Chapter 2 The lost Heiress

Liora's POV

I leaned against my doorframe, arms crossed, staring at the old man like he'd just crawled out of a time machine. "Okay... you know my full name. Great trick. Now, who the hell are you, and why are you waiting in front of my house like some creep?"

The man didn't flinch. His voice was calm, polite, annoyingly steady. "Miss Liora, perhaps we should sit. This is... a rather long conversation."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, of course. I always invite strange men in suits into my apartment at night. Sounds safe."

He actually smiled, which made me more suspicious. Nevertheless, I unlocked my door since I had a gut feeling he wasn't coming to rob or kill me. "All right, but just so you know, I'm a very good fighter , and if you try anything funny, I won't think twice about breaking your nose." I kicked off my shoes, turned on the lights, and gestured toward my couch inside. "Take a seat. Avoid touching anything that is bright. Hold on, I don't have anything bright."

As he made himself comfy, I made tea because, truly, if this was all a trick, I would at least need the tea to deal with it. That's when I saw a bit of an envelope from his pocket. A card for a wedding. My want to know more grew, but I let him speak first.

"So," I said, setting his cup down, "you're gonna tell me who you are before I call the cops, right?"

The man finally introduced himself. "My name is Elias, Miss. I am the butler of the Blackwood family."

I froze with my cup halfway to my lips. "Excuse me? Did you just say Blackwood? As in the Blackwoods? The alpha dynasty who own half the hotels, restaurants, and casinos on this planet?"

"Yes."

I snorted. "Right. Try again."

"I assure you, Miss Liora, I'm telling the truth."

"Uh-huh. Sure." I leaned back on the couch, squinting at him. "So what? Did I rack up a secret debt with one of their casinos? Because my luck at slot machines is bad, but not that bad."

He shook his head. "No, you're not in any trouble. In fact, quite the opposite. I am here on behalf of Miss Selene Blackwood. She wishes to invite you to her mating ceremony."

My jaw dropped. Then I laughed. Hard. "You mean Selene Blackwood-the princess of the golden empire, the woman who's probably never microwaved leftover beef in her life-wants me at her wedding? Okay, now I know you're smoking something expensive."

Elias didn't laugh. He calmly pulled another envelope from his jacket and slid it across the table. Inside were three things. A birth certificate, and two old photographs.

I frowned. Picked up the first photo. A baby. A baby with big round eyes. Me. Next to me was a toddler girl with dark hair and a face I didn't recognize.

The second photo was almost the same, except this time my father was in it too.

I stared at the pictures, my stomach doing cartwheels. "What the hell... Where did you get these?"

Elias folded his hands. "The little girl beside you is Selene Blackwood."

I blinked once. Twice. Then I burst out laughing again. "Okay, now you're killing me. Selene Blackwood, the same girl whose face is on magazine, was hanging out with me in diapers? Yeah, sure, buddy."

"The birth certificate belongs to you," Elias went on, completely unfazed by my sarcasm. "Your real name is Liora Blackwood. Your mother was a maid in the Blackwood household. Your father had an affair with her, which led to your birth. As a result, he rejected Ravenna Blackwood. He left the house months later, ruined."

I stared at him, waiting for the punchline. "So... let me get this straight. You're saying my dad went full soap opera, broke up a billionaire alpha, and somehow I'm the illegitimate child of the Blackwood dynasty? Hidden omega heiress to an alpha pack empire?"

"That is correct."

I slapped the table. "Well, damn. That explains why my dad was always broke. But you expect me to just... believe this? Some guy in a suit shows up with old pictures and suddenly I'm heiress to the Blackwood royal family?"

He didn't blink. "The photos and birth certificate are genuine. Miss Selene has been searching for you for months. Now that she has finally found you, she wishes to reconcile. What better way than at her wedding?"

I rubbed my temples. This was insane. Completely insane. And yet... I couldn't deny the familiarity of the photo. My dad had once shown me a similar picture, except my supposed sister's face had been scribbled out with ink. He'd told me I had a sister once, but never revealed who.

I forced a laugh. "You know, if you're lying, this is a really good story. Ten out of ten for creativity. Movie industries might call."

Elias didn't budge. He just placed the documents neatly on my coffee table and rose to his feet. "Whether you believe it or not, Miss Liora, Miss Selene Blackwood wishes to see you. I will return in the morning to escort you to her."

I opened my mouth, closed it, then shrugged. "Sure. Why not? Worst case scenario, this is some elaborate scam, and I end up in a Lifetime movie about kidnapped strippers."

He gave me a polite nod, like I hadn't just insulted him, and left.

I sat there staring at the photos and the birth certificate. My so-called birth certificate. "Liora Blackwood," I muttered. "Wow. Sounds fancy. Too bad it is not befitting for a stripper."

I grabbed the picture with Selene and squinted at her toddler face. "So you're supposed to be my sister, huh? Figures. You got the money and the glamour, I got the pole and late-night rent struggles. Life's a comedian."

When I finally crawled into bed, I tossed and turned. My brain refused to shut up. What if this was real? What if I was a Blackwood?

I pulled the blanket over my head and groaned. "Great. Just great. My life was already a mess, and now I might be the bastard child of an alpha family. Universe, you really need a new hobby."

Sleep finally claimed me, but not before I whispered one last sarcastic thought to the dark.

"Tomorrow, I find out if I'm royal ... or the punchline to the worst family reunion ever."