Annalise's POV.
My heart raced, and I felt the room spin as my father's words hung in the air. "The heir... Annalise George Smith!" The name echoed through the hall. Gasps of surprise rippled through the guests, their eyes turning toward me and I wish the ground to give way beneath me.
"Dad, what... what are you saying?" I stammered, the weight of the revelation sinking in. The life I had known, one of humble origins, shattered as the truth about my life was revealed. The gasps around me reflected the disbelief that clenched my own heart.
"You, my dear, are the one with the gift," my father explained, his voice resonating, his eyes holding a mixture of pride and expectation. The world I thought I knew crumbled, replaced by the new responsibility of inheriting an empire.
"But... But...
