Chapter 9
The truth was, I’d known for a long time that Sofia was Julian’s illegitimate daughter.
I first suspected it when I was abroad for my father’s funeral.
The timing was too perfect. Julian had sent her into my life like it was scripted.
What I didn’t expect was how depraved he really was–sleeping with his own daughter.
But my trip abroad hadn’t just been about attending a funeral.
No one needs three months for that.
Milo had flagged unusual activity in the company’s accounts even before I left. She sent me everything. The numbers didn’t lie.
I chose to play it quiet–didn’t make a move, didn’t raise a single red flag.
Instead, I began shifting the core of the Voss Group’s power structure in secret.
Our top talent–the real brains and backbone of the company–had already been transferred to our overseas divisions.
What remained in the domestic branch? Dead weight. Leeches.
Julian and the others never noticed.
They didn’t have the capacity to.
Matthew…well, he was clever.
But all his energy had gone into figuring out how to wrest power from me.
He handed off the actual work to hired executives.
The clean energy project I left them was a ticking time bomb–by design.
The technology was half–baked–years away from implementation.
A closer look would’ve revealed the cracks.
But they were too greedy. Too impatient.
The only part of the plan I didn’t anticipate…was Shirley.
I never imagined Julian could be so monstrous, even as a father.
Teaming up with them to try and kill Shirley–It was beyond cruelty.
After everything, I quietly bought back the shares Matthew had snatched from me, at a fraction of their worth.
Meanwhile, the overseas project I had shifted our core team to had finally borne fruit.
The Voss Group, once on the brink, was thriving again.
As for that wedding…it had become the city’s favorite gossip for a while
but like all scandals, it eventually faded into memory.
One evening, as I sat at my desk buried in work, Shirley came in holding a warm glass of milk.
She nestled into my lap like she used to as a child.
“Mom I’m sorry,” she murmured. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to go through all this.
“If there were the chance to go back, I’d wish you’d never met that bastard Julian.”
I stroked her hair gently, my voice low and steady.
“Sweetheart, if I could live my life over, maybe I wouldn’t have let him near the Voss family.”
“But even so…I’d still marry Julian. Because only then would I have you. And having you has been the greatest gift of my life.”
“None of this is your fault. Don’t ever think that. You’ve only made my life brighter. I love you, baby.”
You, my Shirley.
May you shine like the moon, distant and untarnished by this world.
Your name will always carry the deepest blessing in your mother’s heart.
“Don’t ever blame yourself. You didn’t ruin anything. You gave me everything.”
You are my Shirley.
As long as stars shine, my Shirley will live–loved, safe, and unbound.
Your name will always carry the deepest blessing in my heart.
