All Chapters of UNMASKED: The Heiress' Cold Revenge : Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

The grand ballroom of the Plaza was a sea of shimmering silk and fake smiles. I stood beside Julian, dressed in the drab, high-necked lace gown he had chosen to ensure I looked like a mourning widow when compared to Sarah’s vibrant blood-red silk."Try to look grateful, Elena," Julian hissed, his hand tightening painfully on my arm as we stepped toward the stage. "It is not every day an orphan like you gets to stand in a room filled with dignitaries."I didn't answer. I let my shoulders slump, playing the role of the invisible, broken wife to perfection. I needed everyone present to believe that I was nothing so that when I finally struck, they would never see it coming.The keynote address was a blur of corporate jargon that I couldn't comprehend. Not until Julian reached for the microphone. "Good evening everyone, and thank you for making out time from your busy schedules," "Tonight, we have all gathered here to celebrate the future of the Thorne Group," he voice boomed, his sapphi

The neon lights of the police station flickered with a rhythmic, dying hum, casting long, sickly shadows across the cracked linoleum floor. The air was thick with the smell of floor wax, stale cigarette smoke from the back rooms, and the sour tang of desperation. I sat on a cold metal bench that felt like it was leaching off the very warmth from my bones. My wrists were bare, but the weight of the accusations, the theft of the Thorne family anklet felt heavier than any iron shackles.The officers behind their high desks were busy filing paperworks, their movements sluggish and indifferent. To them, I was just another gold-digger caught in the crosshairs of a powerful family. They didn't see the woman who had spent the last three years silently mapping the vulnerabilities of the Thorne empire. They didn't see the Blackwood Heiress. They saw a nuisance and a thief in a wine-stained dress."The Blackwood records," I whispered, my voice barely a breath. My thoughts raced to the estate. I

The elevator ride to the top floor of the Sterling tower was a vacuum of sound, the only sensation being the slight pressure in Elena’s ears as the machine climbed. When the doors slid open, she stepped into a foyer that felt more like a fortress than a residence. Looking around, she saw that the ceilings were soaring, and the architecture was a brutalist mix of dark, heavy wood, cold marble, and reinforced glass. There were no soft rugs, no floral arrangements, and none of those expensive, choking scents Julian had used to mask the emptiness of their penthouse.Theo didn’t attempt to fill the quiet with empty hospitality. He led her down a long, dimly lit hallway where the walls seemed to absorb the light. He stopped at a heavy door at the far end. "This will be your room." He pointed at the door. "You can speak to the house attendants through the telephone in the room if you need anything." "Thank you, Mr. Sterling." Elena whispered, smiling weakly."My security team is stationed

The two-hour countdown began at exactly 6:00 PM, just as they had agreed. But before then, Theo had arranged for a swarm of photographers to be stationed across the street from the Sterling tower, ensuring Julian’s arrival was documented from every angle."We need to make this as real as possible." He said to Elena.Inside the penthouse, the atmosphere was clinical. Theo sat at the far end of the long dining table, his laptop open, acting as a silent, watchful predator. Elena sat at the center, a cup of warm herbal tea left untouched in front of her. She wore a sharp, charcoal-grey suit, leaving her expression to become more unreadable.When Julian was ushered in by security, he looked like a man walking toward a firing squad, like a man walking into his own death trap. He didn't sit. Instead, he paced the length of the rug, his eyes darting toward the security cameras tucked into the corners of the ceiling."Do you mind taking a seat?" Theo spoke. "I am unable to to concentrate here,