Chapter 495

Anastasia’s stance made it clear-she wasn’t here for a friendly visit. The CEO, Regan, fixed her with a hard stare. “And who exactly are you?”
Anastasia’s gaze swept over Lauren first, then settled squarely on Regan. She seemed to size him up, as if dredging up memories from the past. After a brief pause, she spoke—her words precise and unflinching, revealing everything about Regan’s identity and history.
“Regan. Male. Fifty-three. In 20XX, you caught the attention of Cecilia, Unison Pharma’s founder. She broke protocol for you-rescued you from unemployment, when you’d just been laid off and were practically starving, and made you part of her management team.”
She didn’t stop there. “When my mother was dying, she appointed you as CEO, to oversee the company until her daughter-me-came of age. At that point, you were to hand everything back to me.”
Anastasia’s lips curled into a half-smile, her eyes sharp and cold as they bore into him.
“Mr. Frost, did you forget what my mother told you before she passed? You don’t even recognize me now?”
Her voice rang out, clear and unwavering. “Who am I? I’m Anastasia. Cecilia’s daughter. The rightful heir to this company.”
Cecilia’s daughter?!
Regan’s face drained of color, shock written across every line. What was Anastasia doing here? Wasn’t she supposed to be a washed-up nobody, ruined by the Sterling family?
He’d kept tabs on her before, but he’d only ever seen those outrageous, punkish photos online. He hadn’t recognized her in person at all. Now, here she was, standing in front of him—he was completely caught off guard.
Regan instinctively glanced over at Lauren.
The moment Anastasia finished speaking, the entire auditorium erupted in whispers and gasps.
“What did she just say? She’s the chairman’s daughter?!”
“If she’s Cecilia’s daughter, then who’s Ms. Lauren Brennan?”
“I thought Ms. Brennan was supposed to be our next boss!” “What the hell is going on?”
The employees were stunned. In upper management, it wasn’t exactly a secret that Lauren was only Cecilia’s adopted daughter, but Lauren herself had never addressed it publicly. As far as the staff knew, she was Cecilia’s biological child.
But now, out of nowhere, a young woman was standing on stage, claiming to be Cecilia’s real daughter.
Most of the employees weren’t into
office gossip, so the recent drama
online-about the biological and adopted daughters hadn’t even registered with them. The few who d seen hints of it had been silenced by Regan, and didn’t dare breathe a word.
So now, the room was thick with confusion. Every pair of eyes turned to Lauren, waiting for her to explain.
Lauren could feel the weight of their stares from all sides, her expression growing increasingly stiff. She clenched the fabric of her dress in her fist, disbelief swirling inside her.
How could Anastasia be here?!
It didn’t matter why. What mattered was that Lauren had to regain control-if she
didn’t, everything she’d worked for in the company would be lost.
But Anastasia gave her no chance to regroup. As soon as she finished with Regan, she turned directly to Lauren, voice icy and direct.
“Ms. Brennan, aren’t you going to explain yourself? What are you doing here?”
With that, Anastasia strode toward the stage. Logan and two security guards quickly cleared a path for her.
Moments later,
Anastasia stepped up onto the platform, her striking, ethereal beauty fully revealed to the crowd. She faced Lauren, gaze cold and unyielding her presence commanding it seemed to snuffow Lauren’s entirely. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs.net
For the first time, Lauren was completely cornered. She struggled to maintain a façade of composure and forced out a response.
“Today is Unison Pharma’s annual gala. With my mother gone, I just wanted to offer a few words of encouragement to the staff, that’s all.”