Kaifer's POV
The boardroom was quiet now. The murmurs had died down, the accusations scattered like ash in the wind. Yet the weight of it all hadn't left my chest. Katherine's dismissal had shifted more than just a title—it shifted power, perception, and pressure. I had won, yes. But what now?
I stood by the wide glass window of my new office, a floor just beneath Davis's. The view stretched over B-Town, humming with motion and chaos beneath the clouds. For years, I watched the world from behind veils—daughter of a mother who gave me purpose, a girl with no claim to her father's name, and a mind bursting with ideas no one ever cared to hear. But I had worn many faces to survive...and now, they were starting to whisper again.
One by one, the names I had buried started coming back.
Arden Vale — the quiet researcher who created papers under anonymous programs for international firms.
Thea Noire — the alias I used to fund underdog projects with precision-level biotech designs.
Elira Stone — the masked speaker at a Geneva innovation conference, who once stood behind a podium and inspired thousands with theories on herbal-molecular fusion.
All gone. All faded. When my mother was diagnosed and everything I had began crumbling, I made a choice: I walked away from those names to be just Kaifer. Not a face, not a figure—just a daughter fighting for a cause.
But now? Now those names had power.
The White family was slowly clawing its way out of Samuel control. Davis was smart, brave—but funding still remained a problem. The fallout from Katherine's failed attempt at defaming me had left investors shaken. The Samuels had begun to quietly pull capital from the shadows, whispering doubt into the ears of old money.
I turned to the file in my hand, one marked with a phoenix symbol. The seal of Arden Vale Innovations. Untouched for nearly two years.
I had built something in the shadows, and now... maybe it was time to let the fire rise.
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Davis's POV
I knocked lightly before stepping into her office. She was already looking at me, backlit by the golden wash of sunset.
"I figured you'd show up," she said, not unkindly.
I gave a small smile. "There's something about you lately...you've been thinking ahead. Way ahead."
Kaifer offered me the file without a word. When I flipped it open, my eyes scanned the first page—and froze.
"Arden Vale?" My voice was just above a whisper.
She nodded slowly. "That was me. One of the many versions. I walked away from it all... but I think now it's time to walk some of it back in."
"You built this?" I was staring at schematics. Patent-ready designs. Investment-ready proposals. Endorsements hidden under confidentiality agreements.
I looked up. "This... this could save us. This could give us wings, Kaifer."
She stepped forward. There was hesitation in her voice—something more vulnerable than I'd heard before. "Davis, if we use this, we'll shake off the Samuels. Completely. But... that means putting me in the light again. Me, not just Kaifer. But Arden. Thea. Elira. I'll be exposed. Not just to media—but to the past I've tried to leave."
I swallowed the weight of her confession.
"We don't have to decide tonight," I said, gently. "But if you step back into that spotlight, Kaifer... I'll be right beside you."
She looked up, eyes gleaming with unshed emotion.
"I'm not afraid of the light," she whispered. "I'm just afraid of what it might reveal."
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Scene Transition – Midnight, the Rooftop
Kaifer sat with her legs tucked under her, folder resting on her lap, the wind toying with loose strands of her hair.
In her hands were old ID badges. Forged access. An encrypted hard drive.
One by one, she burned them in a metal ashtray beside her.
But not all of them.
She paused over one badge.
"Elira Stone – Guest Lecturer – World Biotech Symposium"
She didn't burn that one.
Instead, she slid it into her pocket. Maybe the world wasn't done hearing from Elira just yet..