CHAPTER 5

Serena's POV

When I woke up the next morning, Adrian's words were still playing in my head. “Damian knows already. And he’s coming.”

Sleep had been teasing me for hours, but it never stayed. I lay awake in the room they gave me, it was larger than any room I had ever called my own. The walls were painted in warm cream color, and the curtains were open wide to let in the light of dawn. I didn't feel stuck here. For once, I felt as if the walls were not closing in but holding me safely.

When I finally sat up, my phone vibrated violently on the nightstand. When I picked it up, I saw dozens of missed calls, messages coming in so quickly I could barely swipe them away. Damian's name kept flashing at the top. His voice filled my voicemail, low and sharp, telling me to pick up his calls.

I didn’t.

Instead, I turned it face down and pressed my hand over my racing heart. His voice had held me down and kept me quiet for years. Now I let it buzz without listening to it.

The world had already broken out by the time I got downstairs to join my brothers.

Leo had his back against the couch and was happily looking through his phone. “You are trending sister. Top three worldwide. Serena Valehart Returns.’” He turned the screen toward me and was so excited that he looked like a kid who is proud to share a secret. There were big headlines on it that said things like "Lost Heiress Found, Valehart Brothers Welcome Their Sister, and From Forgotten Wife to Billion-Dollar Princess."

My throat tightened as I stared. That name Valehart was everywhere. And my face, too. The picture Leo posted of me in his arms, still wet from the rain. My lips parted, but no sound came.For a long time, no one had seen me, and now the whole world was looking.

Nathan raised his eyes from the papers he was reading at the table. His voice was steady, but his gaze was sharp on me. “Ignore the noise. There will be praise. And there will be accusations. But none of it changes who you are.”

Then Adrian walked in, looking sharp in a black suit. His presence filled the room. He looked right at me as he put a folder on the table. "Today is your day to join the boardroom. You take what is yours today.”

The air shifted around me, heavy with the weight of his words. My palms dampened as I swallowed hard. "I'm not sure if I'm ready."

“You are,” Adrian said, no hesitation in his voice. “And even if you’re not, we’ll make sure you stand tall.”

Leo put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me "Don't worry, princess. You'll be fine. Everyone loves you already. Wait until they see you.”

Hearing this, I let a small, uncertain smile curve my lips.

But love from around the world wasn't the only thing that was waiting.

By afternoon, Vanessa had taken her shot.

Her post spread like wildfire. It was a photo of Damian adjusting her necklace at the gala, her caption mean and cocky saying “Some women were born placeholders. Some of us were born to be chosen. Guess which one I am?”

My stomach turned as I read it. The comments were worse, people laughed, made fun of me. My fingers trembled as I set the phone down, my chest burning with shame.

Nathan's hand hit the table hard and final. "Not for long."

Within hours, Vanessa’s account was taken down. His team moved fast, faster than the gossip could spread. By the evening, the same feed that made fun of me had a statement that said Vanessa Crowne had sued for slander and was facing damages that could break her. The laughter online turned into silence, then awe

Nathan adjusted his glasses, his tone calm but edged with steel. “No one mocks you without being punished. Not again.”

Damian, however, refused to let go quietly.

He called again, more desperate now with a lot of messages.

Serena, listen. We need to talk. Don’t do this. You have no idea what you're getting into.

His voice filled the room as I stared at the screen. For a moment, old habits begged me to answer. To submit.

But then Adrian snatched the phone from me, his hand steady and unyielding. He pressed a switch of buttons, and the phone went dead. “He no longer has that right.”

I met Adrian’s gaze, something fierce flickering in his eyes, and in that moment, I believed it.

Evening came, and it was time to visit the boardroom.

The Valehart tower stood tall above the city, its glass walls glowing in the dusk like a crown. My heart beat faster as I walked between my brothers, my heels clicking on the polished floor. Inside the top floor boardroom, men and women sat around a big table, their eyes sharp, their suits sharper. As soon as I walked in, there were whispers everywhere.

Adrian stood tall at the head, his voice calm but commanding. “This is Serena Valehart. My sister. The daughter and the rightful heir to this empire.”

The whispers got louder, then fell under the weight of his voice. My legs trembled as I moved to his side, every look at me was like a knife, judging and measuring me.

I lifted my chin, forcing my hands from shaking. Nathan looked at me across the table and his eyes were steady, reassuring, and quiet. Leo smiled from his seat and tapped his phone like he was sharing my every breath to the world. Adrian's hand briefly rested on my back, giving me a sense of stability and safety.

I didn't shrink. I stood like I finally belonged somewhere.

The meeting ended with everyone signed and stamped papers. My name was written next to theirs

As I walked out of the tower that night, cameras flashed, reporters shouted, voices blurred together into a storm of sound. But I didn’t bow my head or hide behind anyone’s shadow. I walked forward, my brothers beside me as the whole world watched.

And for the first time in years, I felt like Serena. Not the wife who was discarded. Not the woman called a stand-in.