Reclaiming the Empire

At the family banquet welcoming the return of the true daughter, my wealthy adoptive parents publicly announced that I should transfer the shares in my name to the "wronged" true daughter. All the guests praised my parents for their fairness and congratulated the true daughter on her hardships finally coming to an end. Relatives gathered around to persuade me. "You enjoyed twenty years of wealth that should have belonged to her. Giving up the shares is the right thing to do. You should know how to be grateful." My husband Javier Andrews, married to me for only half a year, also stepped forward and gently advised me. "Michelle, this originally belonged to your sister. Give it back to her. From now on, I'll take care of you." Everyone praised him for his deep affection and commended my adoptive parents for their justice, waiting for me to put on a show of sisterly love. Instead, I picked up the red wine from the table, walked over to the pitiful-looking true daughter, and smiling, poured the wine over her head. The entire room erupted in shock. My adoptive father, Kaiden Walsh, trembled with rage, pointing at me and cursing. "You ungrateful wretch!" Javier looked utterly disappointed. "Are you really that jealous of her? Do you have to make such an ugly scene?" I casually set down the empty glass and said lightly. "Ugly? I think this color suits her quite well."

Chapters

Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Javier's people drove me to the entrance of the city hall.

Throughout the entire process, we exchanged no unnecessary words.

We acted like two complete strangers handling the most routine procedure.

The clerk proved an older woman who glanced at us, then at our documents. "Have you both thought this through? You look like a good match. Whatever misunderstanding you have, talking it out would help."

Javier tapped the table impatiently. "Can we hurry this up?"

The woman sighed and said no more, starting the paperwork.

Photos, forms, signatures.

My hand shook so badly I could barely hold the pen.

I had whispered Javier's name in my heart thousands of times and secretly written it countless times on paper.

Now I had to personally sever it from mine forever.

I watched Javier finish signing, toss the pen aside, lean back in his chair, and close his eyes.

His profile remained striking, but exhaustion and irritation etched between his brows.

I suddenly wanted to ask him if, in these three years, he had ever truly loved me even for a moment.

But the words reached my lips and I swallowed them back.

Why humiliate myself further.

It became my turn.

I took a deep breath, picked up the pen, and wrote my name stroke by stroke.

After the final stroke, all my strength drained away.

The clerk gathered the documents and picked up the red stamp.

Once it fell, nothing would tie us together anymore.

I stared fixedly at that stamp.

My heart felt gripped by a hand that squeezed tighter inch by inch.

I had loved him, truly and deeply.

But he had extinguished that love with his own hands.

Just as the stamp hovered about to fall.

Javier's phone rang suddenly.

The harsh ringtone proved jarring in the quiet room.

He answered irritably. "What is it? Don't you know I'm busy?"

Whatever the person on the other end said changed his expression instantly.

From annoyance to shock to utter disbelief.

His eyes snapped wide open and fixed on me as if seeing me for the first time.

"What did you say?" His voice trembled.

The caller replied briefly.

Javier's body jerked violently, and the phone slipped from his hand, crashing to the floor.

He seemed drained of all strength, his lips quivering but unable to form words.

The next second, Javier lunged forward like a madman. "Stop! Don't stamp it!"

The clerk froze with the stamp mid-air, staring at him in bewilderment.

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