I found out my father died… from a headline. No call. No message. No warning. Just his picture—framed in black—on a news article that said “Business Legend Richard Voss Dead at 61.” I threw up right there on the sidewalk. By the time I made it to the funeral, it was already halfway over. I wasn’t even on the guest list. “Miss?” The security guy looked me up and down. “This is a private service.” “I’m his daughter,” I snapped. “Let me through.” He hesitated. Looked at someone behind me. Her. Veronica. My stepmother. Wearing black lace, crocodile tears, and a smile like she’d already won. “She’s confused,” Veronica said to the guard. “Poor girl’s not well.” My hands curled into fists. “Don’t you dare.” She stepped closer. Whispered in my ear so only I could hear. “He was going to give it all to you. So I made sure he didn’t get the chance.” I stopped breathing. Because deep down... I knew it was true. The night before Dad died, he left me a voicemail. “Sweetheart, I need to see you. There’s something important. Something for you.” I never got to find out what it was. The next morning, he was gone. And so was everything else. In 48 hours, my life went up in flames. University expulsion for “cheating” I never committed. Frozen bank accounts. My apartment “accidentally” rented out. Every media outlet somehow received anonymous tips about me being a “gold-digging mistress.” Veronica didn’t just destroy my name. She erased me. And when I tried to fight back? Tried to show up at the will reading? She had me declared mentally unstable. A fake doctor’s note. A private facility. No visitors. No phone. Three months. Three. Goddamn. Months. I came out with nothing but a hospital bracelet and an empty phone battery. No one called. No one came. Until him. A man in a charcoal suit, sharp eyes, no smile. “Miss Voss?” he said. “Your grandfather’s estate has been transferred to your name.” I blinked. “What estate?” He slid a folder across the table. “Everything. All of it. You’re the sole heir.” I started laughing. Not the kind you laugh when something’s funny. The kind you laugh when the universe finally blinks. Because the woman who ruined me? She forgot one thing: You can bury a name. But you can’t bury blood. And I’m coming back for everything.