The Heiress' Revenge

Ariana’s POV

It’s been two days since I told my mother about Daniel and Ares.

She didn’t say much.

She just sat there at the table staring at me with those wide, shocked eyes. She didn’t cry or scream. She didn’t ask questions either; she just sat there like her brain couldn’t process what I was telling her.

Like the words didn’t make sense. Like I was speaking a language she didn’t understand.

I tried to talk to her the next morning. She was in the kitchen, making tea. Her hands were shaking, and she dropped the spoon twice.

She forgot to put water in the kettle.

She looked at me like she didn’t know who I was, like I was a stranger, like I had betrayed her just by saying his name.

Daniel.

Her Daniel.

The man she loved and gave up on.

She didn’t say anything; she just walked out of the kitchen like she didn’t want to see me.

I knew she was finding it hard to believe, so I didn’t push her; she just needed time to process and understand... she needed to figure out how to feel about a past she had buried years ago.

So I left her alone.

Ares called earlier, saying it was urgent, so I am currently in their company.

"Ariana," he said, standing up. He walked around the desk and pulled me into a quick hug. "I’m glad you came. There’s something we need to discuss."

It still felt weird, though, but I didn’t try to give up the reaction.

I sat down in the chair across from his desk.

"Now that you’re here," he said, "now that you’re part of this family, there are things you need to know. Things you need to understand. Things you need to take."

I looked at him. "Take? Take what?"

He pushed a folder across the desk, thick and heavy. "Your shares, inheritance, and your place in this company."

I stared at the folder. I didn’t touch it. "I don’t want money. I don’t want shares. I don’t want a company... I am sick and tired of taking such responsibilities; it’s caused me so much, and I’m not about to put myself back into something like this... I just want my children back, that’s all."

"I know," Ares interrupted. His voice was gentle but firm. "I know what you want. I know what you’ve lost, I know what you’re fighting for, and that’s exactly why you need to take this. That’s exactly why you need to accept your place in this family."

I shook my head. "I don’t understand."

Ares leaned forward. "You’re fighting Melissa, Ricardo. They have money, power, and so many dirty connections. You can’t beat them with nothing. You can’t win with empty hands. You need resources."

He tapped the folder. "This is it then. These shares, money, and the company are yours. It’s been waiting for you. Daniel has been holding it for years, before he handed them to me, and now that you’re here, it’s only fair we split the work."

I looked at the folder.

"I’m not sure," I said. My voice was small. "I’m not sure I can do this. I’m not sure I’m ready. I’m not sure I deserve—"

"Stop." Ares’s voice was sharp but not mean, just firm. "Stop doubting yourself. Stop thinking you’re not enough. You are enough more than enough, you are going to take what’s yours, and you are going to use it to get back what you lost."

I looked at him, unsure of what to say.

"You really think I can do this?" I asked.

Ares smiled. "I know you can, you’ve survived them once... You can do it again, but this time you need to make sure they’re put aside for the rest of their lives."

I took a deep breath I let it out slowly. "The only family I want is my children, and that’s it; they’re all I care about, all I need. Maybe Dante and I were never meant to be... our marriage was doomed from the start. Maybe all of this happened for a reason, and now that this happened, I’ve agreed to let go."

Ares nodded. "Then take the shares and use them to bring your children home."

I looked at the folder again. My hand reached out as my fingers touched the cover. "But I want more than just my children back, I want to make Melissa pay so bad for thinking she could ruin me, and Ricardo, I want to make up for all the pains he has caused my mother and me while growing up."

Ares leaned back, his smile was wider now. "Good"

I opened the folder and looked at the papers inside.

"Tell me what to do," I said.

Ares stood up and walked around the desk. He sat on the edge, close to me. "First, you sign these papers, you claim your shares by becoming an official part of this company. Then, we meet with the lawyers and build a case."

I picked up the pen and signed my name.

Ariana Watson, it felt odd writing it with another name that I never thought of as exciting.

Ares watched me sign. When I finished, he took the papers and looked at my signature, a smile spreading across his lips.

"Welcome to the family, sis. For real this time."

I smiled back. "It’s good to be home."