The ballroom hushes as I step onto the dais, champagne flute in hand, Edward beside me like a shadow given form. My eyes sweep across faces I once called family — the seven I raised, now pale under the chandeliers. Three years ago, I paid for their schools, their homes, their dreams. And then Ellie came, soft words and crocodile tears, turning them against me one by one.\n\nI remember finding James on his knees, begging me to stop blaming Ellie. 'She understands us,' he said. 'You just want obedience.' That was the day I signed the disinheritance papers.\n\nNow, I raise my glass. 'Thank you all for coming to my birthday. I have an announcement — I’m marrying Edward Sinclair.' Gasps ripple through the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ellie rise, face calm, calculating. This isn’t over. It’s barely begun.\n\nThe music dies. Whispers ignite. And then — a single voice cuts through: 'Sophia… we want to talk.' It’s Lila, the youngest. Tears streak her cheeks. Behind her, the others shift, uncertain. Do I let her speak? Do I walk away? Or do I drop the next bomb — and reveal I’ve already transferred my entire estate to Edward’s trust?