Adira's POV
The morning started with silence.
Too much silence.
I should have known that meant a storm was coming.
By 10 a.m., it broke.
"Addy, don't check your phone." Sam's voice was urgent through the intercom.
My stomach dropped. "Why?"
"Because Ashley just detonated a bomb."
But it was too late. My screen lit up with dozens of notifications, all the same headline:
"Williams Heiress Not a True Daughter? Scandal Rocks Africa's Richest Family."
I froze. My lungs wouldn't expand. My pulse thundered in my ears.
The articles came in waves. "Anonymous sources" (I knew exactly who they were) leaked the story: that the Williams patriarch had fathered a child with his secretary. That the secretary died during childbirth. That the baby girl was raised as a "twin" alongside the legitimate daughter, Ashley.
Me.
The bastard child.
The unwanted one.
It wasn't just gossip anymore it was a bloodstained truth printed in black and white.
I stumbled back into my office chair, shaking. "No. No, it can't this can't be real"
Jayden was there in an instant, kneeling before me, steady hands gripping mine. His voice was low, firm, anchoring me.
"Adira. Breathe."
I tried, but my chest tightened. My entire life felt like it was unraveling. The coldness from my mother, the slap in the principal's office, Ashley's hatred suddenly it all made horrifying sense.
"They'll destroy me," I whispered, tears stinging. "The company, the investors my entire reputation is built on being a Williams. If that's gone"
"Then you show them you're more than a name," Jayden cut in sharply. His eyes burned into mine. "You built this empire, not your parents. Not Ashley. You. And no headline can erase that."
Behind him, Kendrick's jaw was tight, fists clenched. "Ashley's gone too far this time. She's not just trying to ruin you. She's trying to bury you."
Sam's eyes shone with fury. "Addy, you don't have to go through this alone. We'll fight this. Together."
But all I could think of was my mother's face. The way she looked at me my entire life like I was a stain. And now I knew why.
Ashley's POV
The champagne glass clinked as she toasted her own reflection.
"Checkmate."
The world was finally seeing Adira for what she was: a fraud, an outsider, a mistake.
And when the investors abandoned her, when her empire crumbled, Ashley would stand above the ruins the only true Williams daughter.
But deep down, behind the smirk, a flicker of fear nagged.
Because if Adira survived this, she would be unstoppable.