ELARA'S POV
The taxi driver kept staring at me through the mirror.
"Miss, are you sure about this address?" he asked. "This neighborhood... it's very private. Very expensive."
I checked my phone again. Kaelan's message was clear: 1247 Oakwood Drive. 9 PM.
"I'm sure."
The houses got bigger as we drove. Gates appeared. Security cameras watched from every corner. My cheap clothes suddenly felt wrong. Out of place.
The taxi stopped in front of massive iron gates. A camera turned toward us.
"Name?" a voice crackled through the speaker.
"Elara Reed. Kaelan is expecting me."
The gates opened slowly. We drove up a long driveway.
My heart hammered against my ribs. What was I doing here? What if this was a trap? What if Kaelan wasn't who he said he was?
The house appeared through the trees. It was huge. Modern. Made of glass and stone.
I paid the driver and got out. The taxi drove away, leaving me alone.
The front door opened before I could knock.
But it wasn't Kaelan.
A woman stood there. She was older, maybe sixty. Her face was kind but her eyes were sad.
"You must be Elara," she said. "Come in quickly. Before anyone sees you."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Margaret. I work for Kaelan. Please, hurry."
Something felt wrong. Very wrong.
But I stepped inside anyway.
Margaret led me through the house. We passed rooms filled with books, art, furniture that probably cost more than my old car.
She stopped at a heavy wooden door. "He's waiting in here. Whatever he tells you tonight, remember something. Kaelan isn't good at asking for help. But he needs you as much as you need him."
Before I could ask what she meant, she opened the door and gently pushed me inside.
The room was dark except for a fireplace. Kaelan stood by the window, his back to me.
"You came," he said quietly.
"You said to come alone. I'm here. Now tell me what's going on. Who's the person I trusted? Who's been pulling strings?"
Kaelan turned around. In the firelight, his face looked different. Tired. Older.
"Your father."
The world tilted. "What?"
"Your real father. He's alive, Elara."
"That's impossible! He died when I was ten! I went to his funeral!"
"You went to a funeral. But the casket was empty." Kaelan walked toward me. "Your father didn't die. He disappeared. And he's the one who orchestrated everything that happened to you."
My legs felt weak. I grabbed the back of a chair. "You're lying."
"I wish I was." Kaelan pulled out a folder from his desk. "Three weeks ago, I hired investigators to look into your family. I wanted to know why your stepmother was so cruel. Why Chloe hated you so much. I found something I didn't expect."
He handed me the folder.
Inside were photos. Documents. Bank records.
And pictures of a man who looked exactly like the father I remembered. Older, but the same eyes. The same smile.
"This was taken two months ago," Kaelan said. "In Switzerland. He's been living there under a different name. Richard Hayes."
My hands shook so hard the papers fell to the floor. "Why? Why would he leave me?"
"Money. Your mother had a trust fund worth millions. When she died, it was supposed to go to you on your twenty-fifth birthday. But your father found a loophole. If you got married before twenty-five, he could access the money through your husband."
The room spun. I sat down before I fell down.
"Liam," I whispered. "My father told Liam to marry me?"
"Worse. Your father made a deal with your stepmother years ago. She would raise you, keep you under control, make sure you married someone weak. Someone your father could manipulate. In return, she'd get thirty percent of the trust fund."
"And Chloe?"
"She was supposed to distract you. Keep you busy with drama so you wouldn't ask questions. But she got jealous. She wanted Liam for herself. So she came up with the fake illness plan without telling anyone."
I couldn't breathe. My whole life was a lie. Every single piece of it.
"My father planned everything? For money?"
"Not just money. Control. He wanted to pull your strings forever. Make you dependent on him."
Tears ran down my face. I didn't try to stop them. "How do you know all this?"
Kaelan knelt in front of me. His eyes met mine. "Because fifteen years ago, your father did the same thing to my family. He stole my father's company through lies and manipulation. My dad never recovered. He died broken and poor. I've been looking for Richard Hayes ever since."
Everything clicked into place. "That's why you're helping me. You want revenge on my father."
"Yes. But also because stopping him means protecting you. If we don't act now, he'll come back. He'll find another way to take your mother's money. Another way to control your life."
I stood up. My whole body felt numb. "What do we do?"
"We go through with my plan. You work for me. Learn everything. Get strong. But we also do something else." Kaelan stood too. "We pretend to make up with your family. We make them trust you again. And while they think you're under their control, we gather evidence. Evidence of everything. The fraud. The manipulation. All of it."
"That could take months."
"It will take exactly one year. I've already started building the case. But I need your help to finish it. I need someone on the inside."
I thought about my father. The man I cried over for years. The man I missed every single day.
He abandoned me. Betrayed me. Used me.
Just like Liam. Just like my stepfamily.
Everyone I ever trusted destroyed me.
Except Kaelan.
This stranger who owed me nothing was the only person telling me the truth.
"If I do this," I said slowly, "if I help you take them all down... I need a promise."
"Name it."
"When this is over, I never want to see any of them again. Not my father. Not my stepfamily. Nobody. Can you make that happen?"
"Yes. I'll make sure they can't touch you ever again."
I looked at the folder on the floor. At the face of the father I thought I knew.
I had nothing left to lose. Nothing left to hold onto.
The old Elara died the day Liam chose Chloe.
Time to become someone new. Someone stronger. Someone who couldn't be hurt anymore.
I held out my hand. "Then I'm in. One year. We destroy them all."
Kaelan took my hand. His grip was warm. Firm. Safe.
"Partners," he said.
"Partners."
We shook.
And in that moment, I felt something shift inside me. Fear turning into anger. Sadness turning into power.
They wanted to break me?
I'd show them what broken looked like.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Margaret rushed in, her face white with panic.
"Kaelan! Someone's here! The security cameras caught a car—"
A loud crash echoed through the house. Glass breaking. Shouting.
Kaelan pushed me behind him. "Who is it?"
"I don't know! They came through the back gate! They're inside the house!"
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway. Getting closer. Closer.
The door flew open.
And Liam stood there, wild-eyed and breathing hard. Blood dripped from his hand.
"Elara," he gasped. "Thank God. We need to leave. Right now. Your father sent people to kill you."
Behind him, I heard more footsteps. More voices.
They weren't alone.
Kaelan grabbed my arm. "Run. Now."
But it was too late.
Three men in black appeared behind Liam. One of them smiled.
"Hello, Elara," he said in a voice I almost recognized. "Your daddy sends his love. And his regards."
He raised a gun.
Everything went dark.