POV: Tiffany Carter
The sound of her heels clicking down the hallway used to bring admiration.
Now it brought whispers.
Humiliation clung to Tiffany like perfume gone sour as she stormed out of the Blackwell building, designer bag slamming against her hip. Her phone buzzed again—Liam.
Ignored.
She needed space to think.
Elise had just humiliated her in front of the most powerful men in New York. In one move, her little stepsister had stripped her of influence, status, and respect.
But Elise wasn't going to get away with it.
"Oh, sweet Elise," Tiffany murmured bitterly, sliding into the backseat of her town car, "you think this is over?"
It wasn't.
Tiffany Carter had always known how to survive. How to scheme, manipulate, seduce.
And if Elise wanted to play dirty, Tiffany would show her what real dirt looked like.
She dialed a private number.
A man picked up.
"Activate the photos. Let the press get a whiff of her comeback. Let's see how long she stays standing when the public starts asking about the real Elise Carter."
She smirked.
Let Elise taste the power of scandal.
POV: Elise Carter
Elise sat in her new office on the twenty-sixth floor, fingers tapping a slow rhythm against the mahogany desk.
The skyline glittered through the glass like diamonds strewn across the city's throat.
Adrian hadn't stopped by since the vote.
Which suited her fine—for now.
She was still settling into her victory, still wrapping her head around how fast everything had shifted. And yet, the adrenaline hadn't faded. Her blood was electric.
Her phone buzzed.
Albert: You're trending. And not in a good way.
She opened the link.
"Mysterious Return: Elise Carter Resurfaces After Five Years – But Where Was She?"
Below that, a photo of her leaving Adrian's apartment last night.
Hair tousled. Jacket in hand. Adrian just behind her.
And below that—
A photo from the past. From the night Liam betrayed her.
Her fingers froze.
It was a picture Elise had buried long ago. She was dressed in a red gown, tears smudging her makeup as she stood outside a club, devastated. Liam in the background. Tiffany not far behind.
The caption: "The other woman? Sources claim Elise Carter has a history of scandal, heartbreak, and mysterious absences."
Her vision blurred for a second.
Tiffany, she thought, pulse sharpening.
Only Tiffany had access to that photo.
Only she would dare.
And that meant one thing—
This war had gone public.
POV: Adrian Blackwell
Adrian watched the article from his office with narrowed eyes.
So this was how Tiffany played.
He should've expected it.
But what he hadn't expected… was how furious it made him.
Not because it made the company look bad—not even because Elise had walked into the spotlight under fire.
It was because he didn't like the way the media painted her.
They saw a woman on the arm of a billionaire, maybe a social climber, maybe a scandal-hunter.
But he'd seen the fire in her eyes in that boardroom. The precision. The power.
She was no gold digger.
She was a queen repositioning her crown.
He picked up the phone. "I want the PR team to spin this now. And if anyone asks about Elise Carter, we say she's a newly appointed board member with full rights, vetted history, and my personal endorsement."
There was a pause.
"Yes, mine."
He hung up.
Whatever this game was turning into—it wasn't just hers anymore.
He was part of it now.
POV: Elise Carter
By evening, Elise was seated at the bar of a quiet rooftop lounge.
Not to celebrate.
To breathe.
The city below buzzed like a monster with too many mouths, each one hungry for gossip, scandal, and ruin.
Her phone buzzed again.
Alex: Saw the article. Do you want me to issue a response? Or leak something on Tiffany?
She smiled faintly.
God, Alex was loyal. And dangerous.
But this? This wasn't his battle.
Elise: No. Let her think she's winning.
Because Tiffany Carter had always made one mistake.
She underestimated Elise's patience.
She didn't know Elise had already planned ten steps ahead.
She didn't know that tomorrow morning, Elise would take a private meeting with one of Blackwell's most dangerous international partners—someone Tiffany had once double-crossed on Adrian's behalf.
She didn't know that Elise had already sent the message.
A single file.
A recording.
Of Tiffany whispering into Liam's ear about Adrian's off-the-books transaction three years ago.
A transaction Adrian had covered… for her.
Because Elise wasn't just here to win back her name.
She was here to make Tiffany Carter untouchable.
And when you made someone untouchable in the billionaire world—it wasn't a compliment.
It was a death sentence.