Feud

Sibling War

The Cheng family penthouse felt smaller than ever.

It wasn’t the size — three floors of gilded halls, private elevators, and panoramic views of the city — but the suffocating tension that had settled between Yihan and Yirai. In the past, the golden child had always had an ally in her brother: one with equal entitlement, shared advantage, and mutual understanding of what it meant to inherit the Cheng legacy. That bond had fractured. And now, in the silence of the private study, the air carried nothing but accusation.

Yihan stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, fingers gripping the sill, staring out at the city below. The market had calmed since the Beichang coup and restructuring vote, but the damage — to their authority, to their reputation — lingered like smoke.

“I can’t believe this,” he said, voice low but sharp. “Do you realize what you’ve done to us? To Cheng Inc.?”

Yirai’s heels clicked on the marble floor as she circled him, deliberately slow. Her silk dress rustled like a warning. “Us? Us? Don’t make me laugh, Yihan. This isn’t about you. This is about her. And we’ve been too blind to see it.”

“Blind?” His eyes narrowed. “I trusted the board, I trusted our people. I trusted you! And you…” His voice rose. “…you failed to protect me!”

“Protect you?” Yirai stopped, hands on her hips. “You think I owe you protection? You think I created Beichang’s leverage? Don’t flatter yourself, Yihan. This is your failure, your arrogance, your ego. You’re the reason she walked back in the door.”

He whirled to face her fully, his jaw tight. “Don’t put this on me. Don’t even try. She wouldn’t have made it this far without my family giving her the foundation — the name, the bloodline, the opportunity!”

Yirai laughed, bitter and sharp, echoing off the marble walls. “Opportunity? You mean a***e. Neglect. Turning her into a stray for you to control. And now? Now she’s the one controlling everything. Your so-called advantage is gone. And it’s because of you, not me.”

He felt heat rising, a dangerous kind that blurred thought with instinct. “You’re supposed to stand with me. You’re my sister! Our family! Don’t tell me you side with her.”

“I side with reality,” she snapped. “Reality doesn’t care about your entitlement. Reality doesn’t care about our hierarchy. Reality — Beichang — just proved you’re replaceable. And don’t act like I’m innocent. You think your failures went unnoticed in this house? I’ve been watching. Planning. Calculating. Maybe you were the golden heir, but you were also the weak link.”

He felt something shift. Panic? Rage? He wasn’t sure. “Weak? I built this empire! I kept it running while you were busy… what? Dressing in silk and flattering grandmother? You think you’re clever because you’ve made some small acquisitions? She’s a parasite, Yirai. She’ll eat everything we’ve built.”

“She already has,” Yirai shot back. “Do you really believe she’d have needed me to destroy you if she wanted? No. She doesn’t need anyone. That’s the difference between her and us. And you — you’re still blind.”

His hands curled into fists. “You’re turning on me. I should’ve known. I should’ve realized how little loyalty runs in this family. First her, now you?”

Yirai stepped closer, voice low, venomous. “I didn’t turn on you, Yihan. I’ve just… adapted. Survival isn’t sentimental. You’ll learn that. You might even lose the company before you do.”

He laughed — a harsh, humorless sound. “Lose it? Do you even understand what you’re saying? We’re Cheng blood! We built everything! We are untouchable!”

“Untouchable?” she said, her voice rising. “We’re human, Yihan. Fallible. Greedy. Arrogant. And when one of us comes back with fire in her hands, suddenly your empire isn’t so untouchable anymore. She’s leveraged every weakness, every blind spot. And the worst part? You helped her find them.”

His anger flared. “You think this is clever — blaming me for her cunning?”

“I’m blaming you for your failure,” Yirai said. “She’s a threat, yes, but she’s not the cause of our collapse. You are. You’re the cause of everything falling apart under our roof. And don’t you dare act shocked that I see it now!”

The room trembled with their tension. One wrong step and words would turn into blows, a lifetime of resentment unspooling in a single moment.

Yihan pressed both palms to the windowsill. He could feel the city pressing against the glass — skyscrapers that once reflected power now seemed distant, hollow. “You know what this means?” he asked, voice cracking. “Once she’s done with me… she’ll come for you next. You’re next, Yirai. You’ll see what happens to a golden child when she turns on you.”

Yirai smiled — not triumphant, but cold, calculating. “Maybe. But I won’t be her victim. Not like you. You think she fears me? She respects me — or maybe she doesn’t even notice me because she already expects me to fail. Either way, I have my own weapons. And I’ll use them when necessary.”

Yihan turned abruptly, pacing now. “Weapons? You think you’re armed against her? Against me? Against everything we built? You’re delusional. You’re blind to how much power she wields — and how little loyalty you actually have around you.”

“I’m not blind,” Yirai said, voice cutting. “I see the cracks. I see your mistakes. And I’ll admit — she’s cleverer than I expected. But clever doesn’t always mean invincible. You should’ve seen what she did to you in the board. That would’ve frightened anyone… except me. I see everything you missed. And I plan accordingly.”

For a long moment, Yihan said nothing, his chest rising and falling quickly. The reality — finally — began to settle in. The family he had thought untouchable, the hierarchy he had relied on for confidence and safety, the golden child narrative he had always assumed was unbreakable — all of it was fragile. And his sister, the golden child turned co-conspirator, was sharpening her own knives.

“You’re scheming with her,” he said finally, suspicion and fury blended into a single accusation. “You want to topple me with her.”

“I’m scheming for myself,” Yirai said smoothly. “And if that means the board, the market, and yes — even her — all fall in ways that favor me, so be it. I’m not loyal to you, Yihan. I’ve never been loyal to anyone but myself.”

Yihan’s laugh was hollow, echoing off the high ceilings. “So we’ve come full circle. The family that was supposed to protect us has turned on us from every angle. First Yiyai, now you. What’s left?”

“Reality,” Yirai said simply. “Reality is left. And it’s brutal. You’ll survive, maybe. But you will never rule unchallenged again. Not in this family. Not in this company. And not in this city.”

He paused, shaking. “Then this… this is war between us. Siblings. Blood. Everything we thought safe… it’s gone.”

Yirai’s expression softened for the briefest second — not mercy, not affection — only clarity. “Better to recognize it now than later, brother. You’ll need every ounce of cunning left in you, because you’re about to fight on two fronts: against her and… against me.”

The words hung between them like a guillotine poised above their shared history.

For the first time, Yihan understood what it meant to be unprotected. His sister, the golden child once admired, was no longer an ally. She was a calculated force, aware of every weakness, waiting to exploit every c***k. And in the mirrored reflections of the penthouse glass, he realized — the Cheng family, once a symbol of unity and hierarchy, had fractured irreparably.

Outside, the city continued, indifferent to the blood war unfolding above. But within those walls, the first battle lines were drawn.

The war of siblings had begun.

---

Yiyai, watching from her own office across town, smiled faintly at the news reports trickling in. The board may have been won, the market leveraged, and the media swayed — but now the true internal battle had ignited, between the very people who had once been united under one name. The fractures would only deepen, the mistakes compound, and she would watch carefully, knowing the Cheng family’s collapse would be inevitable if they couldn’t reconcile… or if they chose to destroy each other first.

This was the slow-burning vengeance she had always predicted: blood against blood, pride against pride, and the golden legacy unraveling from within.