Eva – First Person
By the time I get back to my desk, my hands are still shaking.
Katherine Wolfe threatened me.
Not subtly. Not passively. Openly.
But what she doesn't realize is I'm not the scared little girl my mother once was.
I came here for blood.
And now I know where to start.
I dig through my bag, pull out the burner phone I bought weeks ago just in case. One number saved. One person who might know more.
I text:
"Tell me everything about K.W.
I think I found her."
Twelve Hours Later – A Rooftop in Brooklyn
I meet him in a half-lit rooftop bar overlooking the East River. He's already there, sipping whiskey and watching the skyline like it betrayed him.
Luca Voss.
Illegitimate son of a Wolfe board member. Corporate black sheep. Hacker. Problem-solver. And my mother's old contact before she died.
He doesn't greet me when I approach. Just raises a brow. "You sure you're ready for this, princess?"
I sit across from him. "Drop the attitude. What do you know?"
He smirks. "Plenty. But the question is—do you want truth or safety? Because you can't have both."
"Truth," I say without hesitation.
He leans back, watching me.
"Fine. Katherine Wolfe didn't just cover up your mother's pregnancy. She orchestrated it. She paid a private clinic to scrub the records. She had surveillance on your mother for months. Damien never knew. Never even had a chance."
My stomach turns.
"But that's not the real twist," he adds. "The real twist is this—she had a reason."
I lean forward. "What kind of reason?"
"She wanted Damien to marry someone else."
I freeze. "Who?"
He downs the rest of his whiskey. "Her best friend's daughter. Boardroom royalty. Old money. Pure image. Girl named Miranda Lane. She's the one Damien was supposed to marry. Katherine's power play. A strategic empire merger. Until your mother got in the way."
I sit back, stunned.
That was the motive. Control. Power. Katherine didn't just want to protect Damien. She wanted to own him.
And I ruined it all just by being born.
"Where is Miranda now?" I ask.
Luca grins. "Funny you ask. She just flew back to New York. Rumor is… she wants her second chance."
Next Morning – Wolfe Enterprises, Executive Wing
The whispers start the second I step out of the elevator.
"She's back?"
"No way."
"She's actually gorgeous in person."
I turn the corner—and stop cold.
Standing in Damien's office, wearing a pale-blue suit and designer heels, is the very woman from Luca's file.
Miranda Lane.
She turns as I approach. Smooth brown hair. Cold smile. The kind of beauty that gets carved into marble. The kind of woman used to winning.
Her gaze sweeps over me. "You must be Eva. The new intern."
Intern.
She says it like insect.
"Miranda Lane," she adds, offering her hand. "Childhood friend of Damien. We go way back."
I take her hand. Squeeze just a little too tight. "I've heard."
She leans in slightly. "You won't last. He gets bored easily."
I smile sweetly. "Then I guess I'll just have to keep him entertained."
Before she can reply, Damien walks in.
And everything inside me stutters.
He's wearing black today—black button-down, black watch, that subtle cologne that makes my knees forget how to stand.
He sees us, frowns slightly. "You two met?"
"Just now," Miranda purrs.
Damien nods once, then looks at me. "Eva. I need you in the archive room. Fifth floor. The Merisol files. Now."
Translation: Get out before this gets messy.
I leave without another word—but my blood is boiling.
Miranda Lane isn't just here for business.
She's here for him.
And Katherine's trying to rewrite the past.
But I'm still here.
And I'm done playing nice.
Later – Archive Room
The room is silent. Dusty. A place meant for records no one wants to remember.
I pull the Merisol files from the cabinet, but my mind is spinning.
Katherine lied. Miranda's returned. Damien's in the middle of it all—and I'm standing on secrets so old, they're starting to rot.
My phone buzzes.
Luca.
"You asked for the final puzzle piece. I found it.
There's a second will.
Your mother never cashed out.
Damien left her something.
And Katherine buried it."
I stare at the screen, pulse racing.
What?
A second will?
A legacy my mother never knew she had?
It changes everything.
Damien did care.
He did try.
He just never knew the truth.
And if I show him what I've found…
I'll either win him back—
Or destroy us both.
I stare at Luca's message like it might disappear if I blink.
"There's a second will.
Your mother never cashed out.
Damien left her something.
And Katherine buried it."
I reread the words again and again, heat crawling up the back of my neck.
Damien left her something?
Could he have known?
No—he was told the baby had died. Luca said that. But then… why a second will? Why keep my mother's name on anything, if he truly believed she was gone?
Unless…
A sharp knock on the archive room door jerks me back to the present.
Damien stands in the doorway.
His expression unreadable.
"Need help?" he asks.
"No," I say too quickly, too sharply. "I was just finishing."
He walks in anyway.
Closes the door behind him.
And suddenly, the air in the room feels too thin.
"I'm sorry about earlier," he says quietly. "About Miranda. She just… showed up."
I nod. "So I heard."
"She doesn't mean anything to me anymore, Eva."
I don't say anything. My hands shake slightly as I gather the files, trying to act like I'm not about to explode.
"I don't owe her a second chance," he adds. "But maybe I owe you something."
I freeze.
Damien exhales slowly. "Come to the gala tomorrow night."
I turn, surprised. "What?"
"It's the Wolfe Foundation's annual charity event. Press. Board members. Old money and new power in one room. I want you there."
"Why me?"
His eyes meet mine. "Because if I'm going to face my past… I want you beside me."
The words hit me somewhere I didn't know was still vulnerable.
But just as quickly, the walls come back up. Because this isn't just about the past.
It's about what's still being hidden.
"Fine," I say, my voice cool. "But I hope you're ready, Damien. Because secrets don't stay buried forever."
He narrows his eyes slightly, sensing the weight behind my words.
But he doesn't press.
Instead, he steps close—closer than he should—until I can feel the heat of him, smell the clean leather and spice on his skin.
"Wear red," he murmurs. "You look dangerous in red."
Then he leaves.
And I'm left in the silence, holding a file folder and a hundred questions that suddenly don't feel rhetorical anymore.
Later That Night – My Apartment
I dig through my mother's old things until my fingers find the box she'd hidden beneath her bed.
Inside—faded letters, ultrasounds, a photo of Damien I'd never seen before.
But tucked behind the frame is something else.
A sealed envelope. My mother's name in ink.
And a wax seal I recognize from Wolfe Enterprises.
I tear it open.
Inside—an official document.
A codicil.
Dated twenty-four years ago.
Damien Wolfe bequeaths a 2.5% stake in Wolfe Enterprises to:
Claire Sinclair (and her living heir, if any).
My breath catches.
My mother never knew she was still written into his legacy.
And if Katherine did know…
Then this isn't just a lie.
It's fraud.
Corporate. Personal. Strategic.
My hands tremble as I clutch the letter to my chest.
Tomorrow, at that gala, everything changes.
Because I'm not just the intern anymore.
Not just the girl with a grudge.
I'm the heiress Katherine tried to erase.
And I'm done staying silent.