The first time Amara Vale watched her father die, she did not cry.
She stood frozen in the hospital corridor, fingers clenched so tightly around the strap of her worn handbag that her knuckles turned white. The world around her blurred into meaningless noise — nurses rushing, machines beeping, strangers whispering — but all she could hear was the doctor's voice repeating in her head.
"I'm sorry. We did everything we could."
Everything.
A lie.
They had done nothing.
They had let him die slowly while powerful men signed papers and drank expensive wine somewhere else.
"Miss Vale?"
Amara blinked, forcing herself back into the moment. A nurse stood in front of her, face soft with pity. That look… she hated that look.
"I need you to come and see him," the nurse said gently.
Amara nodded once, then followed.
The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and loss. Her father lay still on the bed, eyes closed, face too pale, chest no longer rising. Just yesterday, he had been squeezing her hand, promising her everything would be okay.
"We'll survive this, Mara," he had whispered. "No matter what they take from us."
They had taken everything.
Their home.
Their company.
Their dignity.
And now, him.
Amara stepped closer to the bed, her heart strangely quiet. Not broken. Not screaming.
Just… cold.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispered, though she wasn't sure for what. "I should've been stronger."
Her father's business — Vale Tech Solutions — had once been a rising star. A company built from nothing, from sweat and sacrifice. Until it caught the attention of a corporate giant.
Voss International.
And the man behind it.
Lucien Voss.
The CEO the media called brilliant. Ruthless. Untouchable.
The man who had crushed her father's company, tied them up in lawsuits they couldn't afford, blocked their funding, and quietly ensured they never recovered.
The man who walked free while her father died from stress-induced heart failure.
Amara stared at her father's still face.
And in that moment, something inside her changed forever.
She did not cry.
She promised.
Seven Years Later
"Miss Vale?"
Amara looked up from her laptop.
The woman standing in front of her desk was older, elegant, the kind of person who never seemed out of place anywhere. Perfect posture. Perfect makeup. Sharp eyes.
"Yes?" Amara replied calmly.
"I represent the Voss family."
The name hit like a bullet.
Her expression did not change. Years of discipline had taught her control.
"I'm not interested in donations," she said coolly. "You're wasting your time."
The woman's lips curved slightly. "This isn't charity."
She slid a sleek envelope across the desk.
Amara stared at it for a long second before opening it.
Inside was a contract.
And a photograph.
Her breath stilled.
The photo showed Lucien Voss standing outside a private medical facility. The same facility where her father had been turned away when they couldn't afford emergency treatment.
The woman's voice was calm. Calculated.
"Mr. Voss has a son."
Amara lifted her gaze slowly.
"His name is Adrian Voss."
The name meant nothing to the world.
But to her… it would soon mean everything.
"He's about to take over the empire," the woman continued. "And unfortunately, his image needs… adjustment."
Amara closed the folder gently.
"What does that have to do with me?"
The woman studied her carefully. "Because, Miss Vale, Adrian Voss is looking for someone from the past."
A pause.
"And he doesn't know yet… that you still exist."
Silence filled the room.
Amara leaned back in her chair slowly, heart steady, face unreadable.
After all these years.
The Voss name had returned to her door.
She looked at the envelope again, then at the woman.
Her voice was soft.
Dangerously calm.
"Tell me everything."