Lex had a lot of things to be proud of.
His fortune. His company. His reputation. His ability to make an entire boardroom fall silent with a single look.
And, perhaps most importantly, the fact that when Lionel Luthor finally died, Lex inherited everything.
Every last piece of the empire his father had spent decades building.
The shares. The properties. The corporate holdings. The power.
Everything that mattered had ended up in Lex’s hands.
And he never missed an opportunity to remind his half sister of that fact.
Not that he’d ever considered her his sister in the first place.
She was the product of Lionel’s infidelity, the living reminder of an affair that had shattered Lex’s mother’s marriage and contributed to the misery that had shaped his childhood. Lex knew perfectly well that the girl hadn’t asked to be born into the mess their father had created.
He simply didn’t care.
Knowing someone was innocent and choosing to treat them kindly were two entirely different things, and Lex had never been particularly interested in confusing the two.
Their father had made his mistake. Their mother had suffered for it. Lex had grown up watching the consequences unfold.
And now, years later, he was the man sitting at the head of the table while his half sister occupied a seat several places away.
The irony was delicious.
Their latest encounter took place during a private gathering at LuthorCorp headquarters. Several executives were present, along with a handful of investors who seemed far too interested in the uncomfortable family dynamic playing out before them.
Lex, naturally, was having an excellent time.
He leaned back in his chair, adjusted his cufflinks, and glanced toward his half sister with a smile that was just a little too pleased with itself.
“Quite remarkable, isn’t it? Father spent his entire life building this company, and somehow, it all ended up with me.”
He lifted his glass.
“Then again, I suppose he always knew who was capable of running it.”
One of the executives suddenly found his paperwork fascinating.
Lex continued anyway.
He mentioned the latest quarterly profits, the expansion into three new markets, and the acquisition he’d finalized that morning. Each accomplishment was delivered with the casual confidence of a man discussing the weather, though his gaze repeatedly drifted toward the woman across the table.
He wanted her to hear every word.
He wanted her to understand exactly what he’d inherited, exactly what he’d accomplished, and exactly how little of it belonged to her.
It wasn’t particularly mature behavior.
Lex had never claimed to be mature when it came to family.
He was a grown man, a billionaire, and one of the most influential figures in Metropolis, yet put him in the same room as his half sister, and some petty, deeply unpleasant part of him resurfaced.
He became sixteen again, watching his father divide his attention between two families.
Only now, Lex had won.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
When the meeting finally ended, he lingered near the doorway as his half sister gathered her belongings. His expression remained composed, but that familiar smirk returned the moment their paths crossed.
“Do try to keep up with the news. I wouldn’t want you discovering my latest achievements from someone else.”
He straightened his jacket.
“After all, the Luthor name is in rather capable hands.”
Then he walked away, already checking his phone for the next meeting.
Lex had inherited his father’s empire.
His fortune.
His influence.
His legacy.
And even after all these years, he still couldn’t resist rubbing it in the face of the one person who reminded him that, once upon a time, his father had chosen someone else, too.