Chapter 3: The New Heiress
The news broke before sunrise.
BREAKING: CEO Lucian Grant Announces Sudden Engagement to Mystery Heiress!
I blinked at the screen in front of me, the headline staring back like it belonged to someone else. My face — newly made up, hair curled from yesterday's charity gala — was plastered across social media feeds, news outlets, and business forums.
Who is Ava Grant?
From Nobody to Heiress: Socialite Slaps Ex-Fiancé in Viral Clip
Lucian Grant's Fiancée Has a Secret Past?!
My hands trembled slightly as I scrolled, my phone buzzed with nonstop notifications. Praise. Hate. Curiosity. Obsession.
The world had swallowed me whole — and I wasn't sure if I was choking or learning how to breathe fire.
A knock came at the door of the penthouse suite.
"Come in," I said, closing the news app.
The assistant — a sharp-looking woman named Naomi, with sleek black hair and a voice made of velvet knives — stepped inside.
"You have your first press interview at 4:00 p.m.," she said. "And Mr. Grant arranged for a stylist to redo your wardrobe this morning. Also—" she handed me a box, "—he sent this."
Inside was a velvet case.
I opened it slowly and gasped.
A diamond necklace. Minimalist but stunning. Classic lines. Expensive without shouting.
Beneath it lay a handwritten note:
> "If they wanted a show… let's give them a queen."
—L
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, uninvited.
---
Hours later, I walked into the Grant Corp styling wing and was surrounded by a team that worked like a hurricane. Hair, makeup, nails, clothes — they didn't ask what I wanted. They simply transformed me into what the world expected a billionaire's fiancée to look like.
But inside, I still felt like the girl who had been thrown out with her belongings stuffed in trash bags.
"You look lethal," Naomi said when I finally stepped in front of the full-length mirror.
I barely recognized myself.
My hair, once dull and limp, was now glossed in waves that fell like silk. My eyes looked bigger, brighter — smoky shadows painted across my lids like secrets. The crimson dress hugged my waist, dipped just enough to make me look powerful without begging for attention.
A queen in red.
"Lucian is waiting downstairs," Naomi said. "Shall I call the car?"
I nodded, swallowing the nerves tightening in my throat. "Yes."
---
The elevator doors opened to reveal Lucian, dressed in black from head to toe, standing beside his Maybach with a phone in hand.
He looked up as I stepped out.
For the first time, he actually looked... surprised.
His gray eyes swept over me — once, twice — as if confirming I was real.
"You clean up well," he said.
"You're late," I replied.
His lips twitched, almost amused. He opened the door for me.
We rode in silence for a while, the city blurring past.
"You planned that gala leak, didn't you?" I finally asked.
"Of course."
"You didn't think to warn me?"
He turned to me, gaze calm. "Would you have agreed to attend if I did?"
I said nothing.
Lucian leaned back, voice cool. "The media frenzy works in our favor. Everyone's looking now — the Dawsons included."
I stiffened at the name.
"They'll be watching everything I do," I muttered.
"Good," Lucian said. "Let them see you rise."
---
The charity gala was held in a hall that looked like a cathedral made of glass and gold. Cameras flashed. High heels clicked across marble. Money smiled with perfect teeth.
As soon as we entered, whispers erupted.
"That's her—"
"Is she really his fiancée?"
"She's the one who slapped Daniel Clarke!"
Daniel.
Speak of the devil.
He was at the far end of the room, beside Lily Dawson. Her dress was pale pink, flowy — innocent — her hair curled in a way that mirrored mine. Her fingers clung to Daniel's sleeve like a delicate vine.
For a moment, our eyes locked across the room.
And then Lily smiled at me.
Sweet. Victimized. Plastic.
Daniel looked away.
Lucian leaned in close and whispered, "Keep your chin up."
I squared my shoulders.
---
We made our way through the room, Lucian introducing me to major shareholders, celebrities, and investors as "my fiancée, Ava Grant."
Each time he said it, I felt another piece of the old me chip away — the scared, broken girl standing in the rain.
But just when I thought I could breathe, a hand grabbed my arm.
Daniel.
He pulled me aside, out of earshot.
"Ava," he whispered urgently. "Please. We need to talk."
I stared at him, stunned.
The same man who had ghosted me days ago — who replaced me like a faulty ornament — now looked pale, desperate, like a kicked dog.
"What is it, Daniel?" I asked coolly.
"I didn't know they were going to do that. Your parents—"
"They're not my parents," I cut in.
He blinked. "What?"
"You replaced me with a stranger without blinking. Don't pretend you didn't know."
"Lily is sweet—she's not trying to—"
"She's playing you," I snapped. "Just like you played me."
He winced.
I smiled coldly. "Tell me, Daniel... Does she fake tears as well as she fakes innocence?"
"You've changed," he muttered.
I tilted my head. "I had to. The old Ava was blind. The new one sees everything."
Then I turned and walked away.
And in full view of the press, cameras, and a hundred stunned guests — I linked my arm through Lucian's and smiled for the flashing lights.
---
By morning, the internet exploded.
BREAKING: Ava Grant Publicly Rejects Ex-Fiancé at Gala
Grant Corporation Confirms Legal Process to Recognize Ava as Heiress
Is Lily Dawson a Fraud? Sources Say the Real Daughter Was Hidden...
Naomi burst into my suite with a smirk. "Congrats. You're trending in 5 countries."
I was barely out of bed. My hair was a mess, my voice groggy. "Lovely."
Lucian arrived an hour later.
He handed me a tablet. "This just came in."
I opened it — and stared.
It was an old letter. Handwritten. Yellowing edges.
> Ava,
If you're reading this, then the people I warned you about finally came.
The Dawsons are not who they pretend to be. There is more at stake than your name.
Never trust anyone who smiles too quickly.
—Mother
My breath caught.
"My real mother wrote this?"
Lucian nodded. "It was recovered from an old safety deposit box in her name."
Tears burned behind my eyes. She had known. She had tried to protect me.
"She died... thinking I was safe."
Lucian sat beside me. "She died trying to keep you hidden."
"I need to know everything," I whispered.
"And you will," he said. "But first—"
He handed me another envelope.
"What's this?"
He met my eyes.
"Your official court appointment. You're being publicly acknowledged as a Grant tomorrow."
---
[End of Chapter 3]