Chapter 4 Pieces on the Table

The Blackwell mansion's towering silhouette faded behind the misted bus window as Anna rode home, pressed between strangers and silence. Her mind, however, was anything but quiet. Richard Blackwell's words still echoed in her skull, louder than the squeal of brakes or the hiss of traffic.

"You're not just her daughter. You're the reason she was sent away."

The weight of it settled like stone in her stomach.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. A text.

MIA: You okay? We're coming over.

Anna stared blankly for a moment before replying:

ANNA: Bring coffee. Strong.

---

Anna's Apartment – Later That Night

A knock came. Anna opened the door to Mia and Cade, standing like a rescue squad on caffeine.

"Mission: Caffeinate the Damaged," Cade said, lifting two cups and a box of muffins.

"Come in,

before I cry," Anna muttered.

They collapsed on the couch. Cade shoved a muffin into Anna's hand.

"Talk. All of it."

Anna took a long breath. "The woman from the car crash. She recognized me when she woke up... said I looked like someone she loved."

"She said that?" Mia's voice cracked. "That's... eerie."

"That's not all. A man came. Powerful. Cold. Threatened her while she was unconscious."

"What?" Cade sat up. "You're kidding."

"I followed him. Found out he's Richard Blackwell. Yes, that Blackwell. I went to the estate. To confront him."

Mia dropped her drink. "You did what?"

"I walked into his house and asked him if I was his daughter." Her voice broke. "And he said yes."

---

Flashback – Outside Blackwell Mansion

Anna stood before a towering iron gate. Two guards eyed her like she was vermin.

"I need to see Mr. Blackwell," she said. Her voice was steady. Her heart was not.

"Name?"

"Anna Hartley. Tell him it's about Eniola."

They laughed. One picked up a phone. Minutes passed.

Then-shockingly-the gates opened.

She walked past fountains and rose-lined paths, her sneakers loud on the marble floors of the mansion. A woman in pearls and a blazer stepped in her path.

"You're not on the visitor list."

"Tell him I'm Eniola's daughter."

That did it.

Ten minutes later, Anna was ushered into a vast wood-paneled study.

---

Richard Blackwell's Study

He didn't look up at first. Poured whiskey. Took his time.

Then: "You look like her."

"So it's true?" Anna asked, fists clenched.

"You were a mistake," Richard said. "We tried to erase the past."

"You gave me away?"

He sipped his drink. "You were never supposed to exist."

"And yet, here I am," Anna snapped. "Standing in your million-dollar library, while you act like I'm the stain on your rug."

"You don't understand the world you're playing in."

"No," she said. "But I plan to."

He looked at her now, something almost sad in his eyes.

"She begged to keep you. But she was naïve. I did what I had to do."

"No. You did what was easiest. For you."

---

Grand Staircase – First Encounter with Ethan

She left the study like a storm, winded and furious, nearly slamming into a tall figure in a suit.

Ethan Blackwell.

He caught her by the elbow. "Whoa, watch where you're going."

Anna yanked away. "Let go."

"You storm out of my father's office and nearly knock me over. Not how most people introduce themselves."

"Then maybe I'm not most people."

"You're Anna, right?" His voice was calm, but something flickered in his eyes.

"How do you-?"

"Everyone's talking. Coffee shop girl with secrets. The one shaking up the old man's kingdom."

"I don't have time for this."

He tilted his head. "You really think coming here was smart?"

"I don't care about smart. I care about the truth."

Ethan stepped closer. "Then you better be ready for how ugly truth gets around here."

"I've lived ugly. This? This is luxury."

Their eyes held. Then Jake appeared behind him.

"Oh good, drama," Jake said. "Am I late?"

Anna turned and walked off without another word. Ethan watched her go.

"Firecracker," Jake said. "You're totally into her."

Ethan didn't answer. But he couldn't stop watching.

---

Later That Night – Anna's Apartment

Kade and Mia stared at Anna like she'd just told them she was a long-lost royal heir.

Which, in a twisted way... she had.

Kade let out a low whistle. "Wait-hold up. You just walked into the Blackwell mansion?"

Anna nodded slowly.

Mia's mouth was still open. "Like, no appointment? No warning?"

"Are you insane?" Kade asked, half-laughing, half-serious. "That estate's tighter than a prison. Their security isn't exactly 'drop-in friendly.'"

"I didn't plan it," Anna said. She wrapped her hands around her coffee mug again, seeking warmth. "It just... happened."

"You said Eniola's name?" Mia asked, shocked.

Anna nodded. "They looked at each other like I'd spoken a curse. One of them made a call. I don't know who he spoke to, but three minutes later... the gate opened."

Kade blinked. "That fast?"

"And?" Mia asked.

"I told her I was Eniola's daughter."

Mia gasped again. "You actually said it."

"It worked," Anna murmured. "Or maybe it shocked them so much they didn't know what else to do."

Kade gave her a sideways look. "Girl, you've got some serious nerve."

Anna smirked weakly. "I think I'm just tired of being lied to."

Mia reached over and squeezed her hand. "So what now?"

Anna's smile faded.

"I don't know. But I'm not done"

"I can't even describe it," Anna said as Mia dabbed her eyes with a napkin. "He said I was the reason she was exiled. That I was the mistake."

Cade leaned forward. "You're not a mistake. You're a buried secret they didn't want the world to find."

"They treated me like a bomb," Anna said bitterly. "Waiting to explode."

Mia touched her hand. "Then maybe it's time you do."

---

Eniola's Flashback – Coma Memory

In the dark, Eniola remembered her final night at the mansion.

Anna's cries. Richard's indifference.

"You'll leave tonight," he said. "Margaret will take the child."

"I want to keep her."

"Then disappear. Take her and vanish. If I see either of you again, you won't like what happens."

Eniola kissed her baby's cheek, sobbing. "I'm so sorry, baby girl. One day... you'll know the truth."

---

Ethan's POV

Ethan sat alone in the vast, cold silence of his father's study.

Two folders lay before him like loaded weapons.

> Anna Hartley – Blood Type: B+ – Mother: Eniola

Ethan Blackwell – Paternity Status: Non-Biological

He stared at the words, his hands clenched around the edges of the file. Everything inside him churned. The air felt thinner now, like it was trying to suffocate him slowly.

He whispered, "Who the hell am I?"

Jake appeared at the doorway, his usual sarcasm gone.

"You okay?" he asked.

Ethan didn't look up. "She's not who she thought she was."

Jake stepped further in. "Neither are you, man."

Ethan finally raised his head. His face was pale. Not just pale-haunted.

"I spent my whole life living a lie, didn't I?" he said. "The parties, the girls, the freedom... it was all bought with a name that was never mine."

"Ethan-"

He stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the polished floor.

"If I'm not a Blackwell, then what am I?" His voice cracked. "Everything I am-everything I thought I was-is a damn forgery."

His breath grew shallow. Panic simmered just beneath his skin.

"What if I'm nothing?" he whispered, staring down at the file again. "What if I've spent my whole life pretending to be someone who never existed?"

Jake stepped forward but didn't touch him.

And Ethan-rich, powerful, untouchable Ethan-sat back down, burying his face in his hands.

For the first time in his life, he was afraid.

Not of losing money.

Not of losing control.

But of losing himself.