"Yes… Its me. Where is my daughter?" Jace walked out of the dark striding long steps towards me.
Its been six years I have seen him. The same black eyes and same figure. The love I had to forgot surfaced again making me tremble.
"You mean my daughter Ava?" Jace looked at me with his steel eyes, I couldn't figure out what was happening inside him anymore.
"Isn't she mine daughter too? Let me see her, Alice." He walked towards me and took my hands in his.
"Yours? No. She is only my daughter. You don't remember what you said six years ago?" Those words were molten lava for me. Tears agthered in my eyes, chest got congested.
"You know Alice, I had to-
"I know what? You are a coward, Jace. You are a coward." You pushed him away from you
hát Artifact When me and our daughter needed you, you choose to ignore us. You did not wanted to take responsibility of her." Jace lowered his head in shame,a lone tear drop rolled down of his cheek.
"But I loved you"
"I loved you too, Jace, God knows how long. But you couldn't take a stand for me and my daughter who left 18 years pregnant to nowhere to go in the city."
"I did everything alone in a city where I did not know a soul. I studied, made a career, earned, gave birth to Ava alone. Where were you at that time?"
"I know I wronged and you also know I had to listen my father too." He gave a reason while begging.
"Now, you are back in the town. Let me see my daughter." Your head was buzzing with the events. Headache was storming hard.
"Go away…. I don't want to see you now." You yelled at him holding your head in your hands.
"OK… Ok… We will talk about this later." He understand her suitauation and decided not to bring the talk back to her.
"How come you became the secret first born daughter of Michael Rodriguze?" I gared at him clutching my fists.
"How come no one knew about this? Why you hide this thing from me?" He bumbarded you with questions.
"Shut Up, I have no answer of any of your questions. We will talk later." and with this you stared walking towards the entry of the apartment building.
I stepped inside the house and saw the look on my mother's face-fear, regret, and something else I couldn't quite place-that I realized just how deep this all went.
That was but just a prelude, and little did I know what lay in store on the other side of night.
Next morning, gray and cold, the sky brooded sullenly overhead as I drove up to the mansion that loomed ahead to attend the reading of my father's will.
My mother had insisted on coming with me, her face drawn tight with anxiety. She hadn't said much after I returned from my meeting with William the night before, yet I knew what hung between us, unsaid, but palpable.
Alice," she said in a soft voice as we went up the steps, a tremble to it. "Please, whatever happens today, just remember that I did what I thought was best. I. I didn't want to hurt you.
I looked at her, the weight of her words pressing down on me. There was so much I wanted to say, to ask, but the sight of the mansion's doors opening before us silenced everything. The moment of truth was here, and it stared me right in the face.
Inside, the atmosphere was even more oppressive: the same people from yesterday in the grand sitting room, cold indifference etched on their faces, to barely concealed hostility.
I could feel the weight of everyone's stare against my back as I walked into the large entryway: Michael's legal family, the lawyers, even the servants. And now, sitting in a clump, Sara, Briana, and Celeste narrowed their eyes as one as they watched us traipse in. William was there, too, his lean form pressed against the far wall, his face unreadable.
Standing, leading the procession, was the lead lawyer; this man was tall and had graying hair, a no-nonsense look on his face. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all so much for being here. As you know, we are here to execute the last will and testament of Michael Rodriguez.".
He glanced at me, and the shiver ran down my spine. What was written in that will? What had my father left behind for me—if at all?
The lawyer started to read—his steady voice droning on with the usual formalities before coming to what everybody awaited—the distribution of Michael's assets.
"To my wife, Sara Rodriguez, I bequeath the estate in Aspen and the amount of five million dollars."
Sara's face didn't flinch, but her shoulders did.
"To my daughters, Briana and Celeste Rodriguez, I leave what's left over from my current accounts and the company Rodriguez Textiles."
Briana and Celeste looked at each other; their faces showed composure, yet I could feel their anxiety.
His eyes darted to me as the lawyer paused, then he proceeded. "And to my daughter, Alice Anderson, I give the majority shares of Rodriguez Enterprises—sixty percent, to be precise—and the following properties: the Chicago penthouse, the villa in Italy, and the Rodriguez mansion."
The room gasped and fell silent, mesmerized. My heart beat fast as I tried to absorb what was being said. Sixty percent of Rodriguez Enterprises? The properties? This was insanity.
Sara was the first to react, her voice sharp and cutting. "This is a joke. A cruel, twisted joke. She's not even his legitimate daughter!"
Briana's face twisted with anger. "She doesn't deserve any of this! She wasn't even a part of his life!"
The room erupted into chaos as voices overrode voices, accusations and insults hurled in my direction. Mother's face whitened, her hand closing on mine like an anchor. But I was frozen, mute-my mind reeling from the blow.
The attorney raised his hand for order to be restored. "Please, everybody, remain calm. This is the last will and testament of Michael Rodriguez, and it is legally binding. His wishes are to be acknowledged."
But the words did little for the tempest. Sara rose to her feet, her face livid with anger. "This is an outrage! She's nothing but a-
Enough!" William's voice cut through the chaos like a knife, silencing the room. He stepped forward, his eyes locking with mine. "Michael made his choice, and we will honor it. But understand this, Alice-this won't be easy. There are forces at play that you don't understand."
I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. "What do you mean?
Intense, William's gaze was, his voice low, serious. "You have just been given a position of power, but with it will be dangerous. Michael had many enemies, and now-by inheriting his legacy-those enemies are yours as well.".
A cold dread had settled in the pit of my stomach. This was more than an inheritance; it was a battle I hadn't asked for-a battle I wasn't prepared for. But there was no turning back now.
The room, finally clear of people, spat my mother and me out onto the floor; the weight of all that had happened that day pressed down on us. My mom stared at me, her eyes clouded with fear and another emotion-something I couldn't quite place.
"Alice," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You have to be so careful. There's so much you don't know, so much I wanted to protect you from.
I spun to her, my own fear giving way to anger. "Protect me? You kept my father's identity from me my whole life and now you expect me to believe you were protecting me?"
She flinched, but before she could reply, the sitting room doors burst open again and a furious Briana stormed back in.
This isn't over," she spat, her eyes ablaze. "You think you can just waltz in here and take what's ours? You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, Alice."
With that, she did an about-face and was gone, leaving only cold silence in her wake. I stood there, my heart pounding, as it began to sink in-the real weight of the situation.
I had inherited not only money but also secrets, power play, and, above all, a host of enemies waiting in the dark.
And as I stared at the door Briana slammed behind her, I couldn't help but feel this was just the beginning of an even darker journey.