I could barely hear her.
“A little girl?”
“Yes.”
“Three years old.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“What was her name?”
Alexander looked directly into my eyes.
“Sofia.”
I grabbed the edge of the dessert table.
Marcus whispered:
“No way.”
Alexander turned toward him.
“Be quiet.”
Marcus went silent.
I stared at Alexander.
“You’re saying…”
My voice failed.
He nodded.
“I believe you are my granddaughter.”
The sentence did not feel real.
Granddaughter.
Me.
Alexander Harrington.
A man whose company appeared on financial news channels.
A man whose face was on magazine covers.
A billionaire whose name was attached to university buildings.
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because my brain rejected it.
“That’s impossible.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
“Your face.”
“Your scar.”
“The necklace.”
“Your age.”
“The fire.”
“Everything.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
Marcus moved toward me.
“Sofia.”
Alexander immediately raised one hand.
“You stay where you are.”
Marcus stopped.
His face reddened.
“She’s my wife.”
Alexander looked at him.
“You introduced her as event staff.”
The words cut through the room.
Marcus swallowed.
“That was a misunderstanding.”
I stared at him.
A misunderstanding.
He had told me to stand near the restrooms.
He had told me not to say I was his wife.
He had grabbed my arm.
Now it was a misunderstanding.
Alexander stood fully upright.
“Security.”
Two men moved forward.
Marcus looked alarmed.
“Sir.”
Alexander pointed toward him.
“Remove Mr. Caldwell from the ballroom.”
Marcus’s face collapsed.
“What?”
“You are suspended effective immediately.”
The room reacted.
Gasps.
Whispers.
Phones rising.
Marcus stared at Alexander.
“You can’t do that.”
Alexander’s expression became cold.
“I own the company.”
That ended the argument.
Marcus looked at me.
“Sofia.”
I said nothing.
He stepped toward me.
Security blocked him.
“Sofia, tell him.”
“Tell him what?”
“That this is private.”
I stared at him.
“You made it public when you told me to pretend I worked here.”
His jaw tightened.
“Not here.”
I almost smiled.
“Why?”
“Are you embarrassed?”
That landed.
His face changed.
