Inheritance Redefined

Chapter Seventeen

Elara nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for the help Elias. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, Elara."

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When the lunch bell rang, Elara slipped out the main doors and waited near the courtyard's edge. The late morning sun poured over the marble pathways, warming the chilled breeze that always swept through the stone corridors. Olivia spotted her first, jogging lightly over with her usual sunshine smile, while Anastasia trailed behind, grumbling about how math "should be illegal before noon."

Together, the three girls fell into step, heading for their usual table near the hedges, tucked just far enough to avoid the chaos of the main courtyard.

"Elara!"

The sound cut clean through the buzz of laughter and footsteps and echoed across the stone. A single voice, loud and clear. Commanding.

Elara turned. Elias sat by the elevated table surrounded by the usual cluster of sons from the five elite families. His arm rested lazily across the back of an empty chair beside him, and he was motioning. Not just to her. To all three of them.

"Come sit with us," he called, eyes locked on hers. His tone wasn't teasing, but it wasn't cold either. It was friendly.

Elara blinked. Her stomach twisted slightly. That table wasn't just a social status–it was a statement. And people were rarely invited to it without reason.

Although, because Anastasia and technically Elara could both sit at the table because they were also heirs to one of the five elite families, they didn't want even more attention on them so they never sat there.

Elara looked to her friends.

Olivia's brows shot up in surprise. This was a very big deal to her. Anastasia shrugged. "I mean… why not."

Still unsure, Elara followed as the three of them walked toward the raised platform, every step gaining attention they hadn't asked for or needed.

A girl from across the table, Colette Rochefort – a "Class A bitch," as Anastasia had so eloquently put it a few weeks ago while explaining the social food chain at Viremont to Elara – looked up with a scowl as the girls sat down.

"Oh look," she called, loud enough for the whole courtyard to hear, "the charity trio decided to show their faces."

Elara froze, Olivia bristled and Anastasia actually laughed–but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Honestly," Colette went on, rising slowly from her seat with a disgusted look on her face, "I can't decide which of you is worse. The political puppet, the loud-mouthed reject, or the little British tagalong who thinks skating makes her special."

She looked Elara dead in the eyes.

"You don't belong here," she said flatly at Elara. "You're not one of us. You weren't raised in this world, you're not blood, and you don't carry power. You're just an accident riding someone else's reputation. You're a pretty costume – but empty inside."

The words landed like a slap.

Before Elara could respond, a chair scraped sharply across the floor. Thiago Moreira stood up slowly, his tall frame commanding silence. "You forget who you're talking to," he said, his accent cool and deadly. "Two of these girls are from the Five. One snap of their fingers, and you're off this table. Hell, you'd be lucky if you're not blacklisted by dinner."

Another chair followed – Elias. "Talk like that again," Elias said, his voice low and dangerous, "and you're not just going against them. You're going against all of us."

Nico and Matteo stood with him, flanking Elias like shadows. Nico didn't even bother hiding the disgust on his face. Mateo cracked his knuckles slowly, like he was hoping Colette would say one more thing just so he had an excuse to punch her in the face.

Then came the final nail.

Nikolai Vasiliev – Anastasia's brother – stood, flipping a silver coin across his knuckles as he stared her down. "You know what families we're from, Rochefort. And you know what happens to people who run their mouth about the wrong people."

Every eye in the cafeteria was on them now. A thick, electric silence buzzed across the courtyard.

"You really want to find out what happens when you insult the daughters of empires?" Thiago finished.

Colette paled, but said nothing.

As the last echo of Thiago's warning faded, an electric hush fell over the table. Every eye was fixed on Colette, whose sneer had now crumbled into a murmur of defeat. For a long, suspended moment, Elara felt the weight of every word and every expectation settle over her. She glanced at Anastasia and Olivia, both their expressions were a mix of quiet fury and proud defiance. As her eyes met Thiago's from across the table, his gaze softened when it met hers, an unspoken promise of protection passing between them.

Silence lingered until Anastasia, always the boldest, broke it with a small, defiant laugh. "That's how it's done, isn't it?" she murmured, and the table responded with a murmur of agreement. In that heartbeat, Elara realized that this wasn't just about a scathing rebuke or a staged power play, no, it was about claiming her own place in a world that once didn't even exist to her.

The chatter slowly resumed, casual and unhurried, but something had irrevocably shifted. The table wasn't just a seat in the hierarchy anymore, it was a shield–a bulwark protecting those who belonged to the inner circle of the elite families. And as Elias sat down next to Elara, a warmth spread through her, mingling with the residual adrenaline. She wasn't alone. In this fierce silence, she understood that her acceptance by the powerful wasn't just given–it was earned.

Anastasia nudged Elara's knee under the table. When Elara looked over, she gave her a sly, wicked little smile and mouthed, "Class A Bitch neutralized." On Elara's other side, Olivia reached over and silently linked their pinkies together beneath the table, a small gesture, but it made something loosen in Elara's chest.

The day pressed on, the next bell already promising more challenges and more quiet victories. With a final glance at the subdued Colette and the supportive smiles of her newfound allies, Elara took a steady breath. Today, she had found her voice amidst the chaos. And as she smiled back at Elias, it was clear, her story was only just beginning.