The Forgotten Heiress

Chapter 13: The Weight of a Name

Chapter 13: The Weight of a Name

The next two weeks moved faster than I expected.

Every morning I woke up at the safe house and went straight to the old Alaric building. Workers had already started clearing out the dust and broken furniture. Elena and Thomas brought in new teams every day. Lawyers worked in one of the upper offices, sorting through old documents and preparing the legal steps to bring the company back under the Alaric name.

I spent most of my time in what used to be my father’s office. The desk was still there, heavy and dark. I sat behind it and read through files that had been hidden for years. Some made me angry. Others made me sad. All of them reminded me why I could not stop now.

Marcus came by almost every afternoon. Sometimes he brought food. Sometimes he just sat quietly while I worked. I had grown used to his presence. It no longer felt strange to have someone I could trust completely.

One evening, as the sun was setting, he knocked on the open office door.

“You’ve been here since morning,” he said. “You should eat something.”

I looked up from the papers.

“I will in a minute.”

He stepped inside and placed a small box on the desk. It was from my favorite café.

“You said that yesterday too,” he replied with a small smile. “And the day before.”

I closed the file I was reading and leaned back in the chair.

“Thank you,” I said. “For everything. I know you could have walked away after the gala.”

Marcus shook his head.

“I made a promise a long time ago. To your father, and to myself. I’m not going anywhere.”

There was something steady in his voice that made me believe him.

Before I could reply, my phone rang.

It was an unknown number again.

I answered and put it on speaker.

A woman’s voice came through. Cold and familiar.

“Clara Alaric,” Sophia said. “Or should I still call you Clara Langford?”

I stayed silent.

Sophia continued.

“You think you’ve won because you made a little speech in front of some cameras. But you have no idea what you’re up against. My family has been planning this for years. You’re just one girl playing dress-up with a dead name.”

Marcus’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t speak.

I kept my voice calm.

“Then why are you calling me, Sophia? If you’re so sure you’re going to win, why waste your time talking to me?”

There was a short pause.

“Because I wanted to hear your voice one last time before everything falls apart,” she said. “Enjoy your little victory while it lasts.”

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone for a moment, then set it down on the desk.

Marcus looked at me.

“She’s scared,” he said. “That’s why she called. They’re losing control and they know it.”

I nodded slowly.

“But scared people do dangerous things,” I replied.

I stood up and walked to the window. The city lights were starting to come on below us.

For weeks I had been focused on taking back what was mine. Now I realized the fight was far from over. Sophia and the people behind her were not going to disappear quietly.

They were going to come for me again.

And this time, I would be ready.

I turned back to Marcus.

“Call Elena and Thomas,” I said. “We need to move faster. I want the Alaric name fully restored by the end of the month. No more hiding.”

He nodded.

“What about Sophia?”

I looked out at the darkening sky.

“She wants to finish what her family started,” I said. “So do I.”