Elara's POV
I ran.
My feet pounded up the marble staircase, past family photos that now felt like lies, past the childhood I thought I'd had. Behind me, I heard Mom calling my name, Dad arguing with the lawyers, Adrian's measured footsteps following at a distance.
Always following.
I slammed my bedroom door and locked it, pressing my back against the wood. My chest heaved. My hands shook. Everything I'd ever known about myself had just shattered into a million pieces.
I wasn't Elara Ashford.
I was nobody. A mistake. A girl who'd stolen someone else's life without even knowing it.
The photos on my dresser mocked me—birthday parties, family vacations, graduations. All of them lies. That little girl blowing out candles wasn't the Ashford daughter. She was an imposter wearing someone else's face.
I sank onto my bed, wrapping my arms around myself. The shaking wouldn't stop.
A soft knock on the door made me jump.
Elara. Adrian's voice, gentle as poisoned honey. Let me in.
Go away.
We need to talk.
I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you. Just leave me alone!
Silence. For a moment, I thought he'd actually listened.
Then I heard the click of a key turning in the lock.
The door swung open. Adrian stood there, slipping a key into his pocket. Of course he had a key. He'd always had keys to every room in this house. Always had access to every part of my life.
I said I wanted to be alone, I said, trying to sound strong. But my voice cracked.
Adrian stepped inside and closed the door behind him. You shouldn't be alone right now. Not after news like that.
You KNEW! The words exploded out of me. For seven years, you knew I wasn't really your sister, and you never told me!
I was protecting you.
You were lying to me! Everyone was lying to me! My whole life is a lie!
Your life is exactly what it's always been, Adrian said calmly. He moved toward the bed, and I scrambled backward until I hit the headboard. You're still the same person you were this morning. The same brilliant, kind, beautiful
Stop. I held up a hand. Don't talk to me like that. Don't look at me like that.
Like what?
Like I'm something you own.
Adrian's jaw tightened. He sat on the edge of my bed uninvited, unwanted—and the mattress dipped under his weight.
This is hard, he said softly. I know. Finding out you're not who you thought you were. But Elara, listen to me. You're still you. DNA doesn't change that. You're still the girl who loves old movies and hates mushrooms. Who cries at animal rescue videos. Who bites her lip when she's concentrating.
The details should have been comforting. Instead, they terrified me. How closely had he been watching? How much did he know?
I'm not an Ashford, I whispered. I don't belong here.
You belong with me. Adrian reached out and grabbed my shoulders, his grip firm. That's all that matters.
Let go of me.
Not until you understand. His eyes locked onto mine, burning with intensity that made my skin crawl. You think this news is a tragedy? It's not. It's a gift. It's freedom.
Freedom? I tried to pull away but he held tight. I just found out my entire identity is fake! How is that freedom?
Because you're not my sister anymore. The words came out raw, desperate. Don't you see, Elara? For seven years, I've been in agony. Loving you in ways I shouldn't. Wanting you when it was forbidden. The guilt was destroying me.
My blood turned to ice. What are you saying?
I'm saying I've been waiting for this moment since I was seventeen years old. His hands slid from my shoulders to my arms, and his touch felt like brands burning into my skin. Twenty years, Elara. Twenty years of pretending to be your brother when every fiber of my being wanted to be so much more.
I couldn't breathe. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be real.
You're sick, I whispered.
I'm honest. Adrian's voice dropped lower, more intense. Everyone else in your life lies to you. Hides things from you. But me? I'm telling you the truth. I love you. Not as a brother. As a man who's built his entire existence around you. Who's shaped every decision, every goal, every ambition around being worthy of you.
I don't want this. I don't want you to
You don't have a choice. His face was inches from mine now. I've spent seven years removing obstacles. Getting rid of anyone who tried to take you from me. Building an empire so I could give you everything. And now, finally, there's nothing standing between us.
There's EVERYTHING standing between us! I shoved against his chest but he didn't budge. You're insane! What you're describing isn't love, it's obsession!
Call it whatever you want. It doesn't change what I feel. His hand came up to cup my face, his thumb brushing my cheek with terrifying gentleness. Or what you feel.
I feel nothing for you except fear!
Liar. His eyes searched mine. I've seen how you look at me sometimes. That confusion. That flutter of something you couldn't name because you thought it was wrong. But it wasn't wrong, Elara. It was real. And now you're free to feel it.
You're delusional
The door burst open.
Mom stood there, her face pale and horrified. Adrian, get away from her. Now.
Adrian didn't move. This is a private conversation.
I said GET AWAY FROM HER! Mom's voice cracked with hysteria I'd never heard before. What you just said downstairs—what you're doing right now—this is sick, Adrian. You need help.
I need Elara. He finally released me and stood, turning to face our mother. And I'm not going to let anyone take her from me. Not you. Not Dad. Not the real heiress who wants to steal her place.
She's your sister!
She's NOT! Adrian's voice rose for the first time, raw and desperate. She was never my sister! And I'm done pretending!
Mom grabbed his arm, trying to pull him toward the door. You're leaving. Right now. And you're not coming near Elara again until you've seen a psychiatrist.
Adrian laughed—cold and bitter. You can't keep me away from her. This is my house too. My company. My family. You have no power over me.
You're our SON
And she's the woman I love. Adrian pulled his arm free. Choose carefully, Mother. Because if you make me choose between this family and Elara, you won't like my answer.
He walked past her, pausing in the doorway to look back at me.
This isn't over, he said quietly. We have our whole lives ahead of us, Elara. You'll understand eventually. You'll see that everything I've done, I did because I love you more than anyone else ever could.
He left.
Mom rushed to my side, pulling me into her arms. I collapsed against her, shaking uncontrollably.
It's okay, baby. It's going to be okay. We'll figure this out.
But through my tears, I heard footsteps in the hallway. Heard Adrian's door close.
And I knew, with absolute certainty, that nothing would ever be okay again.
Because the brother I'd trusted my whole life was a stranger.
And the stranger was obsessed with me in ways that would never, ever let me go.
Hours later, after Mom finally left, I sat in the darkness of my room and pulled out my phone with shaking hands.
I needed help. I needed to escape. I needed
The screen lit up with a text from an unknown number.
I'm watching your window right now. You look beautiful when you cry. Sleep well, Elara. Tomorrow, we start our new life together.
I ran to the window and looked out.
Across the courtyard, in his bedroom window, Adrian stood silhouetted against the light.
Watching me.
Always watching.
And when our eyes met across the distance, he pressed his palm against the glass.
A promise. A threat. A claim.
I stumbled backward, my phone slipping from my hands.
I was trapped in a house with a man who'd orchestrated my entire life.
Who'd destroyed anyone who got close to me.
Who'd waited seven years for the moment he could stop pretending to be my brother.
And now that moment had finally come.