THE TRUTH SURFACES
Evan waited in Lucien's office, hands clenched.
Lucien stood by the window, arms crossed.
"Talk."
Evan swallowed.
"I helped Serena fake the footage," he confessed. "But I didn't know she'd destroy Elara like this."
Lucien turned slowly.
"You betrayed her," he said coldly.
"And you betrayed me."
Evan handed him a flash drive.
"Everything is here," he said. "Messages, payments, edits. Serena planned it all."
Lucien's jaw tightened.
"If you're lying—"
"I'm not," Evan interrupted. "I want to make it right."
Lucien took the drive.
"You'll testify," he said.
"And if you disappear, I'll find you."
Evan nodded.
"I deserve that."
---
Serena on the Run
Serena hurried through the airport, sunglasses hiding her panic.
Her phone rang.
Lucien.
She ignored it.
Another call.
Then a text:
You can't run forever.
Her heart pounded.
She changed direction, rushing toward the exit.
But security stopped her.
"Miss Vale," an officer said, "we need you to come with us."
Her bag slipped from her hands.
"No… no…"
---
Elara's Past
Elara sat in her small room when a knock sounded.
A middle-aged woman stood outside.
"Are you Elara Wynn?" she asked.
"Yes?"
The woman hesitated.
"I was a nurse… at Saint Mary's Hospital," she said softly.
"Twenty-three years ago."
Elara stiffened.
"You were switched at birth."
The world tilted.
"What?" she whispered.
"There were two babies," the nurse said.
"One rich family. One poor. Someone paid to swap them."
Elara's hands trembled.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because the truth is coming out," the woman said.
"And you deserve to know who you really are."