Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The scent of white lilies filled the Dominique mansion's living room. Valena stood amid the bustle, clutching a sheet of paper with a guest list that still wasn't quite finished.

"Miss Valena, the decorations for the back garden are done," a servant reported with a quick bow.

"Thank you, Auntie Sophie. Please make sure the lights are on before sunset."

Seven days left.

Seven days until she turned twenty, and until that engagement ring officially found its place on her finger.

She walked toward the family room, where Sera Dominique was going through fabric swatches for the tablecloths. The woman looked up the moment Valena walked in and smiled a smile Valena had spent the last nineteen years reading as a mother's love.

"You look tired," Sera said. "Sit for a minute."

"I'm fine, Mom. I just want everything to be perfect."

Sera took her hand, holding it tight. "You're always like this. Too hard on yourself." She paused, then added, "We're so lucky to have you, Valena. You know that, right?"

Valena nodded. She had no idea that sentence would become one of the things she'd remember most in the years to come. She had no idea, either, how different it would sound once the truth finally came out.

In the corner of the room, Daniel Gross stood on the phone, going over catering details for that evening. When he hung up and his eyes met hers, the smile he gave her made Valena feel like whatever happened tonight, there was at least one person who'd always be standing beside her.

"Is everything set?" Daniel asked, walking over.

"Almost. You know Dad, he wants everything checked twice."

Daniel laughed softly. "That's because this isn't just any birthday party."

Leovan appeared from the stairs, still in his pajamas even though it was already ten in the morning. "You two are way too busy for people who aren't even engaged until next week," he said through a yawn.

"And you're way too relaxed for someone who's supposed to be helping," Valena shot back.

Leovan just shrugged and dropped himself onto the sofa. There was something off about him lately; his eyes kept going blank, his hands trembling now and then for no clear reason. Valena noticed, but chose not to ask. It wasn't just today, either; her brother had seemed different for days now.

Elsie Dominique, their grandmother, sat in the chair by the window, watching her grandchildren with eyes grown weary with age but still sharp with judgment. "You two are so loud," she said, though her tone carried none of an actual complaint.

"Grandma, I already picked out the best seat for you tonight," Valena said, crouching beside her chair.

Elsie stroked Valena's hair gently. "I just want to see you happy, sweetheart. That's all I need."

That simple, unconditional sentence was the one thing that never changed its meaning, even after everything that came after.

That afternoon, as the sun began to lean west and the servants busied themselves arranging chairs in the garden, the sound of a car pulling up outside the gate broke the silence. Not a car anyone recognized.

Jorge Dominique, who'd just come home from the office, walked out to see who'd arrived unannounced. Valena watched from the living room window, curious.

Two people stepped out of the car. A middle-aged woman with a face that looked familiar, though Valena couldn't place from where. Beside her, a young girl, maybe Valena's age, her eyes sweeping over the mansion as if she were cataloguing every last detail in front of her.

Jorge froze halfway down the path.

"Richa?" His voice barely came out, like he was speaking the name of a ghost.

The woman gave a thin smile, one that never reached her eyes. "It's been a long time, Mr. Dominique."

The girl beside her stepped forward, chin lifted.

"My name is Elara," she said. "And I've come to claim what should have been mine."

At the window, Valena stood frozen, with no idea that those words had just changed the entire course of her life.

Jorge looked back and forth between Elara and Richa. Moments later, footsteps came hurrying from inside the house. It wasn't Valena who came out, it was Sera, with Leovan behind her. Both of them stopped short at the sight of Richa and the girl beside her.

Sera stepped closer, laying a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Richa. What business do you have coming here?"

Richa drew a long breath, no hesitation in it, then gave a small bow. "I'm sorry to intrude on your afternoon, Mrs. Dominique. I only came to return what I once lost." The words came out of her smoothly, rehearsed.

Sera's brow furrowed. A moment later, Elara stepped forward and held out a brown folder to the woman in the ivory satin gown standing before her. Hesitantly, Sera's hand reached out to take it.

Sera's eyes sharpened the instant she realized what was inside the folder DNA test results. Her hands started to shake, crumpling the paper in her grip. Her body swayed, and Leovan caught her before she fell.

"Mom, what is—?"

Leovan pulled the paper from her hands. His eyes went wide, flicking from the paper to the young girl standing in front of them.

His voice came out barely above a whisper. "You're... my sister?" There was a thread of doubt woven through the words.

But before Leovan could even finish the thought, Elara had already thrown her arms around him, her voice cracking with hysterics. "Brother, I finally found you!"

Sera looked at Richa one more time. "Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me."

In an instant, Sera had accepted Elara as her own, without a shred of suspicion. She led the girl inside, holding her close as if Elara were the most precious thing she'd ever owned.

From the doorway, Valena stepped out with a smile on her face, hand extended. "Hi, sister. I finally have a sister!"

But that warm welcome was met with something far more painful: being brushed aside completely.

"Valena, let Elara rest. She must be tired." Jorge's voice came from behind her, and when she turned, he was looking at her with an expression she'd never seen from him before, something laced with doubt, as if after nineteen years he was only now truly seeing who it was that had been carrying the Dominique name all this time.

Valena nodded, even as something in her chest cracked silently. She let Sera take his biological daughter off to her room.

"Tonight, let Elara sleep in the guest room. Tomorrow, you're the one moving to the guest room, Valena."

Valena's hands curled into fists at her sides. She gave her own father a smile wide, and bitter all at once even as, deep down, she understood that something far bigger than a be

droom had just been taken from her that night.