Chapter Twenty-one : Friend Or Foe ?

This was it. The full circle. Ivy had everything Eliana had once possessed: the fiancé, the social standing, the public adoration. The exact life Eliana had walked away from, the one that had led to her demise. The one she had foolishly given up before to give to a man who had only wanted her for what her family could offer him.

But Eliana was no longer the naive heiress. She was a different woman, with a different path, and a different kind of power. And now, with Ivy firmly in place, Eliana was free to build her empire, unburdened by the ghosts of her past.

Her phone buzzed. It was Damian. She hadn’t spoken to him much since her move, maintaining a distance to avoid suspicion and to allow her plan to unfold.

“Eliana,” Damian’s voice, usually calm and composed, was laced with a rare agitation. “Have you seen the news?”

“I have,” Eliana replied, her voice steady. “The engagement. It’s quite the spectacle, isn’t it?”

“Spectacle? Eliana, it’s a betrayal!” Damian roared, his frustr