Alpha's Abandoned Daughter is the Secret Heiress novel Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Ethan’s Suspicion

Chapter 108: Ethan’s Suspicion

(Ethan’s POV)

I held up the white box tied with a silk ribbon.

“I was passing by the French bakery,” I said. “I know how much you love their eclairs.”

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Celine looked up from the chair beside Caleb’s bed. Her face was pale, but she managed a weak, grateful smile.

“Oh, Ethan,” she whispered. “Thank you. You’re so busy, yet you still think of me.”

I pulled a chair close and sat down. She looked exhausted.

“You need to eat,” I said gently.

Celine leaned in, her voice dropping to a low, bitter whisper.

“You won’t believe what the Council decided, Ethan. They’re practically handing the company keys to Amelia–Stone River Botanicals ten percent and Starlight Entertainment thirty percent. It’s not just unfair to me, Ethan. It’s an insult to *your* years of work.”

I stood up so fast my chair screeched against the tile floor.

“Thirty percent?” I growled.

I had spent years building Starlight. I barely held ten percent myself. And Amelia, who had just crawled back from the slums, was getting triple that?

“That is robbery,” I spat. “She is Theodore Crimson’s fiancée. If those shares transfer to her, the mate bond makes them Crimson assets. My company will belong to that cripple in the

North.”

Celine sighed, looking at me with helpless eyes.

“Grandpa Alaric only wanted to give her shares in the pharmaceutical company,” she explained. “But Theodore Crimson showed up. He pressured everyone. He demanded compensation for the ‘mental distress‘ Caleb caused.”

She shook her head.

“He wanted it all put into a trust fund for Amelia’s mating union. Dad and Grandpa didn’t dare say no to the Crimson Moon Pack.”

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<Chapter 108: Ethan’s Suspicion

I clenched my fist and slammed it into the wall. Plaster dust rained down onto the floor.

“Damn it!” I shouted. “Alaric is a senile old fool. Sacrificing the pack’s future just to kiss Crimson ass.”

My chest heaved. I looked at Celine. She looked terrified.

I forced myself to breathe. I couldn’t lose control here.

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“Forget the company for now,” I said, smoothing my suit jacket. “I will handle the business. Your only job is to fix things with Rhys Calder. We need that alliance.”

Celine straightened up. A confident look replaced the fear.

“Don’t worry about Rhys,” she said. “I know exactly which buttons to push. He’ll be back in line by tomorrow.”

She glanced at Caleb, then back at me.

“We’re the only ones who truly care about Caleb, Ethan. We’re the Stones that matter. Amelia is just… an outsider.”

I looked at my unconscious brother, then at my sister. The tension in my shoulders eased. She was right. We had to stick together.

(Author’s POV)

Caleb lay on the hospital bed, his body as stiff as a stone slab, but his mind was terrifyingly awake.

He roared silently in the darkness of his own skull. He wanted to break through the paralysis and tear the mask off Celine’s face.

A wave of nausea washed over his consciousness. Just moments ago, this woman was cursing him to die. Now, she was playing the perfect, devoted sister for Ethan.

“If I hadn’t tried to break the engagement,” Celine sobbed softly, “Amelia wouldn’t have come back. Caleb wouldn’t be here.”

Caleb screamed internally. *Liar! It’s a lie!*

Ethan pulled Celine into a hug, whispering comfort.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Ethan said.

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Chapter 108. Ethan’s Suspicion

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Caleb felt a mix of despair and rage. As Ethan pulled away to leave, Caleb sensed his brother’s gaze drift downward.

Ethan was looking at his arm. It was the exact spot where Celine had injected the poison. There was a tiny, tell–tale red dot on the skin.

*Look closer!* Caleb begged.

He poured every ounce of his willpower into his hand. He just needed one finger to twitch. He had to show Ethan the truth.

But his body remained dead weight.

(Author’s POV)

Celine caught Ethan’s pausing gaze instantly. Her heart squeezed in her chest.

She moved quickly. With a natural motion, she tucked Caleb’s arm back under the heavy

blanket.

“His hand feels ice cold,” she said, fussing with the sheet. “Need to keep him warm.”

She saw the shadow of doubt still lingering in Ethan’s eyes. She frowned immediately, feigning annoyance rather than fear.

She rolled up her own sleeve and pointed to a small red mark she had pinched onto her skin

earlier.

“Look at this bruise,” she complained loudly. “These incompetent nurses can’t even find a vein properly. They bruised me too when taking bloods earlier.”

Ethan glanced at her pale arm. The suspicion in his eyes faded.

“Make sure you file a complaint tomorrow,” he said.

He walked to the door. Celine waited until she heard the elevator ding down the hall.

She locked the door and let out a long breath, leaning back against the wood.

She walked back to the bed and glared coldly at Caleb.

She reached into her handbag and pulled out the modified lipstick case again. The micro–syringe glinted in the light.

“Better safe than sorry,” she whispered.

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< Chapter 108: Ethan’s Suspicion

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She found the vein and pushed a higher dose of the toxin into his system.

She cleaned the site quickly and checked her hair in the mirror. Her face was terrifyingly calm, as if she had just finished a simple household chore.

*Nothing personal, brother,* she thought. *But there’s only enough room at the top for two of us. You’re just… taking up space.

(Author’s POV)

Ethan sat in his sedan in the hospital parking lot. His fingers tapped a restless rhythm on the steering wheel, but he didn’t start the engine.

Outside in the night, the wind howled. Inside, his wolf sent signals of deep unease.

He replayed the scene in the hospital room. Celine’s warmth had felt rehearsed. Her tension was palpable.

And that moment with the blanket bothered him. She had covered Caleb’s arm too quickly. It didn’t look like care. It looked like she was hiding evidence.

He suddenly remembered something. Before the car accident, he had asked Caleb to use their family contacts to investigate Amelia’s missing years. He wanted to know if she had been targeted by anyone while in exile.

Caleb had never given him a report.

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it felt.

“I need to see what he found,” Ethan muttered.

He decided he would get Caleb’s phone tomorrow. He needed to check for any unsent messages or files.

He pulled out his phone and dialed the number of his assistant who handled the dirty work.

“Boss?” the voice answered.

“I need a specialist,” Ethan said, staring grimly at the hospital building.

“What is the target?” the assistant asked.

Ethan was silent for a moment. His eyes were dark.

“I want you to help me steal a lady’s handbag,” he said in a low voice.