NOT IN MY NEXT LIFE

CHAPTER SEVEN:THE WEB OF POWER

Celestine Stared at herself in the golden mirror of the penthouse suite. Her lips werepainted in blood deffiance , her curls pinned to perfection. The gown clung to her like ambition tailored to flatter , meant to hypnotize. Every stitch whispered power.

The press confrence would begin in less than an hour . Her phone buzzed with messages from stylists , publics and carefully placed media contacts she had courted over th epast few months. To Them , she was a rag to riches cinderella, asymbol of hope and determination, but celstine wa no cinderella .

She didn't believe in fairytales , she believed in empires and the child, regardless of whose it was, was her ticket.

Darina had been a useful foot. Rich , emepotionally vacant and easily manipulated by a woman who understood how to stroke both his ego and his darker tendncies. He wasnted rebellion cloaked in desire. he wanted a woman who could outshine his sife but never threaten his authority. Celestine had played that part to perfection.

In her mind , Darian was a stepping stone. She had never truly loved him. She admired his resources , not his heart. She respected his name , not his touch. If she had to endure his coldness , his control or even his occasional crurlty, she took it in stride. All of it was temporary, because one day , she wouldn't need him anymore.

She would be him, but something had shifted ast week. Zaria had gone quiet. Too quiet.

And Elka, the shadow CElestine didn't yet know had a name, was already circling her. She felt it, like a scent of firebefore the smoke. Her contacts in Paris had gone silent. The man she had been seeing had vanished . o messages , no receipts, no leverage.

She wasn't stupid.

She knew Zaria was digging.

What she didn't know was how much this woman had uncovered.

STill, she wasn't ready to panic. Panic didn;t suit power. She would step infront of the cameras and play the mother to be. She would invoke the name THornwell like a blessing. she would let them photograph the ring she had made herself nuy and present as Darian's.

Everythingwas about the illusion, and in illusions , timing was everything.

Just then , her assistant , enetred the room."They are ready for you downstairs. Darian is on his way."

She nodded but did not rise."Have you heard anything from Zaria?"

She hesitated."nly that she's been off the grid. No public sightings. No activities on her main socials. Her private driver says she lsft the estate one week ago and hasn't been see since."

Celstine narrowed her eyes."And Darian?

"Still pretending nothing is wrong. But he is... edgy. He asked about you twice this mrnig. He was pacing in his study."

Good.

She wanted him unbalanced.

"Let's go,"she said, standing. "It's time for the world to meet the future Mrs Thornwell.

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Meanwhile, somewhere in madridaria walked through a bustling market, sunglasses sheilding her face. Her strides unbothered. She wore linen , not luxury. Her Hair was tied in a low bun. To the world , she looked like any other tourist , clutching a small notebook and sipping coffee.

In her mind , she was watching the web unravel. Elka had sent her the full breakdown the night before.

Celstine's banking trail now pointed to a trust in Monacofunded by a known conman tied to threeother paternity fraud cases. The man ifrom Paris, real name Theirry Montesque, had a DNA profile that matched the unborn child. The timeline , the financial records and the communication, all of it had been stitched together like a tapestry.

Zaria read it again and again until it felt like scripture.

Still,she wasn't ready to release it. No, she wanted Celestine to bask. To Glow . To rise so high that the fall would taste like ash.

Zaria's nexr move wasn't vangeance. it was Reclamation.

She had signed off on the creation of a new fund. The DelaRue Revival Trust. Quietly backed by three silent partners who had once been crushed by Darian's business dealings. Her former allies. Her father's once loyal friends.

Together , they were buying back her legacy. piece by piece and in the shadows ,Zaria had already started reaching out to other women. Women Darian had wronged.

one was retired model now teaching poetry in LIsbon. Another was a software developer whose startup had been swallowed up and buried under Darian's shell companies. All of them had signed NDA's . All of them had once stayed silent, but not anymore.

Zaria wasn't just building a case. she was building an army.

While Celestine smiled for the cameras , Zaria watched the live stream from her phone. Her expression didn't flinch.

"Thank you all for coming." Celestine said , hand over her belly. "This means a journey of love , of second chances and of family. Darian and i are thrilled to announce we are expecting our first child. and yes..." She extended her hand to reveal the ring." We are engaged."

The flashes erupted .The applause was carefully choreographed. The narrative was flawless.

Zaria turned off the stream, thenshe made the call.

"Elka,"she said calmly."send the first file to the New YOrk Times. The one about Celestine's real identity. Leave out the baby's father, for now."

Elka chuckled on the other end."You always did like the slow burn."

"Yes," Zaria said, sipping her coffee." Let's give her a taste of power.Before we take it all away."

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Back at the Thornwell estate, Darian stormed into his study. The news conference was everywhere . His famly was texting him. The board of Thornwell industries wanted clarification and he had nothing to say.

Because he had not proposed, . He hadn't even been told she was goin public. celestine was spiralig out of control, adn Zaria had gone silent.

That terrified him even more.

He remebered how she looked the last time they fought. Not angry. Not even sad. Just... done.

When Zaria was done things ended. Permanently. But how could he know if he harly even knew her anymore.

He picked up his phone to call Celestine , but paused. A ntififcation blinked across the screen.

"Thornwell heiress identity in question, Exckusive report."

He clicked the link . his hands trembled.

There it was.

Celestine wasn't Celestine and the world woulknow by morning.

He sunk into his chair , fingers digging into his temples.

Zaria,"he whispered."What are you doing?"

But the better question was , what had he done?

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Somewhere in the dark, Zaria smiled.

The new chapter would be has to write and in her story , the villain never wins.