The Framed Heiress's Unyielding Comeback

ed for a crime that nearly destroyed our company, I was cast as th

iation reached its peak. My brother, the CEO who

er?" he hissed at me in front of everyone. "For one night,

ant smirk. My mother looked on in horror-not at his cruelty, but at th

their sides long ago

commit, something inside me finally snapped. The guilt, the sham

t cry. I di

lroom, pulled out my phone, and

ice answered.

, my voice clearer and stronger than it

pte

te Gall

mily pariah, the disgraced architect, the living, breathing reminder of a scandal that had almost torn Gallegos Construction apart

of their estate glittered with chandeliers and false smiles. I stood near the bac

own worth. Beside him, his fiancée, Carmella Nichols, glowed. She looked at him with an adoration that was so perfectly practiced it could have been rehears

A testament to strength, loyalty, and integrity. Values that

was a deliberate, pointed glance, a reminder that I was the exception t

rine melody. "And I am so, so blessed to be joining this incredible fam

played on her lips before vanishing. It was fo

official duties-Kash, my youngest brother, sauntered over. He had been a teenager when t

h a smirk, snatching a glass. "We wouldn't want

lank. I had learned long ago that any reaction, whether anger or

, a testament to my mother' s love for extravagant displays. As the catering staff wheeled it

to steady the cart. I managed to stop it from toppling, but in the process, m

gasp went thr

ection. But in the theater of

concern. "Oh, Charlotte. It's alright, darling. Accidents

ndercloud. He strode over, his jaw tight. H

udden silence. "Can you not do one simple thing without creating a disaster

l blow. Liability. Mess. Disaster. The la

ing. My father simply turned away, his expression one of weary disappointment. Th

years of biting my tongue, of absorbing their contempt, of living with a guilt t

sympathy, at my parents' willful blindness. I saw the e

d not

h a quiet click. I turned, my back straight, and walked out of the ballro

ce. They probably expected me to dissolve into tears in my room, t

toward the small cottage on the estate wher

ed at the number. It was the last of my secret savings, money I had painstakingly squirrele

r. I didn't type "the

rivate Investiga

ts flashy website, but for its blunt, no-nonsense

t Mcc

It rang twice before a grav

ormi

its cage. For the first time in ten years, it wasn't from f

, my voice clearer and stronger than it