THE FAMILIAR STRANGER

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• HEIRESS REBORN   DADDY’S DIRTY SECRETS

  POV: ALINAIt starts with a text from Margot: "He is ready. Retired. Angry. Has receipts."I stare at it for a second too long. Not because I am unsure. But because this thread, this particular one is old. Deeper. Dirtier. It's not about Nathaniel this time. Not directly. It’s about his bloodline. The dirt under the dynasty. The secrets his father buried beneath polished charity dinners and company speeches.I reply one word: "Greenlight."Vivian handles the actual meeting. I stay out of it. She iss better at pretending this is just about corporate interests. Easier to explain that way. The man they are meeting, Charles Brentley, he used to work under the old Cross patriarch. CFO for one of the shell charity arms they funneled money through. Got pushed out quietly when he started asking questions. Paid off, silenced, and discredited.Until now.Vivian calls me the second it’s done. “Alina,” she says, voice tight. “This guy? He’s a vault. And he’s been waiting years for someone to t

• HEIRESS REBORN   FRACTURES

  POV: SASHAI haven’t slept. Not really. I’ve just been lying there in the dark, my heart pounding like it’s trying to claw out of my chest. I keep checking my phone. Nothing. Jared's gone completely quiet. I don’t know if he blocked me or if he’s just smart enough to stay away from all of this now. Probably the latter. He's not stupid. Unlike me.My room is a mess. Clothes everywhere. Coffee cups on the floor. Papers I meant to shred. And the one goddamn memo I can't stop looking at.That stupid, fake-looking Cross Industries memo about Elena. The one that claims she once tried to get rid of me. That she saw me as a threat. That she was behind the story about my fake charity laundering money years ago. I wanted to throw it out. I didn’t. I can’t.Because something about it feels too real.It’s like someone is watching us. Like someone knows exactly where to poke, where to twist. And it’s working.How stupid was I to flare up like that? And in a public space no less!I am burning my br

• HEIRESS REBORN    DIVIDE AND CONQUER:

  POV: ALINA The thing with liars is they never expect to be lied to better.I lean back in the car, legs crossed, phone in one hand, fake memo in the other. Margot made sure it looked real. Old Cross Industries letterhead, internal phrasing, Elena's clipped tone. No actual date, no actual signature—just enough to feel dangerous."Sasha Moore has become increasingly erratic. We should consider distancing her from Nathaniel. She no longer serves the family's long-term goals."I stare at it for a second, then forward it from an untraceable account. Sasha will open it. Of course she will. She's been spiraling since the leak. She’s clinging to Nathaniel harder than ever, acting like Elena’s silence means protection. But Sasha’s not stupid. Just desperate.Desperation is easy to manipulate.Theo texts me two minutes later: Sent. Delivery confirmed.Vivian’s voice cuts into my focus. “We’re almost there.”I glance up. The board meeting. One of those charity vanity things Cross Industries fun

• HEIRESS REBORN   THE UNRAVELING

  POV: DAMIENShe’s sitting by the window when I walk in. Her back is straight, arms crossed, like she's trying to hold herself together by force. The way you do when you’re one deep breath away from shattering. I don’t knock. I don’t ask. I just close the door behind me and stand there."You think this is strength," I say as I throw the paper in front of her. It's a picture of Sasha dragging her luggage out of Nathaniel's penthouse She doesn't flinch. Doesn't turn around. Just keeps looking out like the skyline's whispering something more important than me.“It is to me.”"But it's not. It's punishment. You're still punishing yourself."That gets her. She shifts a little but still doesn’t look at me."You’re hurting yourself, Alina. I see it. Every damn day."She lets out a bitter laugh. "Don’t call me that.""I will. Because that’s who you are to me. Not this mask. Not this war."She finally turns. Her face is calm but her eyes, those eyes are drowning. "Don’t do that. Don’t act like

• HEIRESS REBORN   JEALOUSY HAS TEETH

  POV: NATHANIELI see her before I even walk in.She’s standing by the mezzanine rail, laughing at something Damien says, head tilted just a little like she’s listening closely, like she trusts him. It grates on en because I recognize that tilt That tilt, it is the same way Alina used to lean in when she still believed I gave a damn. That stupid little angle, like she’s letting herself fall without looking.It says I trust you.Damien’s hand is on her lower back. Just there. Just resting. Light, like it belongs there. And she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t shift away like she does with me.She lets him touch her.And I know it’s not about sex. I know that. I’ve had sex with women who couldn’t look me in the eye afterward. Kaia... she smiles at him. Easy. Calm. I’ve never seen her calm. Not with me. With me she’s always tense, clipped, sharp as hell. But now? She’s soft. Relaxed. Like whatever armor she wears around me doesn’t exist with him.That’s what bothers me.Not the hand. Not the prox

• HEIRESS REBORN   PANIC PROTOCOL

  POV: SASHAI haven’t felt this calm in weeks.I’m lying on the chaise by the window, legs stretched out, wine glass in one hand, my other hand lazily scrolling through muted stories on my phone. Sunlight’s filtering in soft through the blinds. The house is quiet, and for the first time in a while, I feel like maybe everything’s going to level out.I know the world is burning right now, but at least… for now… I am at peace No new gossip blogs. No passive-aggressive texts from Elena. No weird glances from Nicholas. Not today.Today, I feel… okay. Just okay. And okay is good.It is better than good. It's perfect.I tilt my head back and close my eyes, letting the quiet in. Maybe this nightmare is winding down. Maybe that first envelope was some twisted prank. A threat, sure, but nothing followed it. Maybe they got bored. Maybe they’re done.Maybe I’m not the target anymore.I let the glass rest on my stomach. My phone drops to the side of the cushion.For a second, I feel peace.And th