STONY AU
In this world, there are no superheroes.
There are no men capable of lifting buildings with their bare hands, nor geniuses saving the planet from inside armored suits. Here, the real wars are fought in boardrooms, behind closed doors, and through contracts signed with the same coldness used to negotiate fortunes.
Last names weigh more than people.
And the most powerful families are willing to sacrifice their own children to retain power.
Steve Grant Rogers knew this better than anyone.
At thirty-three, the former Military Captain was the founder and CEO of Rogers Corporation, one of the country's most important companies. He had built every part of that empire with discipline, sacrifice, and an unbreakable will.
But not even the strongest man could fully escape his own family.
After the death of Sarah Rogers, the only person Steve had loved unconditionally, Jonathan Rogers stopped hiding his true intentions. After destroying his marriage with infidelity and starting another family, he now sought to hand part of Rogers Corporation to the son born of that relationship.
Steve refused.
Again and again.
So, Jonathan decided to resort to the only resource he still had: marriage.
If Steve married the right woman, someone loyal to Jonathan, there would still be an opportunity to get their hands on the company.
Steve understood the game before it began.
And he decided to move first.
If he had to marry, he would choose his own spouse.
The choice shocked all of high society.
Anthony Edward Stark.
Howard Stark’s son.
Stark Industries was a solid and respected company within the country, but it was far from competing with the international reach of Rogers Corporation. While one dominated global markets, the other was barely beginning to consolidate its place among the great national companies.
For Howard Stark, that marriage represented a unique opportunity. An alliance with the Rogers meant prestige, influence, and business benefits he could never have achieved on his own.
And, at the same time, he could get rid of the son he had considered a disgrace for years.
...
Everyone knew Anthony Stark.
Or, at least, they thought they did.
The newspapers had spent years describing him as a narcissistic, selfish, arrogant, capricious, womanizing man—completely incapable of taking on responsibilities.
To the public eye, he was the typical rich heir who lived surrounded by luxury while squandering his family's fortune.
Steve never had any reason to question that image.
After all, every article said exactly the same thing.
What no one knew was that those stories had never been true.
Howard Stark had allowed every one of those rumors to be published.
Sometimes he fueled them.
Other times, he created them himself.
While society criticized Anthony Stark, Howard appeared as the brilliant businessman who carried the weight of a company and an "impossible" son on his shoulders.
It was a perfect strategy.
No one asked who Tony really was.
No one listened to his side of the story.
No one imagined that the man described in the newspapers never existed.
Because Anthony Stark was never a playboy.
He was never a narcissist.
He was never selfish.
He was, quite simply, a kind young man who was never allowed to be truly known.
Howard didn't just physically abuse his son for years.
He also destroyed his reputation before he could build one of his own.
...
On the day of the wedding, Anthony Edward Stark signed for the last time with the surname of the man who never loved him.
When the judge handed him the marriage certificate, he wrote a different name.
Anthony Edward Rogers.
No one in the room understood what that meant to him.
Everyone thought it was just a simple legal formality.
But Tony felt he was leaving behind the name of a man who never called him son.
For the first time in his life, he no longer belonged to the Starks.
Even if he didn't know yet if he would ever truly belong to the Rogers.
