A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother novel Chapter 436

Brain dead

Amber POV

Mr. Stait, Emory, and my grandfather had agreed on a dangerous plan. With evidence connecting Mr. White to the warehouse where Adrian had been held, they suspected someone was leaking information from inside the hospital. Rather than wait for another attempt on Adrian’s life, they decided to give their enemies a reason to believe there was nothing left to protect. 1

Adrian would be publicly declared brain–dead. The official explanation would be that Clara, unable to accept his condition, had insisted that he remain connected to life–support equipment. In reality, his treatment would continue under strict supervision, and only a small circle of trusted people would know the truth.

I hated the idea, but I understood its purpose. If someone was monitoring Adrian’s condition for his captors, the announcement might provoke a reaction and expose them.

When the news became public, I struggled to look at it objectively. Adrian was still alive, and we were deliberately telling the world otherwise. I could only hope the deception would bring us closer to the people responsible for what had happened to him.

Later that afternoon, Clara entered my hospital room in tears, clutching her phone. She tried to speak, but her voice broke before she could finish a sentence. I reached for her hand and waited until she turned the screen

toward me.

“I received a message,” she whispered.

It had come from an unfamiliar number, apparently a burner phone. Although the sender hadn’t identified herself, Clara recognized Adrian’s grandmother’s writing style and the way she referred to the family. The message demanded that Clara surrender her baby because, according to the sender, her son had been chosen as the heir to the family line they were establishing. 1

I read it twice, struggling to believe the audacity of the woman who had sent it. She had written as though the child’s future had already been decided and Clara’s only remaining responsibility was to hand him over.

“Did you answer her?” I asked.

Clara shook her head. “No. I haven’t responded.”

“Good. Don’t.”

She wiped her cheeks, but the tears continued falling. “She called him the chosen heir, Amber. As if he’s something they can claim because they want him.”

My anger rose with every word. “Your baby is not a position to be filled, Clara. He’s a child, and he’s yours and Adrian’s. Nobody gets to claim ownership of him because they believe their family name gives them that right.”

“I don’t understand why they’re doing this now.” Her voice trembled. “Adrian has been estranged from them for months. His father wanted him to leave Asher Corporation and join their new company, but Adrian refused. He chose his own life, and he chose us. Why would they suddenly care so much about our baby?”

I couldn’t answer that. Perhaps they wanted the child because of his bloodline, or perhaps the family line they were establishing had some significance we hadn’t uncovered. Whatever their motive, the demand was too deliberate to dismiss as a simple family dispute.

“Forward the message to Mr. Stait’s team,” I told her. “Don’t respond to the number or agree to meet anyone on their behalf. Let the investigators trace it and determine whether it connects to Adrian’s kidnapping.”

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Clara nodded, although fear remained in her eyes.

What if they come for him?”

I squeezed her hand. “Then they’ll have to get through all of us first.”

She studied my face, searching for reassurance, and I held her gaze. I meant every word. Adrian was part of our family, and his child would be protected.

After Clara forwarded the message, I asked her to stay with me until she felt calm enough to return to her room. Before leaving, she thanked me, but I reminded her that she didn’t owe me gratitude for standing beside her. She was family, and that was enough.

By evening, another piece of news arrived from the island I had privately started calling Death Island. The teams working there had finally declared it clear of bombs and hidden mines after an extensive search of the terrain and remaining structures. Most of the human remains recovered from the island had also been identified, and arrangements were underway to return them to their families.

The announcement brought some relief. At least the immediate physical dangers had been dealt with, and the investigators could continue their work without worrying about hidden explosives. However, clearing the island didn’t explain who had used it, who had organized the operations there, or who had benefited from the violence.

Those answers would have to come later.

For now, Adrian remained under protection, Clara had received another threat, and the evidence against Mr. White continued to grow. The president of Sum, meanwhile, remained conspicuously absent.