Adira's POV
The drive to my parents' London estate was a blur. I didn't remember giving the driver instructions; I only remembered the tremble in my hands as the headlines repeated in my mind.
Not a true Williams.
Bastard child.
Illegitimate heir.
The gates opened, and the house that once felt like both a sanctuary and a prison loomed before me. My stomach twisted as I stepped inside.
They were waiting.
My father sat stiffly in his armchair, his face lined with exhaustion, guilt etched in the downturn of his mouth. My mother stood near the window, arms folded, gaze sharp enough to cut glass.
Ashley wasn't here of course she wasn't. She'd already done her part.
I stood there, heart pounding. "Tell me it's not true."
Neither of them answered.
"Dad." My voice cracked. "Please."
He closed his eyes. For a moment, I saw the man who used to hold my hand on the way to school, who praised me when I aced my exams, who told me I was destined for greatness. And then he opened them again, and all I saw was shame.
"It's true, Adira," he said quietly. "Your mother and Ashley... they are bound by blood. You... you were born the same day. But your mother..." His voice broke. "She wasn't the one who gave birth to you."
The words sliced through me.
I turned to my mother, desperate, searching. "So all these years... all the times you looked at me like I was nothing..."
Her lip curled. "What did you expect, Adira? That I would love the reminder of my husband's betrayal? That I would raise you like my own while your mother" She stopped herself, then spat, "You were never mine. You were hers. And she died because of you."
The ground seemed to tilt under my feet.
"Stop." My father rose, voice sharp with anger. "Don't do this, not now."
"Not now?" I choked. "You let her treat me like dirt my entire life, and you said nothing. You let me believe I wasn't enough. And now the entire world knows!"
Tears blurred my vision. "Do you have any idea what this does to me? To the company I built? To my name?"
"You built that empire with your brilliance," my father said firmly. He stepped closer, gripping my shoulders. "Not with mine. Not with hers. You are Adira Williams because you earned it. Don't let Ashley, or anyone else, take that from you."
But his words barely reached me.
All I saw was my mother's cold smile. All I heard was her venom.
Never mine.
Never enough.
I stumbled back, shaking. "You could have told me the truth. You both could have told me. Instead, you let me live my whole life wondering what I did wrong."
My father's face crumpled. "I wanted to protect you."
"Protect me?" I laughed bitterly. "You destroyed me."
Without another word, I turned and walked out.
Jayden's POV
She emerged from the house like a storm, shoulders stiff, jaw set, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
I didn't ask what happened. I already knew.
"Adira." I reached for her, but she pulled away, trembling.
"They knew," she whispered. "They both knew. And they let me suffer. They let her hate me my whole life."
Her voice cracked, and for the first time since I'd known her as a child, I saw her break.
I caught her then, pulling her against me, holding her as the walls came down. "You're not alone," I murmured. "Not anymore. Let her hate. Let the world talk. I'll stand beside you through all of it."
For a long moment, she didn't speak. She just let herself lean into me, letting me carry the weight she'd borne alone for too long.
And as I held her, I vowed silently: Ashley had drawn blood with this strike. But I would make sure she never got another chance.
Ashley's POV
From her penthouse balcony, she scrolled through her phone. The headlines had exploded exactly as she wanted.
Illegitimate Daughter.
Family Betrayal.
Williams Scandal Rocks Global Markets.
Adira had been cracked wide open.
Ashley smiled, lifting her champagne glass to the city lights.
"Welcome to my game, sister."