The china cup in Claudia Rivers' hand slipped and shattered on the marble floor.
"What did you just say?" she snapped, her perfectly manicured nails digging into the edge of the dining table.
The housekeeper flinched. "M-Madam… the tabloids. They say Mr. Liam Westwood is married. It was confirmed this morning. To… Miss Talia."
"Talia?" Claudia repeated the name like it tasted sour. "Talia Rivers?"
The housekeeper nodded meekly. Claudia didn't bother to dismiss her before storming out of the room, the sharp clicks of her heels echoing through the corridors of the mansion.
In her private lounge, Bianca was lounging on the chaise, silk robe cinched lazily, scrolling through her phone with a smug smile. "Morning, Mother. You won't believe the madness—Liam Westwood got married in secret!"
Claudia stood frozen. "I know," she hissed.
Bianca paused. "Wait… why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"
Claudia grabbed the phone from Bianca's hand, skimming the headline:
"New York's Most Eligible Tycoon Off the Market: Liam Westwood Reportedly Married in Private Ceremony"
Below it, a blurry picture—a side profile unmistakably Liam's beside a young woman in a simple dress. Her face wasn't fully visible, but there was no mistaking the silhouette.
Claudia's voice turned to ice. "They're saying it's Talia."
Bianca blinked. Then laughed. "That's ridiculous. That poor orphan? The charity-case who smells like paint thinner? No way someone like Liam Westwood would even glance in her direction—let alone marry her."
Claudia sat down slowly, her hands trembling. "It's true. The article confirms it. His assistant denied comment, which means it's not just a rumor. It's real."
Bianca's laughter died. "But... she's nothing! She doesn't even go out. She doesn't attend galas, she's awkward, quiet, weird."
Claudia's jaw clenched. "Exactly. And somehow, she's managed to snare the most powerful man in the state."
Bianca stood, arms crossed. "No. There's no way. He could have had anyone—me, for example. I've met him at events. He looked at me."
Claudia gave her daughter a hard stare. "You were seventeen then. He wasn't looking at you."
Bianca scoffed, tossing her hair. "Still, I have presence. I make sense. Talia? She doesn't belong anywhere near the elite. And Liam? He doesn't do random. This has to be strategic."
Claudia's thoughts raced. "That's what terrifies me. Liam Westwood doesn't make careless choices. If he married her… it means something."
Bianca's face twisted in frustration. "She's not even a real Rivers."
That word hung in the air—real.
Claudia had gone to great lengths to keep the past buried. Ella's death, Daniel Rivers' swift decision to bring Talia back into the family home, the lies built like marble pillars over a rotten foundation. Talia believed Claudia's husband was her real father. That she and Bianca were blood sisters. That her mother's death was an accident. But Bianca knew. Claudia had told her everything—the moment Talia started looking too much like her mother.
"She's not even your blood, is she?" Bianca snapped now. "You took her in, played happy family, and now she's taking everything."
Claudia rubbed her temples. "I took her in because your father asked me to. Because he said she needed a stable home. But the moment I saw her eyes—those green eyes of Ella Rivers—I knew she would be trouble."
Bianca's voice dropped. "You should've sent her to boarding school. Let her disappear."
"I tried," Claudia hissed. "But your grandfather insisted she stay close. Said she was 'his only granddaughter.' He always favored her, even after Ella died. And now…" Her voice broke with restrained fury. "Now she's married into the Westwood dynasty?"
Bianca's nails dug into the velvet armrest. "Do you think she knows?"
Claudia's gaze flicked toward the window. "No. She still believes she's one of us. That your father is hers. That Jade is just some forgotten part of her childhood."
Bianca's jaw tightened. "And if she finds out? About Ella… about the truth?"
"She won't." Claudia's voice was steel now. "She mustn't."
"But what if Liam finds out first?" Bianca said sharply. "What if that's why he married her? What if he already knows?"
Claudia stood, pacing. "Then we're at risk of everything unraveling."
The truth was that the Rivers fortune was more fragile than people realized. If Liam Westwood decided to dig into Talia's history—Ella's history—he could ruin them in a matter of days. The man had more power in a single signature than Claudia's entire empire.
Bianca stepped forward. "Then we need to do something. Make him regret it. Make her regret it. She doesn't deserve this life."
Claudia's eyes narrowed. "No, she doesn't."
A plan was already forming. Public humiliation? An anonymous leak? Or perhaps something more... surgical. She'd destroyed reputations before. Manipulated press, arranged stories, sabotaged deals.
Taking down a fragile little orphan clinging to a crown too heavy for her?
That was child's play.
"But we have to be smart," Claudia warned. "We don't move until we know more. Who arranged this marriage? When did it happen? What does she know?"
Bianca's voice was flat. "If we can't pull her out from the inside, we'll destroy her from the outside."
Claudia didn't respond. She reached for her tablet, already pulling up every private investigator she trusted. Someone had to uncover the cracks before the walls came crashing down.
Bianca watched her mother with a new chill settling in her chest.
Talia had just stepped into a world ruled by wolves.
And Claudia Rivers had never lost a hunt.
Bianca's POV]
When Claudia disappeared into her study, Bianca sank slowly onto the edge of the velvet chaise, her fingers clenched tightly around her phone.
Talia.
That girl.
The name sat like acid on her tongue.
All these years, Talia had stayed in the shadows—silent, humble, pathetic. Bianca had enjoyed watching her fade into the background at every gala, always dressed in second-rate gowns, always avoiding attention, always remembering her place.
Now she was Mrs. Liam Westwood?
Bianca scrolled furiously through her feed. No official photos. No formal announcement. Just rumors and leaked whispers. But the thought of it alone was enough to make her stomach churn.
She remembered the first time she'd seen Liam Westwood in person—tall, poised, with that rare type of confidence that made every man defer and every woman lean forward. He'd walked past her at a charity event two years ago, and even though he hadn't said a word, she was sure their eyes had met. Surely he'd noticed her beauty. Everyone did.
And now he belonged to Talia?
Bianca's jaw clenched as she stood and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Perfect skin. Designer silk robe. Flawless hair. She was the daughter of Claudia Rivers. The social elite. The girl every man chased.
But Talia had stolen the one man she'd ever actually wanted.
Her lip curled. "She must have tricked him. Played helpless. Pitiful. She's good at that."
Still, a chill crept down her spine.
What if Liam didn't marry Talia out of pity?
What if he saw something in her that Bianca had missed?
Something dangerous?
Bianca narrowed her eyes.
If Talia thought being a Westwood made her untouchable…
She clearly didn't know how sharp Bianca could be.
And if Liam Westwood was smart, he'd be careful too. Because Bianca wasn't going to watch her life be handed over to a girl who used to sleep in the attic and smell like oil paint.
Not without a fight.