The Chen mansion loomed before Athena like a mausoleum, its pristine white facade gleaming in the late morning sun. She stood at the bottom of the front steps, her fingers gripping the wrought-iron railing so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Just walk in. Face them. Explain what happened.
But how did you explain something you couldn't fully remember? How did you convince people who wanted to believe the worst of you that you were innocent?
The front door swung open before she could decide. Victoria stood framed in the doorway, her expression a masterpiece of false concern. "Athena! Oh, thank god you're home safe. We were so worried when you disappeared last night."
The lie was so brazen, so perfectly delivered, that for a moment Athena could only stare.
"Worried?" The word tasted like ash. "You put me in a car. You sent me to that hotel."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Victoria's eyes were ice-cold beneath the performance of maternal warmth. "You ran off in the middle of your father's speech. We searched everywhere for you. Your father was humiliated in front of Shanghai's most influential families."
"You drugged me...."
"You were drunk," Victoria cut her off sharply, stepping aside to reveal Stephanie standing in the foyer, phone in hand, her lips curved in a vicious smile. "Very, very drunk. Making a scene. We tried to help you to your room, but you fought us and ran off. Didn't she, Stephanie?"
"She was completely out of control," Stephanie confirmed, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "It was so embarrassing. Poor Daddy."
Athena's stomach dropped. They'd planned for this moment, rehearsed their story, built their alibi. Of course they had.
"Where is my father?" Athena demanded, pushing past them into the house.
"In his study," Victoria said smoothly. "But I'd clean yourself up first if I were you. You look like you spent the night in a gutter. Or..." Her pause was deliberate, cruel. "Somewhere worse."
Athena ignored her and climbed the stairs, each step an act of defiance even as dread pooled in her gut. She knew what was coming. Could feel the trap closing around her like a vise.
The study door was closed. Athena knocked once, then entered without waiting for permission.
Alexander Chen sat behind his massive mahogany desk, his reading glasses perched on his nose, every inch the powerful CEO. He didn't look up when she entered.
"Father, I need to explain...."
"Sit down." His voice was arctic.
Athena remained standing. "I was drugged last night. Stephanie put something in my drink, and Victoria had me taken to a hotel. This was all a setup...."
"Sit. Down." This time it was a command, not a request.
Slowly, Athena lowered herself into the leather chair across from him, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Alexander finally looked up, and the disgust in his eyes made her flinch. "Do you have any idea what you've done to this family?"
"I didn't do anything! I was...."
"Don't lie to me!" His fist slammed on the desk, making her jump. "I have already received three phone calls this morning. Three. From business associates who saw the photos."
The room tilted. "What photos?"
Alexander's jaw clenched. He pulled open a drawer, extracted a manila envelope, and threw it across the desk. Photographs spilled out, glossy and damning.
Athena's hands shook as she gathered them. Her, stumbling into the hotel. Her, being helped into the elevator by security guards. Her, disheveled and clearly intoxicated. And the final one....her leaving the hotel this morning, hair messy, clothes rumpled, the unmistakable walk of shame captured in high definition.
But no photos of who she'd been with. No evidence of the setup. Just her, alone, looking exactly like a girl who'd made a terrible choice.
"I was drugged," Athena whispered, staring at the images. "Father, please. You have to believe me. Stephanie and Victoria..."
"Enough!" He stood abruptly, his chair rolling back. "I will not hear you slander your stepmother and sister with these wild accusations. You are eighteen years old, Athena. An adult. And adults take responsibility for their actions."
"But I didn't...."
"You disappeared from your own birthday party. You got drunk and left with god knows who. You spent the night at a hotel." His voice was rising with each accusation. "Do you understand what this means for our family's reputation? For the company? For Stephanie's upcoming engagement to the Liu family?"
Of course. It always came back to Stephanie.
"I'm sorry," Athena said, forcing the words out even though they felt like lies. "But please listen to me. Something is wrong. I would never...."
"Your mother would be ashamed."
The words hit like a physical blow. Athena's breath caught, tears burning her eyes.
"Don't," she whispered. "Don't bring her into this."
"Your mother left you everything," Alexander continued, his tone bitter now. "Half of this company. Her personal fortune. She trusted you to honor the Chen name, to be worthy of that inheritance. And this is how you repay her memory? By throwing yourself at some stranger in a hotel?"
"I didn't throw myself at anyone! I was....." But her voice broke. What was the point? He didn't want the truth. He wanted an excuse to be done with her.
Maybe he'd always wanted that.
"I want you out of this house," Alexander said coldly. "Pack your things. You have until tonight."
The world stopped spinning. "What?"
"You heard me. I will not have you under my roof. You are no longer my daughter."
"Father, please...." Athena stood, reaching for him, but he stepped back as if her touch would contaminate him.
"Don't call me that." His face was stone. "You lost that right when you disgraced this family. I'll have my lawyers draw up the paperwork. Your mother's inheritance will be held in trust until you prove yourself worthy of it....if that day ever comes."
"You can't do that," Athena said, but her voice was hollow. Of course he could. He was Alexander Chen. He could do anything.
"Watch me." He turned his back on her, facing the window. "Get out of my sight."