CEO's Secret Babies

Chapter One: Take the fall

Kiera stared at the massive gate with the emboldened words, clearly done by an artist who knew his stuff.

‘Stevens Family Estate’

Written in gold, not looking out of place and definitely not contrasting the massive black towering gate.

She sighed and gripped her bag tightly, she didn't even remember the last time she stepped foot here, maybe it was Grandma's birthday last year where she was later kicked out after being blamed for making her grandma get another fit of coughs.

Or maybe, that wasn't last year but two years ago, she couldn't tell. She dropped her bag at the entrance and started the long walk towards the West side of the estate reserved for the ancestral Hall where it was believed the ancestors would guide them into making the right decisions in.

Everywhere looked magnificent, just like the way she remembered it, and walking forward, she started feeling like she was getting lost when the butler, Butler Park came to guide her.

“Welcome back Miss Stevens” he greeted and bowed, knowing full well the value of great importance she held in the old matriarch’s heart.

Kiera smiled at him and he gestured for her to follow him. Which she did.

He led her to a place resembling a tropical park, with a river flowing gently and vibrant flowers and trees all around. The scenery was beautiful, but it was quiet, with no one else around.

Every member of the Stevens family gathered in the main ancestral Hall of the large, sprawling villa in the estate, all wearing solemn expressions.

Upon entering, Kiera felt all eyes turn to her like she was one of the worst villains in a movie, the one everyone seemed to spite.

Kiera hadn't stepped foot in the Stevens family villa for years and now they're calling her back?

She even began to wonder why this emergency meeting was called and why she was required, normally, when the elders discussed matters, they seldom required her presence, so what was happening today?

As soon as she took another step, a teacup probably worth more than all her clothes combined was hurled at her.

“You witch!” Came the high pitched voice that echoed in her nightmares almost every night. Accompanied by the dozen or so disappointed gazes cast her way.

The cup grazed her left ear and shattered on the floor, what a narrow escape from disaster! If it moved the wrong way, blood should have been trickling from her head by now.

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze flicking over to the woman who sat at the left, her mother— no, her stepmom. The woman who seemed to hate her very being, always looking at her like she owed her something from her past life.

“I always knew you were the bad luck on this family, after everything we've done for you for years! You go behind our backs and be the very reason for the downfall of this family!”

She screamed hysterically, looking like a crazed woman who escaped from a mental asylum.

Kiera was slightly stunned, What the hell was going on here? Different assumptions began forming in her mind

Did she steal something? Or was she being framed like one of those countless times? And also… was she somehow connected with some kind of a loop hole that made all her family members gather here as if they were mourning someone?...

She hasn't even considered any of the options in her train of thoughts when a shocking claim brought her back to reality at lightning speed.

“You curse, don't pretend as if you know nothing! You leaked our family’s confidential secret. The leak had tanked the Stevens Tech stock by 40% you b***h!”

Kiera was no longer stunned, it was beyond that now, it was surprise, shock and being stunned speechless all combined!

When has she ever got involved in the family's businesses? What even confused her the most was the fact that it was all pinned on her!

She calmly raised her head and asked, “What made you say so?”

The elders were the ones to be stunned this time, wasn't this Kiera, the weak girl who would cry at every moment she was being wronged? She dared to… talk back?

“Who else but you, b***h!” Her Aunt, Madeleine, from the second branch of the family retorted with full conviction.

Kiera sneered, her gaze mocking as it locked onto her aunt.

“Evidence? Proof? You've got any? I'm sure you don't, but since your family has already faced a mishap, I'm the one taking the fall? Weren't you guys the ones who claimed you've disowned me a long time ago? What now? Having a change of heart?”

Accompanying her voice was a sarcastic laugh that seemed to send chills down their spines.

“Seems you need to rewrite your script for accusing someone falsely, I'm off!”

She lifted her foot and was about to take a step forward when she stopped mid air.

“Stop there you ungrateful daughter, we didn't call you here to hear you make some baseless denial and then walk out scot free! Some of the company's debt will also fall on your shoulders, everyone here is suffering because of your betrayal!”

His voice, which was supposed to hold a bit of familial recognition, was shrill and cold, without any hint of sympathy or pity, uttering the most unreasonable words.

Kiera turned and unfortunately she sighted her archenemy, her step sister, who self proclaimed Kiera as a rival from the day they were born, Kathy.

“What about Kathy, how much would she be paying? How much of the debt will fall on her shoulders? So unlucky to have her being born on the same day as me, but nevertheless, our debts should be the same amount right? After all we're sisters”

Mr. Riley Stevens was struck speechless, and when he finally regained his composure, he was about to launch into a tirade when someone beat him to it.

“Oh, dear sister, I was thinking about keeping this to myself, but you made me realize that saving face for someone like you is like throwing dust in the air, useless!”

Kiera folded her hands, watching with a sincere curiosity, what has this witch planned again? Well, the real show was about to begin.

Kathy waved her right hand and soon a 50 inch television was wheeled in and switched on.

She took out a USB flash drive from the pocket of her limited Chanel hoodie jacket and plugged it in.

No sooner than that happened, a video began to play right before everyone, Kiera moved closer to see what else the mother and daughter duo could pull off this time.

The video was about 2 minutes long, but the content was outrageous.

It showed Kiera sneaking inside the company's top office reserved for the President, which was her dad, copying some info into a USB drive and also searching around the office’s inner study.

It was simply outrageous!

Once the video paused, all eyes, more than a dozen of them turned towards Kiera to see her reaction, but she stood there with a straight face, her lips twitching.

Before anyone could make another sound, she started laughing, her dimples on full display as her laughter echoed round every corner of the room.

After she finished her fit of laughter, she flashed a smile at them and they were all awestruck with her pearly white teeth and those cute dimples perched on her face making her look all the more intimidating.

“No seriously, who believed that?”

She cast a glance, looking at every face with glee.

“You witch! You still have the cheek to laugh here at a time like this? Are you insane?” Kathy yelled in annoyance.

Kiera put her palm on her ears in disgust.

“Some dogs have the cheek to bark and call others insane? I wished they could get their heads checked” she scoffed with the look of disdain in her eyes.

“Who are you calling a dog? You w***e!” Kathy raised her hand to slap Kiera.

“Stop!” A commanding voice roared from the top of the stairs and everyone turned to look.