what happened to all our bras. Now, it seems that we have our culprit! We never should have brought a creep like you home, Hayden!"

Hayden's sister, Lily Sterling, stormed out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Lily was the second daughter of the Sterling family.

Her long, bare legs ate up the distance between them. She snatched the incriminating bra out of Hayden's hands and then slapped him across the face.

"You're not worthy of being a part of our family, you low-life creep!" she said, seething.

Hayden's school shirt, the color of which had faded from too many washes, hung off his gangly build as he reached up to touch his stinging cheek.

He was in a daze when he realized that he was still alive. No, not alive—but reborn.

He touched his unmarred chest. He had gotten into a car accident in his previous life, and he could still feel the excruciating pain that had coursed through his body as he had suffocated.

His expression turned grim as memories from his past life flickered through his mind.

In his past life, Hayden had been kidnapped as a child. He was 15 years old when someone from the Sterling family had secretly brought him home.

The Sterlings regarded themselves as a prestigious family in Stonybrook, and they were terrified that Hayden, who had been raised outside the family's values and traditions, would ruin their reputation.

As such, the Sterlings had kept his identity a secret and allowed him to stay with them as the butler's son. However, Hayden had been so desperate for kinship at the time that he hadn't objected to the arrangement of his father, Francis Sterling.

Hayden had been so naive back then. All he had wanted was to reunite with his biological parents and have his family around him. He thought that it was a stroke of great luck, given how much he had wanted a real family and a sense of belonging.

When Hayden first moved into the Sterling residence, he had been eager to please his parents, his three older sisters, and the Sterlings' adopted son, Morgan. He did not mind lowering himself if it meant that they would tolerate his presence.

However, his efforts were for nothing. Not even his biological mother, Charlotte Pearson, cared about him. He might as well have been invisible to her.

A mother's love knew no bounds, or so Hayden had thought. But when he lay in bed with a burning fever that peaked at 104 degrees and showed no signs of breaking, Charlotte did not even so much as check on him.

Instead, she had gone with Morgan to the veterinarian for his puppy's vaccination.

In other words, even her foster son's dog was more important to Charlotte than her biological son. Such was Hayden's place in the Sterling family.

After that, Morgan had orchestrated an elaborate car accident to get rid of Hayden.

The collision had left Hayden with a few broken ribs and punctured lungs. His skull had caved from the impact, and his limbs had either been twisted at odd angles or broken entirely. He had laid in a pool of his own blood, his injuries a horrifying and grotesque sight.

But when the Sterlings heard about the accident, not a single one of them had asked about Hayden. Francis and Charlotte, along with their three daughters, had huddled around Morgan to comfort and reassure him, even though he had gotten out of the accident with only a few abrasions.

Hayden hadn't even been able to muster the strength to call out to them. He had merely watched as they had gathered around Morgan and fussed over him.

"Guys… I'm hurting too. Aren't you going to take a look at me?" Hayden had croaked in his family's direction as he lay in his blood, his tears mixing with crimson. There was only sorrow in his bloodshot eyes as he stared at his family.

He had died seconds later. Even as his soul had left his body, he kept hoping that his family would glance over at his corpse after they were done consoling Morgan.

Perhaps they might regret overlooking him and shed a tear for his death.

However, they had done no such thing. They had left the scene of the car crash with Morgan and called for someone else to take care of Hayden's body.

Only then did Hayden let go of any foolish hope. Like dandelion fluff, he was destined to wander far away and never return.