Chapter 1 HER FATHER HAD A SON, AND HE HAD CHOSEN HIM OVER HER

Chapter 1

The ballroom glowed with luxury. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above, spilling golden light over marble floors and people dressed in their finest. The soft clinking of glasses, muted laughter, and smooth jazz playing in the background gave the night an air of effortless perfection.

Mia Meyers stood at the center of it all, wine glass in hand, her deep emerald gown hugging her figure like it had been stitched onto her. Her lips curved in a polite, practiced smile, the kind you wear when everything around you is exactly as planned.

Because it was.

Every detail of this evening.... every flower arrangement, everything that made this night look like one the best, had passed through her approval. This was more than just her twenty-eighth birthday. It was a night to prove herself. A night to take what had rightfully being hers from birth.

Her father had trusted her to pull this off, and she had delivered and left no crumbs.

This was the first event her dad had ever trusted her to handle, he had trusted her to make it memorable. And she had done just that, this was a flawless celebration that made the upper crust of New York society pause in admiration.

But it wasn't just about this party. It was about legacy.

About taking over her dad's legacy. And she hasn't been more excited.

She sipped her wine slowly, savoring the chill of the glass against her palm. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she imagined her father stepping up to the mic and making the announcement she'd always dreamed of hearing. That his only daughter, the one who had studied late into the night, the one who had sat through endless boardroom meetings, and worked twice as hard to prove herself in every corner of Meyers Industries, would be his successor.

She had waited years for this moment.

Mia's mind drifted to a distant memory.... her at nine years old, sitting at her mother's vanity. Her mom had brushed her hair gently, the kind of rhythm that soothed both scalp and soul. "You're going to do great things, Mia," her mother had said, voice soft but sure. "One day, everything your father and I built... it'll be yours."

It had stuck with her. That promise. That unshakable belief.

So she had made it her mission. She gave up the wild years her friends indulged in. She turned down vacations, parties, even love, just to stay on course. Every step, every decision, had been for this. Now the day has come to reap all that she had sowed.

The clinking of a microphone pulled her back to the present.

She turned. Her father stood at the center of the stage, tall, proud and commanding. The room naturally stilled for him. Samuel Meyers was a man people listened to. Even the music dipped into silence.

Mia's heart fluttered. Her pulse raced, her palms slick with sweat, as she leaned forward, eyes wide with the thrill of what came next. Her hands were now trembling, she steady her breath as she tried to steady her left hand but she failed woefully.

This was it.

The moment she'd rehearsed a thousand times in the quiet of her mind.

Her father, Samuel leaned forward slightly, his voice deep and rich. "Hmmm. Hmmm. Sorry, I always do that when I'm about to make an important announcement. Need to be sure no part of my speech his missed" Laugh erupted.

Mia swelled with admiration. Her dad has been someone who knows how to carry the room. That's why she's always respected him.

"First of I want to thank you all for joining us tonight. Today, we're not only celebrating my daughter's birthday...." he looked up, smiling toward her, and a small wave of warmth washed over her "We're celebrating thirty five years of consistency, of tears and blood put together to make Meyer what it is today." He paused and looked around.

"And..... we're also celebrating the future. Now, it's time to hand over what I've worked for to someone who has the same vision as me. To someone who would take Meyer empire to more height."

Tears welled up in Mia's eyes, she couldn't believe her dad had trusted her this much. Her grip on her wine glass a grew a little tighter. She couldn't wait any longer. Couldn't wait to hear her name being called out.

Say it. Say what we both know you're going to say.

The guests watched attentively, unaware of the storm brewing just beneath her polished surface.

Samuel glanced to the side of the stage. "And now," he continued, "I'd like to introduce someone very important."

Mia's brows drew together slightly. Important? Maybe he needed someone to hand over an award to her. Yes. That's what the important person is coming to do.

But as the figure emerge from the edge of the stage, Mia's eyes narrowed.

He moved with a quiet confidence that instantly drew attention. He was young and sharply dressed with tailored suit, a polished shoes that clicked just once on the wooden platform.

When his face completely came into view, her world shifted.

His eyes, they were warm brown with a strange flicker of gold..... her breath dropped cold. Those eyes were familiar. They were the same eyes that stares back at her every time she looks in the mirror.

They were her eyes. Her father's eyes.

And the nose, maybe not hers but definitely her dad's. Though she took her dad's eyes, but her nose were her mom's.

A chill swept over her skin despite the warmth of the room. Her grip on the wine glass tightened.

Samuel placed a firm hand on the man's shoulder, pride blooming across his features in a way Mia had never seen him look at anyone..... not even her.

"My son," Samuel said, his voice loud and unwavering. "Ethan Meyers."

Time froze.

Mia didn't blink. Didn't move. Didn't even breathe.

The words sank into her like lead. The world tilted around her.

Son? Ethan? When? How?

Applause broke out all around her, like thunder crashing into her ears. The ballroom erupted with polite admiration and intrigued whispers, but all Mia could hear was the rushing of blood in her own head.

The name felt like a punch. She turned it over in her mind, tried to make sense of it, but it didn't fit. It couldn't fit.

Her father continued, unaware.... or uncaring.... of the war unraveling in her chest. "Ethan will carry Meyers Industries forward. With fresh eyes and new energy, he'll take what we've built to even greater heights."

The wine glass in her hand suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. She wanted to drop it. Shatter it. Anything to match the splintering feeling inside her chest.

All the sacrifices. All the sleepless nights. All the loyalty. All the pain. The scar.

This was how he payed her? Not even on any other day. On her birthday. The day he had left for her to supervise and she did like the idiot she always has been.

She'd been replaced. Like she meant nothing. Like she was nothing. Her heart ached in a painful manner. She had force herself to breathe.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

She searched her father's face. Just a glance. A nod. Something to tell her this wasn't what it looked like. That this was a mistake. That this was just a prank. That she still mattered.

But he didn't look her way. Not even once.

And Ethan.... Ethan looked at her and gave her a small smile. But all she could see in those smile of his, were mock. Of course he'll mock her, he had all the right to. She had been so delusional. She'd been so stupid.

Her chest squeezed painfully at the thought of her dad having a son. A son he had never once mentioned.

Not once in all these years. Not during board meetings, not over dinner, not even in passing.

She had been planning her life around a future that wasn't hers to ever begin with. A future her father had now handed to a stranger.

But not just any stranger. It was a brother, who is a stranger.

The applause kept going, but it all blurred together. She barely heard it now. But, she let out a practice smile..... because that's what she had been trained to do. Because, she had to. Because, falling apart in front of New York's most powerful people wasn't an option.

So she raised her glass to her lips and took a slow, steady sip. Her face carefully masked.

The wine tasted like ash. Inside, she was unraveling. But outside, she was perfect.

As her father and Ethan exchanged warm words onstage, Mia made herself one silent promise:

This wasn't over.

She wouldn't disappear. She wouldn't step aside.

If Samuel thought she would crumble quietly, if this "Ethan" thought he could just walk into her life and steal the empire she had built herself around.... then neither of them knew her at all.

Her gaze sharpened as it lingered on Ethan. He stood tall beside her father, basking in applause that should have been hers.

And as the lights dimmed for the evening's next toast, one thought echoed through her mind louder than the music and laughter around her:

He may be Samuel's son. But he would never be her brother. He would never be Meyers.