Chapter 4

Haley Dickerson POV:

The whispers followed us down the hallway, growing louder with each step. "Did you hear that?" "Haley Dickerson? The Dickerson family?" The sheer audacity of Arlena's revelation had stunned them into silence for only a moment. Now, the office was alight with gossip.

Karly's shriek echoed behind us. "Haley! You can't just walk away! You can't just throw away everything we built!"

I paused, turning slowly. Karly stood framed in the doorway of Devin's office, her face a mask of fury and fear. Devin, pale and bewildered, was still leaning against his desk, watching me with a horrified fascination.

"Everything we built?" I asked, my voice calm, almost polite. "Funny, I seem to recall building it alone, Karly. While you were busy building your 'influencer brand' on a foundation of stolen identity."

Karly flushed crimson. "How dare you! You're nothing! You always have been! A charity project Devin picked up from the street!"

"And you," I countered, my gaze unwavering, "are a fraud. A parasite. You lived a lie, pretending to be someone you're not. And you tried to destroy anyone who threatened your illusion."

"Haley, stop it!" Devin finally stirred, pushing off the desk. He hurried towards Karly, placing a hand on her arm. "This is enough. You're upset. We understand." He looked at me, a pathetic attempt at empathy. "But don't make a scene."

"A scene?" I laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. "You think this is a scene, Devin? This is just the opening act. The prelude to your downfall."

"Don't threaten me, Haley," he warned, his eyes narrowing. "You don't know what you're doing. You're emotional, you're unstable. You just had an accident."

"An accident you and Karly orchestrated," I said, letting the words hang in the air, heavy with accusation. His face went ashen. Karly gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"That's a vile lie!" Karly screeched, her voice cracking. "How could you even suggest such a thing?"

"Because I know you, Karly," I replied, a cold certainty in my voice. "I know how far you'd go to protect your stolen life. And I know what you're truly capable of."

"She's raving!" Karly turned to Devin, her eyes wide and pleading. "Devin, tell her! Tell her she's lying!"

Devin looked torn, his gaze flickering between Karly's desperate face and my resolute one. He chose Karly. He always did. "Haley, that's enough. You're hallucinating. Go home. Get some rest."

"Go home?" My laugh was louder this time, tinged with genuine amusement. "Funny, that's what you always told me, wasn't it? 'Haley, be sensible. Haley, be understanding. Haley, go home and wait for me to notice you.' Well, not anymore."

I took a step closer, my eyes fixed on Devin. "You know, for years, I thought I was lucky to have you. I thought I was building a life, a future. I thought I was loved." My voice was quiet now, but the intensity in my gaze held him captive. "I was wrong. I was just convenient. A warm body. A loyal, hardworking fool you could exploit for eight years, then discard when someone more 'glamorous' came along."

His face paled further. "Haley, that's not fair. I cared about you."

"Cared?" I scoffed. "Is that what you call it? Using my skills to build your company, then replacing me with a fake heiress? Dismissing my pleas for help while our child died? No, Devin. That's not care. That's pure, unadulterated selfishness."

"You lost a baby?" A timid voice from the hallway cut through the tension. One of the newer interns, her face filled with shock.

Karly instantly seized on the moment, turning on the intern. "Don't listen to her! She's making it up! She's unstable!"

Devin, though shaken, still tried to assert control. "Haley, you need to leave. Now. Before you say anything else you'll regret."

"Regret?" I smiled, a cold, empty smile that didn't reach my eyes. "I assure you, Devin, the only thing I regret is ever meeting you. And trusting you. And loving you." I reached into my bag, pulling out the small, velvet box that contained the locket Arlena had given me. The Dickerson locket. "But now? Now there's nothing left for me to regret. Only satisfaction."

I walked directly to Devin's desk, ignoring Karly's sputtered protests. He watched me, his eyes wide with a dawning terror as he saw the locket. My fingers curled around it.

"This," I said, holding up the locket, "was supposed to be mine. My family. My legacy. You tried to take it all away. But you failed." I looked at Karly, then back at Devin. "You both failed."

With a sudden, decisive motion, I flung the locket. It didn't hit him. It hit the wall behind him, the gold clinking loudly against the plaster before falling to the floor. A symbolic gesture. I wasn't fighting for trinkets. I was fighting for my life.

"I quit, Devin." I repeated, my voice ringing with finality. "And you? You're next."

I turned on my heel and walked out, Arlena following closely behind. As I stepped through the double doors, a loud, artificial sob erupted from Karly. "She's evil! She's crazy!"

Devin's voice, laced with frustration, reached my ears. "Damn it, Karly! Don't make things worse!"

I kept walking, the sounds of their unraveling world fading behind me. My heart was still a raw wound, but my mind was clearer than it had ever been. The old Haley, the kind, forgiving Haley, was dead. In her place, a Dickerson had risen. And she was coming for everything they took.