I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father
Chapter 231: If You Want Something Done, Do It Yourself

Chapter 231: If You Want Something Done, Do It Yourself

Ophelia’s hand, reaching for the edge of her dress’s neckline, froze mid-air. The music, the chatter, the clinking of glasses – all sounds faded into a muted hum as her gaze was drawn to the large projector screen that dominated one end of the ballroom. A flicker of movement, a grainy image, had caught her attention, and a cold dread began to seep into her veins.

The image sharpened, resolving into a face Ophelia had thought she would never see again. Maeve. Her sister. Her long-lost sister. The woman she had believed to be dead for nearly three decades.

Ophelia’s breath hitched, a gasp escaping her lips. She felt a wave of dizziness, a sense of unreality washing over her. She could not believe what she was seeing even as she resisted the urge to rub her eyes. It couldn’t be real.

But it was.

Maeve’s face, beautiful and unlined with the effects of age was unmistakable. Her eyes, the same piercing blue as Ophelia’s, held a mixture of fear and determination. Her voice, though slightly distorted by the age of the recording, was clear and strong.

Ophelia’s legs felt weak, her body trembling. She sank back into a nearby chair, her eyes glued to the screen, her mind reeling. She could not tear her gaze away from her sister’s face, from the image that had shattered her carefully constructed reality.

The video, clearly old, appeared to be a personal recording, a message left behind. Maeve spoke directly to the camera, her words laced with urgency and a desperate plea.

"If you are watching this," she began, her voice trembling slightly, "then something has gone terribly wrong. It means that after I had to run away from home to save my life, i have not been very successful."

"It must be a surprise to some of you who I have invited to this party," Maeve continued. "Yes, I did not die. I am here to tell you that your plans did not succeed."

Ophelia’s heart pounded in her chest. She remembered the rumors, the whispers of Maeve’s disappearance, the speculation about her fate. She had always believed that Edward’s henchman had done the deed, that Maeve had been lost forever. But now, she was seeing her, hearing her voice, and the truth was far more complex, far more terrifying.

Ophelia wished that she could wring Edward’s and his henchman’s necks. She wished regretfully that she had taken charge and dealt with the Meave problem herself.

There was a good reason why it was said, ’if you want something done, do it yourself.’ It was her fault for letting someone as unreliable as Edward to deal with an issue so sensitive.

"They were trying to kill me," Maeve continued, her voice laced with fear. "The people I trusted, the people I thought loved me. They wanted me dead."

Ophelia’s blood ran cold and she glanced around in the dark at people’s faces. She felt like everyone was watching her and waiting for her reaction even though they did not even know her connection to the woman on the screen.

"I am about to give birth," Maeve said, her voice softening slightly. "I’m terrified. I’m afraid for my health, for the fate of my daughter if I... if I don’t make it."

A wave of nausea washed over Ophelia. Maeve had carefully planned this, she had successfully thrown everyone off her scent and let Ophelia believe she had no problems when in actuality, there was a huge problem. The implications were staggering.

"To my daughter," Maeve said, her voice filled with love and a fierce determination, "if you are watching this, I want you to know that I love you. Know that I did everything I could to protect you. Know that you are an heiress. You are the rightful heir to one of the most influential and wealthy families in this region."

Ophelia’s mind reeled. The one thing she had fought so hard for, Maeve had come back from beyond the grave and was trying to ruin it for her once more.

"They tried to take everything from me," Maeve continued, her voice hardening. "They tried to erase me, to erase you. But I will not let them. I won’t let them steal your inheritance. I won’t let them destroy your future."

Maeve paused, her eyes searching the camera, her gaze seeming to pierce through the years, to reach Ophelia herself.

"You will get what is rightfully yours," she said, her voice filled with a quiet, unwavering resolve. "I promise you that."

The video flickered, then abruptly cut out, leaving the screen blank. The ballroom was silent, the lights came on, the guests stunned into a hushed stillness. Ophelia sat in the chair, her face white with fear, her body trembling.

She couldn’t believe what she had just seen, what she had just heard. Her sister was alive. Or at least had been. And she had announced to the world that her daughter was alive.

Ophelia’s mind raced, trying to figure out how bad the damage was. Trying to figure out a way to salvage the situation and stop the world she had built for herself from crumbling to the ground around her.

A wave of fear washed over Ophelia. What did this mean for her? What did this mean for Maeve’s daughter? What did this mean for their family? Was that why Ken had come? Did he have knowledge about what was really happening?

Then a thought occurred to her. The party was being held for Brooke. So, that was the daughter in question, meanwhile she was not really Maeve’s true daughter.

’Maybe there is still a way out of all this, maybe I can prevent this from becoming a shit storm.’

With a determined from, she took a deep breath and got to her feet before striding out of the hall, her steps purposeful and confident. None of the fear and anxiety which was rolling inside her making an appearance on her face.

As she walked out, deep in her thoughts, she failed to notice the young woman who came out of the restroom area and was heading into the hall.