The royal wedding had just concluded.
The golden sunset bathed the palace gardens in a soft, ethereal glow. The world's most influential figures gathered for the after-party—an event of unprecedented luxury and power.
Laughter, music, and the clinking of crystal glasses filled the air.
Amelia sat beside her new husband, Prince Alexander, her fingers intertwined with his as photographers scrambled to capture the perfect shot of the century's most perfect couple.
Aiden and Aaron stood proudly behind their mother, their expressions calm and regal.
It was a picture of untouchable happiness.
But just as the orchestra transitioned into the first waltz, a chilling gust of wind swept through the gardens.
The grand palace doors creaked open.
And in that moment… the crowd fell deathly silent.
A woman in a long black veil stood at the entrance. Her aura cold, her posture elegant yet menacing.
Every step she took echoed ominously through the marble floors as she made her way directly toward Amelia.
Gasps and hushed whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Who is she? How did she get past security?""She looks… familiar…"
Aiden's eyes narrowed dangerously. Aaron instinctively stepped closer to his mother.
The veiled woman stopped just before Amelia, lifted her head, and slowly removed the black veil.
The air grew thick with tension.
It was Victoria Blake—Ethan Blake's estranged elder sister, the woman who had disappeared from the public eye over a decade ago.
A woman known for her ruthless business acumen and icy heart.
"Amelia White…" Her voice was cold, laced with venom and something else—triumph.
"Did you really think you could bury the past so easily?"
Amelia's fingers tightened around her wine glass, her voice unwavering.
"The past has already been buried, Miss Blake. I'm living proof of that."
Victoria smirked and pulled out a sealed black envelope, its edges lined with gold.
"Not quite." She held the envelope high for all to see.
"This… is the true final will of Ethan Blake."
Gasps filled the air.
Aiden stepped forward immediately. "Impossible. The courts declared his assets dissolved and his estate closed years ago."
Victoria's eyes glinted.
"Did they? Or did someone ensure this document never saw the light of day?"
She handed the envelope directly to Amelia.
"This will contains a secret… one that changes everything about the inheritance, the legitimacy of the Blake heirs, and the true father of—"
Her eyes flicked toward the twins with a malicious grin.
Amelia's heart stopped.
"What are you saying?!"
Victoria leaned in, her lips dangerously close to Amelia's ear.
"Open it… and see whose blood truly runs through their veins."
The crowd grew restless.
The sealed envelope felt like it weighed a thousand pounds in Amelia's trembling hands.
Was it a final trick from beyond the grave?
Or… the one secret Ethan Blake had taken with him into death?
Amelia stared at the envelope, her mind racing.
Open it… or burn it forever?
Amelia's fingers trembled slightly as she stared at the heavy black envelope. The thick, golden wax seal bore the infamous "Blake" insignia—a serpent coiled around a dagger.
For years, she thought she had burned every last remnant of that name from her life.
But tonight… even the dead refused to stay buried.
The air was thick with tension. Even the soft strains of the orchestra had faltered, the violins held in a frozen pause.
Victoria Blake stood before her like a specter from hell, her sharp eyes watching Amelia's every move with perverse satisfaction.
"Afraid to open it, Amelia?" Victoria's voice cut through the silence. "Afraid of what you'll find?"
Aiden stepped protectively in front of his mother, his jaw clenched.
"We don't care about the lies written by a dead man," he snapped. "He's nothing to us. This—this is nothing."
Victoria tilted her head mockingly.
"Oh, but it isn't nothing, is it?" she drawled. "Because inside this envelope lies a secret that not even you, dear Amelia, could have guessed. A truth so scandalous it will make your perfect little empire crumble before your very eyes."
Her gaze slid toward the twins again, her lips curving into a venomous smile.
"Tell me, boys… have you ever wondered why you look nothing like him?"
A low growl rumbled from Aaron's throat.
"Enough!" he snapped. "We don't need to hear another word from a bitter woman clinging to a forgotten name!"
But Amelia…
She stood rooted in place, her mind a whirlwind of doubt and memories.
Could it be true?
Had Ethan Blake hidden one final secret from beyond the grave?
Her fingers hovered over the wax seal.
The weight of the entire world seemed to hang on that single, simple choice.
Suddenly, Prince Alexander approached, his tall frame commanding immediate attention. He wrapped his arms around Amelia from behind, his lips brushing softly against her ear.
"You don't have to open it," he whispered gently. "The past has no power here unless you give it power."
His warmth comforted her. His words were logical.
But the gnawing ache of curiosity—the need for closure—refused to be silenced.
Amelia took a deep breath.
Her voice rang clear through the silent hall.
"I will open it. And I will face whatever truth lies inside."
The sharp snap of the wax seal echoed like a gunshot in the vast space.
She unfolded the heavy parchment, her eyes scanning the neat, deliberate handwriting.
With every word she read, the color drained from her face.
It was worse than she could have imagined.
The will revealed a carefully orchestrated deception that had begun long before she'd even met Ethan Blake.
A revelation that turned her entire world upside down.
The twins…
They weren't biologically Ethan's.
They never had been.
Instead, they were the result of a cruel manipulation—a deal struck between Ethan and a shadowy figure known only as The Benefactor, a mysterious figure from Aravia's underworld.
Ethan had agreed to raise the twins as his own in exchange for a business deal that saved his crumbling empire years ago.
Amelia's pregnancy had been real. But the embryos… the origins… they were part of a transaction she had never consented to.
Aiden and Aaron were never meant to be his children.
And now, standing here, surrounded by the most powerful people in the world, she realized…
Her entire motherhood had been built on a lie.
Her legs nearly gave out, but Alexander caught her in his strong arms.
"Amelia," he whispered urgently. "It doesn't matter. They are your sons. Blood means nothing compared to love."
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Aiden and Aaron—her sons, regardless of what any cursed document claimed.
But Victoria wasn't finished.
"Oh, it matters," she sneered. "Because with that revelation, their claim to the Blake fortune is invalid. And everything you've built on that name—every legacy, every title—can now be legally challenged."
The perfect world Amelia fought so hard to build…
Threatened to collapse.