The moment I stepped onto the stage, the air shifted.
Gasps rippled through the crowd, especially from those who knew me. Faces stiffened. Eyes widened. It was like watching people realize the ground beneath them wasn't as solid as they thought.
Monica froze.
The woman who had always praised Lincy as the pride of the Ashbourne family, while treating me like a shadow, lost all color in her face. The smug smile she'd worn just minutes ago vanished. She had been boasting about Lincy's future, her talent, her rise.
And there I was.
Standing under the lights.
Fate had flipped everything in a single breath.
Grant looked even worse. He stared at me as if I were a stranger. His mouth opened slightly, disbelief written all over him.
"How…" he muttered. "How can it be her?"
Lewis's voice cut through the tension, steady and sharp.
"Why not her, Grant?" he said coolly. "Or have you never bothered to truly know your own daughter?"
Grant flinched.
