I chose not to argue; the time for confrontation had passed. Instead, I calmly handed a sealed envelope to Mr. Thompson, the family lawyer. “You might want to read this before we dismiss anyone,” I suggested, my voice steady.

With growing curiosity, Thompson broke the seal and unfolded the document. As his eyes scanned the contents, I watched Vivien’s self-assured smile falter, morphing into a frown. The room grew still, tension radiating like heat from a furnace.

“According to the document provided by Lucian,” Thompson said, his voice reverberating in the silence, “there is a codicil to James Carter’s will, signed and dated only a month before his passing. It appears the late Mr. Carter made some… revisions.”

Vivien’s face blanched, her carefully crafted composure cracking. “Revisions? What do you mean?” she demanded, her voice tinged with a hint of panic.

Thompson adjusted his glasses, his own composure never wavering. “In summary, James Carter has bequeathed the controlling interest in Carter Enterprises not to Elias or Khloe, but to Lucian.”

The air was electric, charged with disbelief and burgeoning outrage. Khloe gasped audibly, while Elias’s face turned a shade of crimson I hadn’t thought possible.

Vivien, however, was not easily silenced. “This is absurd!” she exclaimed, her voice rising. “He would never—”

“Actually, he did,” I interjected softly, meeting her gaze with unwavering confidence. “And there’s more. My father also left a personal letter for me, along with instructions for the company’s future.”

Vivien’s eyes widened as the reality of her unraveling plans began to sink in. Her control, her carefully constructed empire, was slipping through her fingers, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The nurse’s words from a week ago echoed in my mind, now clear and filled with meaning. “There are things you need to know.” And now, I knew. I had my father’s posthumous voice, his acknowledgment that he saw my worth, even if it was too late for an apology.

As the will reading concluded, I found solace in the fact that my father had recognized me, finally, as his true heir. It was a bittersweet victory, but a victory nonetheless, and as I left the room, I felt a sense of liberation unfurl within me—a rare and precious gift from the man who had once been lost to me.