The Gala Heiress Saw the Birthmark on the Orphan's Wrist and Dropped Her Champagne

The Chairwoman's Desperate Gambit

The gala erupted into chaos. People surged forward, phones raised, voices overlapping. "They're twins!" someone shouted. "The Morettis have another daughter!"

But Lady Sterling-Vane wasn't finished. She pushed through the crowd, her face twisted with fury. "Stop!" she shrieked. "That child is a fraud. She's a plant, sent by our rivals to humiliate this family!"

She grabbed my arm, her nails biting into my skin. "Do you know who I am?" she hissed. "I am the gatekeeper of this society. And you are nothing."

Charlotte yanked me free. "Don't touch her!" she yelled. "She's my sister!"

Sofia stood up, her eyes blazing. "Lady Vane, I will ask you once to step away from my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Lady Vane laughed, but it was hollow. "You don't even know this child. She could be anyone. She could be lying."

Lorenzo pulled out his phone. "Then we'll settle this right now. I'm calling my doctor to do a DNA test. Right here, in front of everyone."

Lady Vane's face went white. "You can't do that. It would take hours."

"I don't care," Lorenzo said. "I've waited seven years to know what happened to my first daughter. I can wait another hour."

The room fell silent again. I stared at Lorenzo. "Your first daughter?" I said. "You knew about me?"

Sofia knelt down, tears streaming down her cheeks. "We were told you died at birth," she whispered. "A nurse said you were stillborn. We had no reason to doubt it."

"But you didn't die," Charlotte said, grabbing my hand. "You're here. You're alive."

Lady Vane backed away, her composure cracking. "This is absurd," she muttered. "This is some kind of trick."

But then a voice from the crowd spoke up. "Lady Vane, you might want to see this." It was the head of the academy's security. He was holding a tablet, his face grim. "The hospital records from seven years ago. They show a discrepancy in the birth logs."

He walked toward us, showing the screen to Lorenzo. "The birth of a twin girl was never recorded. But there's a signature here—" He paused, pointing to a name. "It's Lady Sterling-Vane's."

The room gasped. Lady Vane stumbled backward, her hand flying to her mouth. "That's a lie!" she cried. "I never signed anything!"

"The timestamp matches the night of the birth," the security head said. "And there's a note in the margin: 'Disposed of per arrangement.'"

Lorenzo's face darkened. He turned to Lady Vane, his voice deadly calm. "You. You were the one who told us our daughter died. You were the one who arranged it."

Lady Vane shook her head, backing toward the door. "You have no proof. That document could be forged."

"Then why is your name on it?" Sofia demanded. "Why would you do this?"

Lady Vane's eyes darted around the room, looking for an escape. "Because you didn't deserve her!" she spat. "You were too busy with your diamonds and your empire. You would have made her a pawn. I saved her from that life."

"Saved her?" I shouted, my voice cracking. "I was in an orphanage for seven years! I wore rags! I had nothing!"

Lady Vane looked at me, and for the first time, I saw something like guilt in her eyes. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by defiance. "You were better off," she said. "You were nothing."

Lorenzo stepped forward, his fists clenched. "You will answer for this," he said. "I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in a cell."

Lady Vane laughed—a broken, desperate sound. "Do your worst. I have lawyers too." Then she turned and fled, her heels clattering against the parquet.

The room erupted again, but I couldn't hear it. All I could see was Charlotte, holding my hand, and the parents I had never known, crying over me. "I'm not nothing," I whispered.

Sofia pulled me into her arms. "No, my love," she said. "You are everything."