Upon the death or disappearance of Camille Laurent, all protected assets shall remain under the ownership of her daughter, Aurelia Laurent, until her eighteenth birthday.
Elena looked at him.
“But I'm twenty-four.”
“Yes.”
“And Richard controlled everything?”
“Yes.”
“So he stole it.”
“Essentially.”
Daniel whispered:
“He didn't just steal your inheritance.”
He placed another folder on the table.
“He stole your childhood.”
Elena looked at the documents.
For twenty years, she had wondered why she had nightmares about darkness.
Why she hated small rooms.
Why the smell of wet soil made her panic.
Why she sometimes woke up screaming without knowing why.
Now she knew.
Someone had tried to bury her alive.
And that someone was still sitting in the Laurent family mansion.
Elena stood.
“Let's go home.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“It's not his home.”
She looked at the photograph of her mother.
“It's mine.”
The Laurent mansion stood behind iron gates and old stone walls.
News vans lined the street.
Reporters crowded the entrance.
The story had exploded overnight.
THE MAID WHO SLAPPED BACK.
THE LOST LAURENT HEIR.
BILLIONAIRE FAMILY FACES INHERITANCE SCANDAL.
Elena stepped from the car.
Cameras turned toward her.
She wore a simple white suit.
No diamonds.
No designer gown.
No attempt to look wealthy.
A reporter shouted:
“Are you really Aurelia Laurent?”
Elena stopped.
“Yes.”
Another shouted:
“Did Vanessa Laurent assault you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hit her?”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
Elena looked directly into the cameras.
“She hit me because she thought my uniform made me less human.”
The crowd went silent.
“I hit her because I wanted her to understand that it didn't.”
Then she walked inside.
Vanessa was waiting in the foyer.
Her face had changed.
Without makeup, she looked younger.
Smaller.
Almost frightened.
She stared at Elena.
“You're really her.”
“Yes.”
“I didn't know.”
Elena looked at her.
“Did you know your father was hiding something?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“You still hit me.”
Vanessa looked down.
“I was angry.”
“So was I.”
“I thought you were nobody.”
Elena nodded.
“I know.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“I was wrong.”
Elena walked past her.
Then stopped.
“You don't have to be like him.”
Vanessa looked up.