The Alpha Heiress

The Reveal

Ellia POV

"Have I gotten myself into trouble?"

That shouldn’t have happened.

All I had to do was ignore it. Just mind my business, but—

That was the real issue: whatever abilities I had—whatever was wrong with me, it didn’t change my nature. I saw a pregnant woman in need of help and I acted. And if I had another chance to make a choice, I’ll probably still save her again regardless.

I arrived home in a few minutes.

The moment I stepped in. A sudden chill crawled up my spine—

The house was weirdly quiet and still.

“Aunt Hilda!”

My voice echoed across the room.

“Aunty!” I yelled out again. This time I was already walking up the stairs.

When I reached the hallway, I saw it—

The door was slightly open. The door to Aunt Hilda’s room.

I took slow and careful steps, then the wooden boards creaked gently under my movement.

“Aunty.” my voice was softer now.

When I reached and peeped. The sight made my heart skip a beat. Aunt Hilda, the strongest person I knew. The one person who acted as if nothing fazed her was sitting on the floor holding a book and weeping profusely.

I stepped closer, trying my best to interrupt her.

I caught a good sight of the book she was holding. There was a picture plastered across the page. A young radiant woman with blonde curls exactly like mine and a beaming smile on her lips, beside her, a man with dark hair and crystal eyes…and then between them… a small figure they held so tenderly. A baby with eyes exactly like mine.

"Mom…Dad…?"

This was the first time in years I had gotten a glimpse of them. Hilda always tried to pretend they didn’t even exist.

“Ellia?” Aunt Hilda finally noticed my presence as she snapped her neck in my direction.

“I didn’t hear you walk in..” She stood up sharply, sniffling and wiping her eyes and any traces of tears.

“Aunty, what is it?” I stepped closer.

Aunt Hilda casually shrugged it off. “Oh, nothing.”

“It’s nothing. I saw—“

“Sweetie.” She cut me off. “It’s old memories... they just got me a little emotional, that’s all.”

“But—“

“Hey! Since you’re back,” she forced a smile on her lips then. “I’ll get baking on your pre-birthday cupcakes as per tradition.”

She stepped past me, walking to the door.

“If I ask about them now,” my voice stopped her.

“Would you even share a glimpse of their lives? If they loved each other, if they loved me. Just anything besides the fact that they died in a car accident. Would you?”

She didn’t face me as the weight of the question really settled on her.

Then she sighed. " You’ll know soon enough.”

With that, she walked to the door. But before she turned, she muttered something under her breath that my sharp hearing caught—

“Tomorrow, everything changes.”

"Tomorrow? What did she mean by that?"

I went to sleep still thinking about what happened earlier. It's not every day you see the strongest person in your life cry.

And then the words she said before leaving—

‘Tomorrow, everything changes.’

Was it just in the context of my 18th birthday or something more?

-------------------

The soft sounds of birds chirping woke me up.

As the sunlight poured through my room and a warm glow eased me out of my sleep, the reality of the day hit me like a tidal wave.

"My birthday?"

I didn’t hesitate; the next second, I pulled the door open and was charging downstairs.

She probably had the cake baked up already, as well as other pastries.

Excitement was coursing through my veins—

“Aunty.” My voice dimmed, and my expression changed the moment I saw Aunt Hilda.

Her expression was grim and weary…

That wasn’t a good sign.

I came down the stairs and walked up to her.

“What is it?” “What’s happening?”

She sighed, lowering her eyes to the floor. “It’s time I told you a little about your mother.”

Normally I would be excited; I'd waited for this day for more than half of my life. But the expression and the context with it made me more worried than excited.

She took a seat by the diner, and slowly, I did as well. The table was covered with paper, envelopes and documents.

For a long moment, there was thick and heavy silence. Then, she inhaled shakily and spoke.

“There are things I should have told you years ago.”

That piqued my curiosity immediately. I leaned in further towards her. “Then tell me.”

She sighed in defeat and spoke. “I didn't lie to you because I wanted to hurt you.”

“You lied?”

"Well… I hid things.”

“That’s lying.”

I saw a small inch of pain flash across her face. “I was trying to protect you.”

"Protect me—"

“.....from what?”

She reached for one of the folders and slid it toward me. There were documents inside. Names, numbers, and signatures.

I frowned… “What is this?”

She swallowed a hard lump down… “Your mother’s legacy.”

"My what?"

“My mother died leaving nothing, that's what you've always said.”

Aunt Hilda’s voice came out barely a whisper. “No, Ellia.” Her eyes met mine. “Your mother had everything.”

My heart thumped. “What?”

“She wasn’t just successful; she was one of the most powerful women in the country.”

I stared at her in total disbelief.

“She built Haleon Global from the ground up.”

The name hit me instantly. "Haleon Global." Brianna's father was the CEO.

The largest tech and real estate company in the state and one of the biggest corporations in the country.

"My mother built that?"

I let out a hysterical laugh… “No. This is

Some kind of funny joke, right?”

But the look on Aunt Hilda's face showed otherwise.

“No, she was the CEO of the company until eighteen years ago.

Aunt Hilda leaned in closer to me, taking my hand and looking me in the eye.

“Your mother is the famous Catherine Estrada."