Lady Agatha’s smile widened. She stepped forward, placing a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “There’s my boy,” she purred. “You see, girl? Love is a lie. Money is real.”
I stood there, frozen, as the crowd erupted in whispers and mocking laughter. The tiara slipped from my head, clattering to the floor. I didn’t pick it up.
“Then why did you give me this?” I asked, my voice breaking. “Why did you promise me forever?”
Arthur couldn’t meet my eyes. “I… I thought I could fight her. I thought I could convince her. But I can’t.”
“So this was all a game?” I said. “I walked miles. I wore this ragged dress. I let them laugh at me. For a game?”
“Elara, please…”
“No,” I said, my voice suddenly strong. “No, I won’t please. I won’t be your punching bag.”
I looked at Lady Agatha, at her smug face and her cruel eyes. And then I did something I hadn’t planned. I reached into the bodice of my dress and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“You think you’ve won,” I said, my voice echoing through the cathedral. “But you haven’t.”
Lady Agatha laughed. “What’s that? A love letter? A grocery list?”
“This,” I said, unfolding the paper, “is a deed. To this cathedral. To the land it stands on. To every stone and every pew.”
The laughter died.
“It was transferred to me,” I said, “by the late Lord Harrington, your husband, three weeks before he died. He knew what you were. He knew you would try to destroy anyone who threatened your control. So he hid the deed in a place you’d never look.”
Lady Agatha’s face went white. “That’s impossible,” she sputtered. “I have the deed. It’s in my safe.”
“You have a copy,” I said. “The real one is here. With my name on it.”
The crowd gasped. Arthur stared at me, his mouth open.
“You see,” I said, “I’m not just a poor girl. I’m the granddaughter of the late Lord Harrington. And you, Lady Agatha, are nothing but a usurper.”
Lady Agatha grabbed for the paper, but I pulled it back. And then, from the back of the church, a man stood up. He was tall, with gray-streaked hair and eyes that matched mine.
“She’s telling the truth,” he said, his voice carrying across the silence. “I’m her father. And I have the birth certificate to prove it.”
Previously: Elara walked down the aisle in a borrowed dress and a costume tiara. Everyone mocked her. Then the lawyer opened the envelope, and Lady Agatha’s world collapsed.
The Man in the Back Pew Who Knew My Name
The man walked down the aisle with a confidence that made the marble tremble. He wore a simple gray coat, but his bearing was regal. His eyes were the same shade of green as mine, and they were locked on Lady Agatha with cold fury.
“Who are you?” Lady Agatha demanded, her cane shaking in her hand.
“My name is Thomas Harrington,” he said. “The late Lord’s only son.”
The crowd erupted. Whispers flew like birds from a cage. “The disowned son!” “He was supposed to be dead!” “This can’t be real.”
Lady Agatha’s face drained of all color. “You’re dead,” she hissed. “You died in a fire twenty years ago.”
“I didn’t die,” Thomas said. “I disappeared. Because you tried to have me killed.”
He stopped beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst. “This is my daughter,” he said. “Elara. My only child.”
“And I have proof,” he continued, pulling a worn envelope from his coat. “A birth certificate. A DNA test. And a letter from my father, written in his own hand, naming Elara as his heir.”
Lady Agatha lunged for the envelope, but Thomas held it high. “You will not touch this,” he said. “You’ve done enough damage.”
“You liar!” Lady Agatha screamed. “You’re a fraud, just like her!”
“Call the police,” Thomas said calmly, looking at the priest. “And call the family lawyer. He’ll confirm everything.”
Arthur stepped forward, his face a mess of confusion and anger. “Elara, is this true?” he asked. “You knew about this?”
“I found out last week,” I said, my voice trembling. “I was going to tell you. But then I saw how you looked at me when your grandmother threatened your inheritance. And I knew I couldn’t trust you.”
“That’s not fair,” Arthur said. “You didn’t give me a chance.”
“A chance?” I laughed bitterly. “You watched them mock me. You watched them laugh at my dress. And you said nothing. You were going to let me be humiliated just to see if you could keep your money.”
Arthur’s face fell. “I… I didn’t mean…”
