Forbidden: The Billionaire’s Secret Sister Chapter 07
I sat in my studio, fingers trembling as I held the DNA report I’d never opened. The wind howled outside, as if urging me to unveil this secret that had been buried for twenty–three years.
Under the dim light, I tore open the seal.
The white paper unfolded before me, the words painfully clear. My eyes scanned that name over and over, as if reading it multiple times could make it disappear.
Marcus Blackwood.
My biological father.
“Mom…” my voice trembled in the empty studio, “why you hide this?”
Everything made sense now. Mom’s expression before she died, her complicated attitude toward Phoenix’s family, why she always told me to stay away from rich people. She wasn’t protecting me from money and power–she was protecting me from the curse of blood.
Phoenix and I… we’re siblings, The realization hit me like ice water flooding my entire body. I thought of his kisses, his embraces, the love in his eyes, and suddenly it all became disgusting and wrong.
‘God, this is the painful truth Mom carried. She fell in love with her employer, got pregnant with his child, then was abandoned…‘
The studio door suddenly burst open. I quickly hid the report, but it was too late.
Celeste stood in the doorway, moonlight outlining her perfect silhouette. A cold smile played at her lips, that victorious arrogance making my blood freeze instantly.
“You finally looked,” she said, her voice terrifyingly calm, “I thought you’d keep pretending not to know. Old Martha was quite chatty before she retired last month. Amazing what family secrets the help remembers after thirty years of service.”
“You knew all along?” I stood up, fists clenched. “So that’s why you wanted me at the party–to watch me get humiliated? To see me played like a fucking joke?”
Celeste’s smile grew brighter, beautiful and deadly like a snake. “Do you know how Marcus treated your mother? He got her pregnant, promised to marry her, then completely abandoned them when he found out the child was a girl,”
“Shut up!”
“He even refused to acknowledge your existence. Your mother worked herself to death raising you while he enjoyed his wealthy life.” Celeste’s tone grew more venomous. “Now his son has fallen in love with his bastard daughter. Isn’t that amusing?”
My heart pounded violently, anger making it hard to breathe. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I need you to understand,” her gaze sharpened, “if you don’t leave Phoenix, I’ll make this scandal public. Imagine how the media will report it: ‘Blackwood Family Heir Falls for Half–Sister.‘ The entire family will be disgraced by your incest.”
“We didn’t know! We had no idea we were related!”
“Who would believe that?” Celeste shrugged. “Especially when I reveal that your mother had a DNA test done right before she died? It will look like a long–planned conspiracy to get close to Phoenix.”
Before I could respond, the sound of the door crashing pen startled us both, Phoenix rushed in, his face filled with anxiety and worry.
Sera, I heard shouting, what’s happening…” His words died on his lips as his gaze moved between us.
“Phoenix…” my voice was hoarse.
He saw the report in my hands, saw the triumphant expression on Celeste’s face, and instantly understood.
Phoenix staggered backward as if struck by a heavy blow. “This can’t be… we’re…”
“Related by blood,” Celeste said with malicious satisfaction. “What a perfect family reunion.”
Phoenix collapsed into a chair, hands covering his face. “This isn’t real, this can’t be real…”
Watching his pain, my heart bled too, but I knew this was the reality we had to face. All our sweet memories had become sharp blades, cutting into our souls.
“Leave, Phoenix,” I said, my voice strangely calm, forget everything that happened between us.”
‘No!” He jumped up, desperation in his eyes. “Even so, can’t lose you! What does blood matter? I love you!”
“What does blood matter?” I almost laughed. “Blood is everything! It’s morality, it’s law, it’s society’s bottom line! We can’t be together, Phoenix. Never.”
“I don’t care what others think…”
“But I do!” I cut him off. “I care about my mother’s reputation, I care about our dignity! I won’t repeat her mistakes, won’t let this curse continue!”
The sound of a car engine came from outside. Augustine had arrived, walked toward the door, Phoenix grabbed my wrist.
“Please, Sera, don’t leave me…” He dropped to his knees, tears in his eyes. “I can’t live without you…”
I looked at this once–proud man kneeling for me, my heart feeling like it would explode from pain. But I knew this was the choice I had to make.
“This isn’t about choice, Phoenix,” I gently pulled my hand free. “This is fate’s punishment. I choose to stop being a victim.”
I walked out of the studio.
Behind me came Phoenix’s desperate cries, but I didn’t stop. I had seen through this bloody game clearly.
The car started, and I finally looked back once.
Phoenix knelt at the studio entrance, Celeste standing beside him with a victorious smile on her face.
The morning mist hadn’t completely lifted yet, making Napa Valley Cemetery seem particularly serene. I stood before my mother’s headstone.
Augustine’s hand gently rested on my shoulder.
I nodded, taking out photo after photo from the bag, ‘Mom, I’ve come to say goodbye.‘
“Mom, I finally understand,” I said to the headstone, my voice particularly clear in the morning mist. “Our worth isn’t determined by those people. I won’t repeat your pain. I’m going to live my own life.”
I struck a match, watching those items symbolizing my painful past slowly disappear in the flames. Every photo of the Blackwood family, every letter filled with coldness, all told me one truth–none of this mattered.
‘I’m not some bastard child, I’m not some shame. I am Sera, just Sera.‘
Augustine stood quietly beside me: “She would be proud of you.”
Tears slid down my cheeks, but this time it wasn’t pain -it was liberation. “I know. Now we can go.”
One year later, Napa Valley.
Phoenix sat alone in a quiet café, the international art magazine spread before him. His fingers trembled as he flipped through the feature article about Sera.
“I used to think my worth depended on others‘ approval,” he read Sera’s words, “but true nobility isn’t about bloodline–it’s about character.”
The article mentioned that Sera now lived with Augustine in Paris, focusing on her artistic career. In the photos, her smile was radiant, her eyes holding a light Phoenix had never seen before.
Phoenix took out a piece of paper and began to write:
“Sera, I finally understand what true love is… it’sletting you fly. I hurt you with my foolishness and arrogance, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. But seeing you now, I know you made the right choice. You deserve the very best, and I… I was never that best.”
After finishing this letter that would never be sent, Phoenix sat there, truly understanding for the first time what it meant to lose.
THE END