The Empire belongs to me

aid flatly, his voice calm but

l, with sharp features that seemed to speak of both danger and purpose. His face held an unsettling

at her stepmother and stepsister had orchestrated her pregnancy, had shattered her world. Now, this stranger, this "son", was adding another layer of complexity to an a

with tension. Her father, John Daniels, was the first to react. His fa

" John's voice was impatient, his tone controlled, but beneath it,

, his dark eyes scanning the family like a predator assessing its prey. His confidence was unset

son. And my solution is simple. Prove the me

r, her expression a mixture of shock, apprehension, and anger. Even Eva, no

back, her lips pressed tight in a thin line, her eyes flashing with something Emma couldn't quite decipher. Lily, on the other hand, seemed strangely

ng his head dismissively. "There's

hough a flash of something-perhaps

er wanted to know," he replied, his voice assertive, "but ignorance of the truth doesn't disappear the truth. And again, as for my

But if he was truly John's son, then who was he? Where had he come from? And what did his arrival mean for her, for Eva, for the entire Daniels fami

eyes a mix of fury and disbelief. "If you're lying, I'll

s. But the truth does. I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. Fo

t it was clear that Steve wasn't here to make amends. He had a plan. And Eva w

er anymore, he was looking at her like a problem to be solved. And it stung. But even that sting was dulled by the numbness that had

before. "This is a trick. A game to get what you want. You think you

ou to fall for it, Mr. Daniels. I just need you to understand some

he come now? Why does he want her unborn baby dead? Was he the one that sent her the note? And why did it feel like she was no longe

nd just claim what's ours?" she spoke with a chilly calmness, though her eyes sparked with somethi

g. "Your daughter made sure this famil

the accusation, but Lily s

poised, "but you're wasting your time. Our father has already made his

eyes. "Oh, but I do have a claim. And that's where you're wrong. I

ertainty in her eyes. Steve was not just an interloper; he was someone who knew exactly what he was doing. And he wasn't afraid to take what he w

nyone else. "This is madness. I have no son. And I won't be

g the truth," Steve argued softly, the words cutting through t

ble Mr. Daniels, was losing control. Lily, the scheming daughter who had always been one step ahead, wa

, Father?" Lily asked, her vo

ion had always been her driving force, but now it seemed to b

nfusion and growing resentment. "You hav

moothly, "and that's why I am g

nfront Steve about the note or show the note to her father, but something in her kept restr

about her family was a lie. And now, with this stranger's

t didn't last long, because a loud, sudden knock echoed through the house, and when eve

rdener. He looked older, perhaps a bit wearier, but his eyes still held the same warmth and kindness tha

e looked every bit the confident, charming man Emma had once kn

ords left ever

to make sure you don't lose what you've already l