No Longer A Pawn, Now A Queen

a

one buzzed. It was Mrs. Davies, the house manager. Her voice was frantic. "Ms. Callahan, she's fu

t it. Take this money." I transferred a substantial amount to her discreetly. "Then, disappear. Don't answer

anks, and I ended th

an investigative journalist with a reputation for sniffing out the truth. She was the one person

r brow furrowed. "Ara? What's wrong

ansion, the child, the five-year charade. The fake plagiarism scandal, the connivance of Howard and Bernice. The marriage certificate,

then pure, incandescent rage. "Those monsters," she whispered, her voice trembling. "They strung you alo

desk. "It's all on there. Every detail. Ev

h the files, her jaw tightened. "This is damning, Ara. This isn't just a divorce

on't want anything from them. I just want out. Clean. Completely. And I want them to face the consequences, publicly. Not for

on in her eyes. "You're not asking for reven

a ghost. A new name, a new life. Where they can nev

'll help you orchestrate a public reveal that will make headlines

Group. "You are cordially invited to celebrate the Five-Year Anniversary of Ara Callaha

almost innocuous line: "Please inform us

ey're confirming your allergies! They're explicitly asking for the information th

hey weren't just betraying me; they were actively planning to incapacitate me,

over me. Then, I opened them. My gaze was clear. "Good," I said, m

laims to Andres' s assets, to the Estrada fortune. A declaration that I renounced any ties to the fam

al town I' d never heard of, across the country. I chose a

l bag. "Just a quick business trip, love," he said, not

lebrate the boy's birthday, the one I' d witnessed. The "busines

, my voice calm,

o me. "I will. You k

peck on the lips. I felt nothing. No wa

replied, the

left. The sound of the door clicking shut

of loneliness was immense, but it was a purified loneliness, a clean slate. I was no longer Ara Callahan, t