The Rebirth Of The Hidden Heir

Chapter 4

The two men stepped forward without hesitation.

“Wait, don’t you touch me.” Damian started, but the guards seized his arms, their grip unyielding. Another moved toward Isabella.

“Don’t lay a finger on me!” Isabella screamed, jerking back. “I’m not some beggar you can toss around!”

Her protests meant nothing. The guards dragged them both through the hallway, their heels scraping against the polished floor.

When they reached the main lobby, the guards didn’t slow. They shoved open the glass doors and hauled the pair outside.

Damian tried to free himself, shouting, “Do you know who my father is? You’ll regret this!”

One guard leaned in coldly. “Orders are orders.”

And with one last push, they were thrown onto the hard steps of Bliss Corporation’s entrance.

Damian stumbled but caught his balance. Isabella wasn’t so lucky. She fell hard, her knees scraping against the pavement. Her purse spilled open, scattering lipstick, compact, and cash across the concrete.

Isabella’s face turned crimson as she scrambled to gather her belongings. Tears of rage welled in her eyes. She could feel their laughter, their judgment, stabbing into her back.

Damian clenched his fists, his pride torn to shreds. He leaned close to her, his voice like steel. “This humiliation, I’ll make sure whoever is behind this pay for it. I swear it.”

But inside Bliss Corporation, Logan Blackwood was no longer there. He had already left quietly through a private exit, his presence like a shadow no one could trace.

The chaos he left behind was only the beginning.

***

The ballroom glittered under crystal chandeliers, champagne glasses clinking as the city’s elite mingled in clusters of silk gowns and tailored suits. Waiters glided by with trays of hors d'oeuvres, their polished shoes clicking against the marble floor.

Damian Rhodes stood near the grand staircase with Isabella by his side, his hand resting possessively on her lower back. He looked every inch the heir of the Rhodes family with sleek tuxedo, gleaming cufflinks, a man radiating power.

“You’ll see tonight,” Damian said, leaning close so only Isabella could hear. “The Vice President of Bliss Corporation will renew our contract without hesitation. Once the ink dries, your family will finally be tied to mine. Hotels and construction, a perfect partnership. Together, we’ll dominate this city.”

Isabella’s lips curved with satisfaction. “My grandfather has been anxious about the deal. If we secure it, he’ll finally stop comparing me to Sophia.” She glanced at Damian, her eyes softening briefly. “And I’ll prove that marrying you was the best decision.”

Damian smirked. “You don’t need to prove anything. Compared to your ex, I’m.. ”

He stopped mid-sentence. His eyes narrowed.

“What is it?” Isabella followed his gaze.

Across the room, near the edge of the crowd where waiters lingered, stood Logan. His suit was plain, not tailored; his shoes lacked polish. He looked like a shadow in a room of glittering stars.

Damian’s jaw tightened. “Unbelievable. That cockroach is here.”

Isabella’s head whipped around. When she saw Logan, her face froze, then twisted into disdain. “What is he doing here?” Her voice dripped venom. “He has no place among people like us.”

Damian chuckled, though there was no humor in it. “Maybe he came to beg scraps. He's pathetic.”

Isabella’s laugh followed, sharp and cutting. “Or maybe he snuck in. Wouldn’t be the first time he embarrassed himself.” She tugged Damian’s sleeve. “Let’s end this before he spreads his filth in front of everyone.”

They strode across the ballroom, heads turning as curious onlookers noticed where the couple was headed.

Damian stopped a few steps from Logan, his smile wide but laced with contempt. “Well, well… look who decided to crash the party.” His voice carried, drawing attention from nearby guests. “Tell me, janitor, which back door did you use to sneak in?”

The attention of other guests was fixed on them.

Isabella folded her arms, her chin high. “I told you before, Logan. Stop stalking me. We’re divorced. I’ve moved on. Why can’t you?”

Logan didn’t answer. His eyes flicked from Damian to Isabella, and then to the other guests.

Damian barked a laugh. “Oh, don’t tell me you actually think you belong here. This is a gala for business owners, for people with power. Not for men who smell of mop water.”

“Maybe he’s here to steal food,” someone from the crowd quipped. Laughter erupted from the guests.

A waiter walking past smirked. “Or maybe he’s one of us who forgot his tray. Go back to the kitchen, mate, they’ll miss you.”

The crowd howled, glasses clinking as they raised them in amusement.

Isabella stepped closer, her perfume sharp, her smile cruel. “You’ve hit a new low, Logan. Sneaking into a gala just to stand in the same room as Damian. Do you really think you can compete with him?” She looked him up and down, her voice like venom. “You’ll never be more than a stain, a plague of poverty clinging to anyone foolish enough to get close.”

Damian put on a mock-serious face. “No, no, let’s not be too harsh. Maybe he came to see what a gala looks like. That’s the only explanation for this madness.”

More laughter. Guests whispered now, recognizing Logan as Isabella’s ex-husband.

“Isn’t that the janitor she married?”

“God, what was she thinking?”

“No wonder she left him.”

Logan’s silence only stoked their anger.

Damian’s grin widened. “Security!” he barked.

A guard in a black suit hurried over, frowning at Logan. “Is there a problem, sir?”

Damian gestured lazily. “Yes. This man doesn’t belong here. Get him out before he steals the silverware.”

The guard’s eyes swept over Logan from head to toe. The cheap suit, the scuffed shoes, the quiet stillness in his stance. His lip curled. “Sir, this event is for invited guests only. How did you get in?”

Logan’s voice was calm, even. “I was invited.”

The guard stiffened. For a moment, the hall fell silent. Then a few chuckles broke out among the onlookers.

“Invited?” Isabella scoffed, her laughter sharp. “By who? The janitor’s union?”

Damian sneered. “Don’t insult the union. They wouldn’t claim him.”

The guard’s face darkened. If Logan really was an intruder, his job would be on the line. His tone hardened. “Listen, beggar. Don’t lie to me. If the organizers find out you snuck in on my watch, I’m finished. You think you’ll drag me down with you?”

He stepped closer, jabbing a finger at Logan’s chest. “So you’d better admit the truth before I throw you out myself.”

The crowd tittered, whispers spreading like wildfire.

“Is he crazy?”

“Claiming he was invited”

“He can’t even afford proper shoes.”

Isabella smiled sweetly at the guard.“Don’t waste your time. He probably wandered in while the staff were distracted. It’s what he does, lurks where he doesn’t belong.”

Damian chuckled, his voice dripping with scorn. “Check the kitchen. Maybe they’re missing a dishwasher.Get him out of here.”

The guard nodded, stepping closer. “Sir, you need to leave before I have you escorted out in cuffs.”

Logan reached into his jacket pocket slowly, calmly.

The ballroom stilled for a moment, everyone craning their necks.

And then, without a word, he pulled out a golden invitation. The seal of Bliss Corporation gleamed under the chandelier lights.

A hush fell.

The security guard blinked, then scoffed. “Forged. This is not the original golden Invitation. How did you get it?”

“ I told you I was invited by the vice President.” Logan replied calmly.

Isabella let out a bitter laugh. “Logan, really? Pathetic. Using Victor Lane’s name to make yourself feel important? You disgust me.”

Damian leaned closer to the guard. “Drag him out. Trash like this only learns when you show them their place.”

The guard hesitated, then backhanded Logan across the face. Gasps rang out, but no one stepped in.

Logan’s head snapped slightly from the force, but his eyes remained steady, locked on Damian and Isabella.

The guard raised his hand again. And a cold voice cut through the room.

“Touch him again, and I’ll break your wrist.”

The ballroom froze. Heads whipped toward the grand staircase.

Ethan Ward was descending slowly, his eyes sharp as blades. The crowd parted instantly, silence swallowing the laughter. Everyone knew the name. Ethan Ward, President of Bliss Corporation.The man who rarely appeared in public but whose name alone made the city’s most powerful families tremble. Right hand of the invisible chairman. A man no one dared cross.

“Do you have a death wish? How dare you touch the chairman's guest?

The guard froze mid-grab, sweat breaking across his temple. “M..Mr. Ward, sir, I didn’t know..”

“You didn’t know?” Ethan’s voice was soft, dangerous. “You didn’t know who my chairman’s guest was, and you dared lay hands on him?”

A stunned hush swept through the hall. Chairman’s guest?

Isabella’s face drained of color.”Guest?” Isabella mumbled. She laughed as she stood in front of Logan. “Mr Ward, you're making a mistake. This man is a janitor and he's not fit to be the chairman's guest.”

Damian’s grip on his wineglass tightened until it nearly cracked. “Yes, Mr Ward. I'm Damian Rhodes. I'm..

Ethan’s gaze snapped to the guard.“Escort them out.”

The guard blinked. “Sir.”

“Now,” Ethan cut sharply. “Escort them out. For disrupting a peaceful gala.”

Gasps rippled through the ballroom.

Damian tried to protest, his voice shaking with anger. “Mr. Ward, this is madness. Do you know what you’re risking? My family.”

“Your family’s contract is already ashes,” Ethan said flatly. “Get out.”

The guards, trembling now, stepped toward Damian and Isabella.

“Y-you can’t..!” Isabella’s voice cracked, her eyes wide with panic. “Damian, stop them!”

But Damian could only glare, his face pale with humiliation. The guards led Damian and Isabella out.

Logan finally moved, stepping closer to Ethan. His voice was low, almost a whisper. “It’s time. Their downfall begins tonight.”