Chapter 2

A chilling silence settled over the dining room. A single, calm remark had pierced their ears like a sharp thorn.

Her father, David Mendez, froze, seemingly unable to believe what he had just heard. His hand remained suspended in mid-air, poised to take a sip of his coffee.

Across the table, Valerie's feigned, sweet, maternal smile slowly vanished, replaced by the repulsive reality of her true nature etched plainly on her face. Meanwhile, sheer shock was visible on Chloe's deceptively innocent face, her eyes wide as she wondered if she had heard correctly.

In my past life, a single authoritative word and a stern glare from him would instantly make me feel like a stranger who had wandered into a home that wasn't mine. Back then, i was willing to do anything for his affection and attention. I would apologize, acting weak and foolish before his new family—even going so far as to sign away the last remaining legacy of my mother.

Not anymore.

The loud shattering of glass broke the silence as a cup slipped from chloe's grasp.

"Say that again?" David asked, his voice laced with a simmering rage he was struggling to suppress. His knuckles turned white around his mug. It looked as though he was ready to hurl his hot coffee at me, but instead, he slammed the cup down hard onto the table—a warning that he detested my defiance.

"Aurelia, i don't think i heard you clearly."

"You heard right, father," i replied, calmly leaning back in my chair. I maintained a relaxed posture, my fingers rhythmically tapping against the hard surface of the antique table.

Valerie immediately slipped back into her act, feigning composure as she tried to soothe him. Looking at me with a pretense of distress, she said, "Aurelia, sweetheart, please calm down and don't be unreasonable. Your father is only thinking about your future. You're still young, and holding a twenty-percent stake in a multinational corporation like the mercer group is a massive responsibility. Do you want to see the empire built by your mother's family go to waste? What do you even know about corporate governance?"

I know enough to know you were the ones behind my mother's death.

You were the ones who ordered the deliberate sabotage of her car's brake lines. You are the reason she met with that fatal accident.

The truth screamed incessantly in my mind, filling my soul with a cold, absolute rage. It only fueled my desire to destroy every single one of them—to inflict a slow, agonizing retribution so they would feel the true weight of my vengeance.

Instead of revealing my anger, i let a mocking smile play upon my lips.

"if i'm considered too young to manage my mother's legacy at twenty-one, Aunt Valerie," i said, "does that mean chloe is even younger—in fact, too young—to receive financial support through a private trust for her art gallery abroad?"

Chloe gasped, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Aurelia! How could you say that?! Mommy just wants to help!"

"Is that so?" I asked, slowly shifting my gaze toward her.

When our eyes met, chloe flinched, suddenly looking anxious and nervous. It was a subtle, furtive movement, yet it did not escape my sharp gaze.

In my past life, i was always the coward—hiding behind oversized glasses, long bangs, and baggy clothes simply because that was what they wanted. Chloe absolutely loathed the idea of anyone outshining her or paying attention to me.

But now, as i fixed a sharp, cold stare upon her—the gaze of a woman returned from the dead—chloe was the first to sense the change. She was looking at a hunter, and she knew it.

"David, do you see how your daughter disrespects me?" Valerie feigned a tremor of distress, shedding tears on command. "we opened our home to her. I treated her like my own child after her mother passed away. And this is how she repays us? By questioning my pure intentions?"

David slammed his hard hand against the dining table. The porcelain and cutlery rattled noisily.

"that's enough!" He shouted, his face contorted with anger. "Aurelia Mercer! You will respect your stepmother! It seems you've grown rebellious and ungrateful. The papers are ready in my study. You will sign them today, or i'll cut off your monthly allowance and freeze every account in your name!"

Calling me Mercer instead of Mendez—that was his old way of reminding me that i wasn't part of his family, that i was just a motherless child dependent on his mercy. In the past, that word always crushed me.

Why does he treat me like i'm not his child? I am his daughter, too—the true and rightful heir.

Cutting off my financial support—money that originated from the Mercer family fortune anyway—was his favorite tactic. In the past, that threat filled me with panic because they had intentionally kept me ignorant and dependent, making me easier to control.

Now? His threats were laughable. He had no power over me.

"Freeze them," i said calmly.

David froze in shock. "what?"

"Freeze my personal accounts, Dad," i repeated, standing calmly and gracefully beside the table. "do it now. But remember, the shares of my mother's inheritance are a legal obligation assigned to me upon my twenty-first birthday next week. If you attempt any illegal transfer or tamper with my mother's last will, my lawyer will file an immediate injunction with the high court."

Valerie's face went pale. "a lawyer?What lawyer?!"

I didn't answer her. Letting them drive themselves mad wondering who was backing me would breed paranoia—and paranoia leads to fatal mistakes.

I smoothed out my dress and picked up my clutch bag. "thanks for breakfast. That was entertaining."

As i turned my back on them and walked toward the grand archway, i heard chloe whisper in a panic, "Dad... What is wrong with her? She's lost her mind!"

I kept walking, the sharp clack of my heels echoing against the marble floor.

Stepping out of the Mendez mansion, a cold breeze greeted me. I took a deep breath, feeling the overwhelming realization that i was truly back—ready to reveal the real aurelia mercer. The identity they had tried so hard to erase and replace with a worthless, obedient nobody.

I knew my father feared the mercers, which was why he tried so desperately to conceal my true lineage. He had my mother killed, believing the mercer line was now extinct.

He was wrong.

Brace yourself, father. The time is near.

I have already taken the first step. I defied him, but i knew a greedy, control-obsessed man like David Mendez would never accept losing power. He would turn to his favorite dirty tactic next: approaching the person i once trusted with my life.

Jacob.

His right-hand man in all his schemes. They were partners in crime. Perhaps greed really could change a person, or maybe i was just blind back then. Either way, Jacob was at the top of my list.

Right on cue, my cellphone vibrated inside my clutch bag.

Incoming call: Jacob

A cold, mocking smile played on my lips as i stared at the small heart icon next to his name. The man who held the umbrella over me while i lay bleeding in the rain. The man who called my blood "tainted."

I swiped my finger across the screen to answer the call and pressed the phone to my ear.

"Aurelia, babe?" I heard jacob's smooth, charming voice through the speaker. "your dad called me... He's furious. What happened at breakfast? Are you okay? Where are you right now? Can i come pick you up?"

He was already setting his plan in motion—playing the part of the noble savior while reporting my every move back to my father.

I stopped at the mansion's gate and gazed at the city skyline in the distance.

"I'm fine, jacob," i said, adopting a tone of sweet, feigned innocence. "actually... I was thinking about you. Could we meet? There's something important i need to give you."

On the other end of the line, i heard jacob catch his breath, a hint of eagerness in his voice. "of course, sweetheart. I'd do anything for you. Where do you want to meet?"

"At the grand tea house near the financial district," i replied calmly. "in an hour."

"i'll be there," he promised enthusiastically.

I ended the call, deleted the heart icon next to his name, and replaced it with his full name: Jacob Alonzo.

He thought he was heading to a meeting to manipulate an innocent woman into handing over her wealth.

He had no idea he was walking straight into my trap.