The True Heiress Reborn And Slays (Alicia Delaney) novel Chapter 359

Chapter 359 The Flashback

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It was nearly the end of dinner when Riley excused herself to use the restroom. Only then did Zavier seem to snap back to the present.

He watched her walk away–her straight posture, that self–assured and iridependent demeanor. It reminded him so much of his own younger self.

Almost against his will, his thoughts drifted to the daughter he had lost twenty years earlier.

Acting on impulse, he leaned over and murmured a few words to his son, Raymond, who was seated beside him.

So later, as everyone was saying their goodbyes and Riley extended her hand for a parting handshake, Raymond casually reached but as though to brush a speck of lint from her shoulder. In one swift, unnoticed motion, he plucked a loose strand of her hair.

At the time, Riley simply dismissed it as another instance of the Harper heir overstepping boundaries.

Several days later, when another invitation from the Harpers arrived–this time to a quiet downtown coffee shop–she assumed the partnership details were finally being settled.

But as she pushed through the door, she was met not with business formalities, but with Raymond’s face lit up with uncontrollable excitement.

Before she could even speak, he sprang up from his seat and rushed toward her, arms wide open, calling out, “Little sister!”

Little sister?

Riley’s mind went blank for a split second before a sharp sense of alarm shot through her.

Remembering Raymond’s odd, increasingly familiar behavior over the past few meetings, she reacted on pure instinct.

Just as he was about to wrap her in an embrace, she sidestepped smoothly and slapped him hard across the face. The sound was sharp and clear in the quiet café.

Raymond froze, stunned.

Riley’s gaze was icy, her voice devoid of warmth. “Mr. Harper, whether you sign the contract or not is your business. But do not attempt to play games with me.”

୮

‘That’s not what this is! Riley, please–let us explain!” Zavier, shaking off his own shock, rose quickly and moved between them. With trembling hands, he pulled a document from his briefcase and held it out to her. “Sweetheart, just look at this first. We mean you no harm. It’s because… you’re my daughter.”

It was a paternity test report.

There, in stark black and white, were the cold, clinical results–and at the bottom, the conclusive statement of a biological match. The words seemed to burn Riley’s eyes.

She barely scanned the page before tossing it onto the nearby table as if it were hot to the touch. The papers scattered, some fluttering to the floor.

“I don’t have parents,” she said, lifting her eyes to the two men who claimed to be her family. Her voice was steady and cold. “I’m an orphan.”

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5:16 pm P P p

Chapter 359 The Hashhack

She had never imagined that a business trip to Nexopolis would suddenly land her with a long–lost biological family.

But so what?

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She had no memories of early childhood. She had long ago let go of any naïve hopes attached to words like “parents” or “family“.

Somewhere deep down, she had even convinced herself that she’d been intentionally abandoned by people who never wanted

her.

“It wasn’t like that!” Zavier’s heart ached at her detachment, and the words poured out in a rush. “Your mother took you out to the park that day, and you wandered off… We searched for years. Your mother–she fell apart. She grew so ill she almost lost her mind. There were… there were several suicide attempts. It wasn’t until we adopted a girl around your age that she slowly began to

recover.”

Zavier and Raymond continued, each pouring out regrets, hopes, and the long drama of their search–performance filled with desperation and earnest emotion.

But Riley noticed only one glaring absence: from beginning to end, the mother who was said to have been destroyed by her loss was nowhere to be seen.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Zavier suggested holding a press conference to announce to the world that fris biological daughter had been found.

“That won’t be necessary,” Riley said coolly. “My life is in Havenbrook. I need time to think.”

Yet later, alone in the back of a cab returning to her hotel, she felt the ice around her heart soften, just a little.

She had a family now.

A father. A brother.

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