Semua Bab HEIRESS REBORN: Bab 141 - Bab 145

ELENA’ S POVThe feed refreshes every thirty seconds, and I don’t blink once.There it is. A small, neat little entry on the federal pull list. To anyone else, it’s boring—a harmless, routine audit notice.To me? It’s blood in the water.It will be in tomorrow’s business briefs, buried under fluff pieces and market noise. But for the right people, the ones who move billions with a single call, it’s a whisper that says: Ashen isn’t untouchable.And I know Kaia will see it. She always seesI’m watching the numbers scroll across the screen like a slot machine I already know is rigged.It starts small. Just a “routine” federal pull—some quiet audit request buried under a dozen others. The kind that normally wouldn’t get headlines for another week. But this one is Ashen. And Ashen’s untouchable image is built on the idea that it doesn’t crack.Except… right now, I’m watching the first crack form in real time.And God, it’s beautiful.I sip my coffee, slow, savoring the bitterness. On one s

NATHANIEL POVI’m not an idiot. I know when someone’s shutting me out.And my mother is shutting me out.She’s been locking herself in her office all week, her meetings shorter but somehow louder, voices raised, doors slamming, papers slapped down like weapons. Half the time, I hear her before I see her, and the other half, she’s just… gone. No explanations. No updates. Not even the usual, “I’ll handle it, Nathaniel. Don't mess up, Nathaniel.”This morning, I walk past her office and hear the low murmur of voices. Male. Two of them. I lean against the wall, just far enough to listen without being caught. They’re talking about numbers. Funding. Shifting assets. Someone's assets. Not a family.When the door creaks, I step back, arms folded, just as she comes out.“Who was that?” I ask, like I already know I won’t get a real answer.“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” she says, smoothing her blouse like that’s the end of it.“Really? Because last I checked, I still run half this

The envelope is thick. Heavier than it should be.I sit at my desk, turning it over once before sliding a manicured finger under the seal. It’s from the fixer. The one I trust when I don’t trust anyone else. He’s never late. Never sloppy. I don't know why I didn't go with him from the beginning.The paper inside smells faintly of the cheap cardboard file it must have been pulled from. A birth certificate. Off-white, faint creases, official stamps in the right places. My eyes land on the name: Kaia Reyes.I study the date of birth. The place. Parents. Everything matches what she’s claimed. Not a smudge out of place.For a moment, my pulse slows.I lean back in my chair, holding it up to the light. No tells. No shadows where forgery usually hides. It looks… real.So then, who the hell has been lying to me?“Mrs. Cross?” My assistant’s voice is careful through the door.I keep my eyes on the certificate. “Come in.”She enters, closing the door behind him, already knowing this is not a da