Chapter 5 — The Real Heiress

For a moment, the entire Aurora Club felt frozen in time.

Every eye in the room was fixed on the massive screen behind Lena.

VALE GLOBAL HEIRSHIP CONFIRMATION

Lena Ward’s name sat boldly beneath the title.

Stamped.

Signed.

Official.

The document looked completely legitimate.

A ripple of whispers spread through the crowd.

“Wait… then who is that girl?”

“Was Adrian Cross wrong?”

“Did she really lie about being the heiress?”

Aria stood perfectly still as the murmurs grew louder.

Inside, her mind was racing.

Because the document looked real.

Too real.

Which meant only one thing.

Someone inside Vale Global hadn’t just helped Lena—they had forged company records.

Beside her, Adrian Cross stared at the screen with narrowed eyes.

“That’s impressive,” he murmured.

Aria glanced at him.

“You sound almost amused.”

“I’m impressed by the effort,” he said calmly. “Not the outcome.”

Meanwhile, Lena’s laughter echoed through the club.

She stepped closer to the microphone.

“Well,” she said lightly, “this is awkward.”

The crowd chuckled nervously.

Lena gestured toward Aria dramatically.

“This girl has been stalking me for weeks, claiming she’s the real heiress.”

Gasps rippled through the audience again.

Daniel shook his head beside her, looking disappointed.

“I told you guys,” he said loudly. “She’s obsessed.”

Aria felt something cold settle inside her chest.

Two years.

Two years with him.

And now he was publicly humiliating her.

Lena continued speaking smoothly.

“But I didn’t want to embarrass her.”

She sighed dramatically.

“Unfortunately, some people don’t know when to stop.”

One of the Vale Global executives stepped forward.

A middle-aged man Aria recognized immediately.

Harold Whitmore.

Senior board member.

A man her father had trusted.

He cleared his throat.

“Miss Ward,” he said respectfully, “perhaps we should handle this privately.”

Lena smiled politely.

“Of course, Mr. Whitmore.”

Then she looked back toward Aria.

“But first, I think she should apologize.”

The room turned toward Aria again.

Waiting.

Watching.

Expecting humiliation.

Security guards stood only a few steps away now.

Ready to escort her out.

Aria slowly lifted her head.

Her eyes met Lena’s across the crowded club.

And for the first time since the nightmare began…

Aria smiled.

Not nervously.

Not politely.

But calmly.

Confidently.

Lena’s smile flickered.

“Are you laughing?” Lena asked.

Aria shook her head lightly.

“No.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

Aria took a slow step forward.

“Because you just made a mistake.”

Lena scoffed.

“Oh please.”

Aria tilted her head slightly.

“You should’ve waited longer before revealing the fake document.”

The room went quiet again.

Lena’s eyes sharpened.

“Fake?”

Aria nodded toward the screen.

“Yes.”

Whitmore frowned slightly.

“That document came from the Vale Global database.”

Aria looked at him calmly.

“Then someone in the company helped her forge it.”

The executives exchanged uneasy glances.

Adrian crossed his arms beside her.

“Now things are getting interesting.”

Lena laughed again, but the sound was tighter this time.

“You really expect people to believe that?”

Aria’s voice stayed calm.

“No.”

She paused.

“Not yet.”

Then she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.

The room watched curiously.

Daniel frowned.

“What are you doing?”

Aria didn’t answer him.

Instead she tapped the screen once.

A few seconds passed.

Then the massive projector screen flickered.

The fake document disappeared.

Replacing it…

with a video.

Lena’s confident smile froze.

The video showed a hallway.

A dorm hallway.

The date stamp read two weeks earlier.

Aria’s dorm building.

The crowd leaned closer.

Watching.

Then the video showed something very interesting.

Lena standing outside Aria’s room.

Looking around nervously.

And then—

using a small tool to pick the lock.

Gasps filled the club.

The footage continued.

Lena entering the room.

Opening Aria’s desk drawer.

Taking the scholarship documents.

The video ended.

Silence crashed over the room.

Lena’s face had gone pale.

Daniel looked stunned.

“That’s… that’s not real,” he stammered.

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

“That’s a very high-quality hallucination.”

Aria looked directly at Lena.

“You broke into my room.”

Lena’s expression twisted.

“You planted that!”

Aria ignored her.

“And you stole those documents.”

Whitmore’s voice hardened.

“Miss Ward… is this true?”

Lena’s eyes darted around the room.

Searching.

Panicking.

But she recovered quickly.

“That doesn’t prove anything,” she snapped. “Those documents still show I’m the heiress.”

Aria nodded slowly.

“You’re right.”

Then she looked toward the Vale executives.

“So maybe we should verify the database.”

Whitmore frowned.

“What do you mean?”

Aria smiled faintly.

“I mean someone should log into the Vale Global foundation server right now.”

A few executives pulled out their phones immediately.

Typing quickly.

The room waited.

Seconds stretched painfully.

Then one of them gasped.

Whitmore grabbed his phone.

His face darkened as he read the screen.

“What is it?” Lena demanded.

Whitmore looked up slowly.

“The record was altered,” he said grimly.

Murmurs exploded across the club.

Lena’s confidence cracked visibly.

“That’s impossible,” she whispered.

Whitmore continued reading.

“The change was made three days ago… using a board-level access code.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

“Now that’s interesting.”

Aria crossed her arms.

“Very interesting.”

Because only a few people had board-level access.

And one of them stood right in front of her.

Whitmore.

Lena’s gaze snapped toward him.

“You said it was safe,” she whispered.

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

The entire room froze.

Whitmore’s face went gray.

Adrian let out a quiet laugh.

“Well,” he said.

“That was fast.”

Aria felt her pulse quicken.

Lena had just exposed him.

Whitmore cleared his throat desperately.

“Miss Ward is confused—”

But Lena’s panic had already taken over.

“You promised everything was ready!” she snapped. “You said the documents would make me the heir!”

The crowd erupted.

Executives stared at Whitmore in disbelief.

Daniel looked completely lost.

“You… you knew about this?” he asked Lena weakly.

Lena spun toward him.

“Shut up, Daniel!”

Aria stepped forward slowly.

Every eye followed her now.

She stopped directly in front of Lena.

“You used me,” Lena hissed.

Aria raised an eyebrow.

“You used yourself.”

Security finally stepped forward—but not toward Aria.

Toward Lena.

Whitmore tried to leave quietly.

But Adrian blocked his path.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Adrian said calmly.

Whitmore’s shoulders sagged.

Everything was collapsing.

Lena’s empire of lies was crumbling in real time.

But then—

Lena suddenly started laughing.

A strange, almost hysterical laugh.

Aria frowned.

“Something funny?”

Lena wiped a tear from her eye.

“You think you’ve won.”

Aria tilted her head.

“Haven’t I?”

Lena leaned closer.

Her voice dropped to a whisper only Aria could hear.

“You should check your phone.”

Aria’s stomach tightened.

Slowly, she pulled out her phone.

A new message had arrived.

Unknown number.

She opened it.

A photo appeared on the screen.

Aria’s breath caught.

Because the photo showed a man sitting in a dimly lit room.

Older.

Bearded.

But unmistakable.

Victor Vale.

Alive.

A second message followed beneath the photo.

You were warned.

Expose Lena again…

and your father dies for real this time.

Aria looked up slowly.

Her heart pounding.

Lena watched her carefully.

And then Lena whispered one final sentence.

“You really should have listened to the threat.”