Chapter 4

Annabel Hughes stopped a few feet from Brian. She didn't raise her voice. She didn't have to.

"Brian," she said, her tone deceptively calm. "What do you think you are doing?"

Brian was visibly shaken. He hadn't expected her. "Annabel. I... we were just handling a private family matter."

"Family?" Annabel let out a short, sharp laugh that held no humor. She turned to the press, who were now silent, hanging on her every word. "Let me be clear for all of you. This man is not a Hughes. His name is Brian Lester. He was my late son's business partner, and he became my son-in-law. He holds no blood relation to this family."

A collective gasp went through the crowd of reporters. They started shouting questions, their cameras flashing wildly.

Annabel ignored them and turned her piercing gaze on Ethan. "And this young man, Ethan, is Brian's son from a previous marriage. He is not my grandson. He is not a Hughes heir."

The revelation hit like a physical blow. Ethan staggered back as if he'd been struck. Nicole's mouth hung open in disbelief. The paparazzi went absolutely wild. This was a scandal far bigger than they could have imagined.

"The controlling shares of Hughes Corporation," Annabel continued, her voice ringing with authority, "the family trust, the real power... it all remains with me. This man," she pointed a finger at Brian, "is a glorified employee. And he seems to have forgotten his place."

She turned and walked through the gate, which a terrified security guard scrambled to open for her. She walked right up to me, her expression softening for the first time. She took my hands in hers. "Stella. My granddaughter. I'm so sorry it took so long to find you."

Then, she turned back to Brian, her face hardening once more. "Inside. Now."

Inside the grand, marble-floored foyer of the mansion, away from the prying eyes of the press, Annabel's control snapped. She pointed a trembling finger at Brian.

"On your knees," she commanded, her voice a low, furious growl.

Brian hesitated, his face a mixture of fear and defiance.

"I SAID, ON YOUR KNEES!" she roared, her voice echoing through the cavernous space.

Brian Hughes, the powerful patriarch, the man who had tried to destroy me, crumpled to the floor. He knelt before the true matriarch of the Hughes family, his head bowed in terror and humiliation.