Chapter 1 — The Ghost at the Feast
My ten-year-old Honda Civic sounded like it was apologizing as it rolled across the Vance family driveway. Its tired engine was painfully loud beside my father’s vintage Jaguar and Elena’s pristine white BMW.
“Mommy… are we going to stay long?” Lily whispered from the back seat. She was five, clutching her threadbare stuffed rabbit like a shield.
“Just dinner,” I said gently. “We’ll go home after.”
“Aunt Elena is scary,” she murmured.
I gave a small smile. “We’ll be invisible. Like always.”
Invisible was what my family expected from me.
To them, I was Aria—the failed artist, the single mom, the disappointment. They didn’t know I was the founder of Titan Group, a four-billion-dollar holding company. They didn’t know the quiet woman in a thrift-store sweater was the one who owned half the city’s real estate and three tech startups.
And they would never imagine that the company Elena was bragging about tonight… already belonged to me.
Inside, the house smelled of roasted lamb and money.
“Oh look,” Elena drawled from the living room. “The charity case has arrived.”
She sat on the Italian leather sofa in a crimson designer dress, champagne in hand, glowing under my parents’ admiration.
“Elena,” I said quietly. “Mom. Dad.”
My mother barely looked at me. “That sweater is pilling, Aria.”
“I like it.”
“Well don’t sit on anything expensive.”
Elena smirked. “So, Aria… did you hear? Titan Group is buying Vanguard. My company. They begged me to stay on as CEO.”
I smiled softly.
“Sounds impressive.”
It was. I had approved the purchase that morning.
I looked around the dining room at the portraits of Elena—graduations, awards, glossy magazine covers.
None of me.
I wasn’t part of the story here.
I was just a ghost.
Chapter 2 — Easter
The next day, the house was packed. Neighbors were invited to witness Elena’s “success.”
Lily sat beside me, tired and quiet.
“I’m thirsty,” she whispered.
I reached for the water pitcher—but Elena, waving her wine glass dramatically, knocked it over. Water soaked the table… and her dress.
“You little brat!” Elena screamed.
Before I could move, she shoved Lily.
My daughter flew off the chair and hit the floor.
Her cry ripped through me.
I was on my knees instantly, holding her as a bruise bloomed on her cheek.
“You pushed her,” I said, my voice shaking.
“She ruined my dress!” Elena snapped. “You and that parasite of yours ruin everything!”
I looked at my parents.
My father stared at the tablecloth.
My mother smiled awkwardly at the guests.
“She’s hurt,” I said.
“She’s embarrassing us,” my father replied.
That was the moment something inside me died.
I stood, holding Lily.
“You just called my child a parasite.”
“And you are one too,” Elena sneered.
“Okay,” I said softly.
I walked toward the door.
“Enjoy the house,” I told Elena.
“While it’s still yours.”
Chapter 3 — The Shadow
I drove straight to Titan Group headquarters.
Lily slept on the sofa in my office while I activated the forensic audit.
At 3:00 a.m., we found it.
A shell company. Cayman Islands. Elena’s name hidden behind it.
She had stolen over a million dollars from her own company.
By sunrise, I had everything I needed.
Chapter 4 — The Fall
At 9 a.m., Elena sat proudly in the Vanguard boardroom, my parents beside her.
They were waiting for Titan’s representative.
Then I walked in.
Elena’s smile vanished.
“Aria? What are you doing here?”
Marcus spoke calmly.
“Allow me to introduce the CEO of Titan Group—Aria Vance.”
Elena went pale.
I placed the evidence on the table.
“You stole from your company. From your employees. And yesterday you hurt my daughter.”
I met her eyes.
“That was your last mistake.”
Security dragged her out screaming.
Chapter 5 — Aftermath
Elena was arrested by noon.
My parents stood outside with her belongings.
“The house?” my father begged. “You won’t take it… will you?”
“It’s safe,” I said.
“But it’s mine now. Elena is never allowed back.”
Then I got into my car.
“To the airport,” I told Marcus.
“I promised Lily Disneyland.”
Chapter 6 — One Year Later
Elena now worked as a server at a charity gala.
Lily, smiling and safe, sat in the front row.
“True success,” I told the audience, “is protecting what matters.”
I passed Elena, took a glass of champagne.
“Thank you,” I said.
Then I walked away—holding my daughter’s hand, leaving the past behind forever.