Alpha's Abandoned Daughter is the Secret Heiress novel Chapter 408

Chapter 408: Victor’s Scheme

Chapter 408: Victor’s Scheme

(Author’s POV)

The sound of porcelain hitting wood cracked through the great hall like a whip.

Gideon had set his teacup down.

Not gently.

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“Enough.” The Alpha King’s voice was low, but it filled every corner of the room. “Victor. What you just said

is absurd.”

Victor flinched.

“You’re telling me,” Gideon continued, his grey eyes sharp and cold, “that when our family’s overseas business suffers a major blow, your first instinct is to point a finger at your own cousin? You want to investigate Theodore?”

Victor’s mouth opened.

Then closed.

He said nothing.

The silence stretched for a long, uncomfortable moment.

Gideon stared at him with the kind of patience that wasn’t patience at all–it was controlled contempt.

Victor looked down at his hands.

But the fury in his chest hadn’t gone anywhere. After a few seconds, he pressed his lips together and

lowered his voice.

“Even if Theodore didn’t personally arrange for the shipment to be seized,” he muttered, “he can’t be

completely disconnected from it.”

He turned his head and shot a hard, venomous glare at Theodore.

Theodore didn’t react. He simply sat with his hands resting in his lap, his expression perfectly calm, his golden eyes fixed somewhere in the middle distance.

Gideon’s brow furrowed. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

Victor let out a short, bitter sound. “Grandfather, you know exactly what I mean. You’re just choosing not to see it because you’ve always favored him.”

Gideon’s jaw tightened.

But before he could respond, Theodore spoke.

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“I’ll explain for him,” Theodore said.

His tone was even. Almost helpful.

“Victor believes that I may have offended someone powerful within the werewolf council. And that by doing so, I’ve dragged the pack into the fallout.”

Victor’s head snapped up. His eyes went wide.

“That’s-” He pointed a finger. “Yes. Exactly that.”

He pushed forward in his seat, his voice rising with barely contained anger.

“Amelia has been tearing through Northgate City like a storm. She publicly exposed the backers behind the Drake family. Everyone in the capital knows about it now.”

He spread his hands, as if the logic were obvious.

“She only dares to act that recklessly because she has Theodore behind her. Because she knows the Crimson name will protect her.”

He stood up slightly, leaning toward Gideon.

“Grandfather, think about it. The Crimson family and the Drake family have had tensions for years. But

we’ve always maintained a surface peace. Why? Because we respect the power of whoever is backing the Drakes from the shadows.”

His voice hardened.

“And now Amelia has kicked that hornet’s nest. The seized shipment is a message. It’s a warning aimed directly at us.”

The room went quiet again.

Gideon turned to the head butler standing near the wall and made a small gesture. The butler moved forward immediately, pouring a fresh cup of tea and setting it in front of Victor.

“Drink,” Gideon said.

Victor sat back down, breathing hard.

Theodore let the silence settle for exactly two seconds.

Then he tilted his head slightly and said, almost pleasantly, “If you’ve already figured out that the Drake family’s backer is behind this, why stop there? Why not think a little deeper and find the actual root of the problem?”

Victor’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you implying?”

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“I’m not implying anything,” Theodore said. “I’m stating it plainly.”

He shifted slightly in his wheelchair, his posture unhurried.

“Regardless of who is fanning the flames from the outside, the reason this shipment was seized comes

down to one thing. Negligence. Specifically, yours and your father’s.”

Victor’s face went red.

Theodore continued without pause.

“For the past several months, you and Magnus have poured every ounce of your energy into the

inheritance competition. The overseas operations in the southern region have been left unattended. You

gave your enemies a gap wide enough to drive a cart through:”

He looked at Victor directly.

“Since my leg injury kept me confined three months ago, you’ve been returning to the capital far too

frequently. You’ve barely spent any time overseeing the foreign business accounts. Someone noticed that.

And they used it.”

“That’s-” Victor slammed his palm on the armrest. “You’re deflecting. You’re twisting this to avoid

responsibility.”

“I’m discussing facts,” Theodore said simply. “A serious mistake was made. Before anyone looks outward

for someone to blame, the first step should be to look inward. That’s not deflection. That’s basic

accountability.”

Victor shot to his feet.

“The real problem is Amelia!” he snapped. “She doesn’t know when to stop. She doesn’t understand the

weight of what she’s stirring up.”

He stabbed a finger toward Theodore.

“Break the engagement. Now. Issue a public statement. Distance the Crimson name from the Stone family

entirely. That’s the only way to fix this.”

The words landed in the room like stones dropped into still water.

Theodore looked at him.

Then he laughed.

.

It was a single, quiet sound. Not warm. Not amused. It was the kind of laugh that made the air in the room feel slightly colder.

“Victor,” he said, “you really are incapable of seeing beyond the length of your own arm.”

Victor’s face twisted. “You-”

Chapter 408 Victor’s Scheme

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“You want to talk about who’s causing losses for this family?” Theodore’s voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. “Let’s talk about that. If the Crimson family’s future were placed in your hands, how long do you think it would take before the power behind the Drake family had you on your knees?”

He let that image sit.

“You’d be bowing your head and baring your throat like a submissive Omega within a year. Maybe less.”

Victor’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “And you think you can do better? You think you can actually beat whoever is backing the Drakes?”

“If I didn’t believe that,” Theodore said, “then why would I have allowed Amelia to move the way she has?”

The silence that followed was sharp.

Victor stared at him.

Then, slowly, the realization crossed his face.

“You-” His voice dropped. “You planned this. From the beginning. You deliberately let her do it.”

His expression shifted from rage into something uglier.

“You used someone else’s blade. You used our family’s assets as a chess piece, and you used Amelia as

the hand holding the knife.”

Theodore’s expression didn’t change.

“What I did,” he said calmly, “was allow an opportunity to develop naturally. The gap in your management

is what gave the enemy room to act. That isn’t my doing.”

He paused.

“And while we’re being honest with each other–you haven’t forgotten, have you? What you did to my father.

Kidnapping him. Using him as leverage against me.”

The color drained slightly from Victor’s face.

“I haven’t settled that account yet,” Theodore said. “So as far as I’m concerned, we’re both competing on

our own merits. That’s how it should be.”

Victor turned away from Theodore.

He turned to Gideon instead, his voice cracking slightly at the edges.

“Grandfather. Do you hear this? He’s using the family’s assets as sacrificial pieces. He’s gambling with everything we’ve built.”

Gideon had been silent throughout the exchange.

Now he looked at Theodore.

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His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were sharp and searching.

“Theodore,” he said. “I want a direct answer. Do you genuinely believe you can handle the Drake family and

whoever stands behind them?”

Theodore met his grandfather’s gaze without flinching.

“Before,” he said, “I wouldn’t have made that claim. The risk would have been too high.”

He paused for one breath.

“But with Amelia, I have no doubt.”

The words were quiet. Absolute.

Gideon studied him for a long moment.

Then he exhaled slowly through his nose and leaned back in his chair.

“Victor.”

Victor turned immediately, hope flickering in his eyes.

“Go home,” Gideon said. “Tonight. Start working on the remediation for the seized shipment. I want a full