Episode2:
578 Words
The Name She Was Never Allowed to Know
Ariana didn’t move. Rain soaked through her clothes, turning her skin icy, but she barely felt it. Her entire body had gone rigid.
“Repeat that,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “What did you just say?”
The voice on the phone didn’t rush. It was calm. Almost chillingly so.
“You are the last living heir of the Albrecht dynasty.”
Ariana let out a sharp, shallow breath. “That’s impossible.”
“I assure you, it is not.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone, white-knuckling it. “I think you have the wrong person.”
A pause.
Then, “Your name is Arana Nkechi Vale. Born June 14th. You were raised in a city under the guardianship of a woman named Grace Nkechi in a small, overcrowded apartment far from wealth, where survival mattered more than identity.”
Her stomach dropped, a cold, sickening sensation.
No. It couldn't be.
“How do you know that?” she breathed.
“Because we have been searching for you for twenty-three years.”
Her grip faltered. Across the street, headlights blurred through the rain, cars moving, oblivious to the fact that her world had just shifted on its axis.
She started walking, just to move, turning away from the hotel.
“Listen,” she said, forcing her voice to stop shaking. “I don’t know what kind of game this is, but I’m not interested. I have enough to deal with.”
“You were never meant to grow up as you did, Ariana. Your family was destroyed. Your identity was hidden for your protection.”
She stopped. A cold raindrop ran down her lashes.
“Protection from what?”
The pause this time was heavier.
“From the people who killed your parents.”
Her heart hit a dead stop. “My parents died in a car accident.”
“That’s the lie you were told.”
Ariana shook her head, pacing in the rain. “No… no, that’s not true.” But even as she said it, a cold, nagging doubt crept in. She had never seen their graves. Never seen photos beyond the few Grace kept locked in the attic.
Never allowed to ask questions.
The voice on the phone softened, almost pityingly. “Miss Albrecht… your inheritance includes the Albrecht Empire, assets across Europe and Africa, and a private estate in Geneva.”
Ariana let out a hollow, cynical laugh. “This is insane. I just got dumped at an engagement party, and you’re telling me I’m a billionaire?”
“You don’t need to believe it yet,” the voice said. “But you will need to decide.”
“Decide what?”
“Whether you want to reclaim your life… or keep living as prey.”
Prey. The word landed like a physical blow.
Ariana looked up at the dark sky, the rain erasing the city. “What do you want from me?”
“Not what I want,” the voice corrected. “What your bloodline requires.”
A car slowed to a crawl beside her. Black. Silent. Too clean for this part of town. The back window rolled down, just an inch.
“Look to your right,” the voice said.
Ariana froze. Slowly, she turned.
The car door opened, completely silent. A man stepped out. Tall, tailored, in a suit that spoke of effortless money.
His presence…
- Writer
