Alpha's Abandoned Daughter is the Secret Heiress novel Chapter 429

< Chapter 429 One Last Meal Together

Ethan turned to look at Amelia.

He waited.

Amelia glanced at him sideways. Her expression gave nothing away.

“Do what you want,” she said, her voice flat. “You’re leaving tomorrow anyway.”

Something lit up in Ethan’s eyes – brief and quiet, like a match struck in a dark room.

He pulled out his chair and sat back down.

+25 Points

Molly brought the dishes out one by one, setting them on the table in careful order. Seraphina reached

over and placed a piece of braised venison into Amelia’s bowl without saying a word.

Amelia ate without looking up. Quick, efficient, like someone refueling rather than dining.

Ethan sat across from her.

He watched her for a moment the bend of her head, the set of her jaw, the way she moved with the same quiet self–possession she’d always had – and felt something settle in his chest.

The words he’d been carrying all day rose up and then dissolved.

There was nothing left to say.

He picked up his chopsticks and quietly finished what was in his bowl.

This was already more than he deserved.

Before he left, he had been able to sit at the same table as Amelia, and share one last meal together.

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Chapter 429 Strike Back

Chapter 429: Strike Back

Chapter 429: Strike Back

(Author’s POV)

Ethan set down his fork and turned to Seraphina first.

“Thank you for dinner,” he said. “For everything today.”

Seraphina gave him a small nod, her expression warm but measured.

Then Ethan turned to Amelia.

“I’m leaving,” he said simply.

“Don’t need to be walked out,” Amelia said, not looking up from the table.

“I know.”

+25 Points

He paused for just a moment. Then he stepped around the table, lowered himself onto one knee in front

of her, and looked up directly into her eyes.

Amelia finally looked at him.

“Amelia.” His voice was steady, but something beneath it was raw. “Thank you for saving my mother. I

mean it. Thank you.”

He held her gaze for one breath. Two.

Then he stood, gave Seraphina a quiet nod, and walked out of the East House.

The door clicked shut behind him.

He didn’t look back.

He understood the rules of this. The only way to leave without adding to her burden was to go before she

had to ask him to.

Today had already been more than he had any right to expect.

Seraphina stood at the window and watched the headlights of Ethan’s car disappear down the lane.

She let out a slow breath.

“I hope he and Caleb can find some peace after all this,” she said softly. “Both of them. Whatever comes

next.”

She turned back toward the table where Amelia was still sitting.

“Get some rest tonight.” Her voice was gentle. “I know you’ll find a way to handle Jaxon’s situation. I

< Chapter 429. Strike Back

believe that.”

Amelia looked up at her.

“I will,” she said.

It wasn’t a reassurance. It was a statement of fact.

She pushed back her chair and slipped out through the back of the house, into the small herb garden

tucked behind the East House wall.

The moon was up. The air smelled of damp earth and green things.

Amelia moved slowly between the rows, checking each plant by touch and by eye. The new seedlings

were holding. The soil was good.

She crouched beside the Ironwort.

It had absorbed a full dose of toxic powder three weeks ago. Most plants would have died. This one had

not. Its stems were thick and slightly discolored at the base, but the upper growth was clean and strong.

She stayed there for a moment, looking at it.

Stone Botanicals was going to need serious capital to rebuild public trust after this. Not just a statement,

not just an apology. She needed to demonstrate zero tolerance – publicly, visibly, and at a cost that made people believe it.

She had the funds. That wasn’t the problem.

The problem was timing. And she intended to get it right.

She stood, brushed the soil from her hands, and went back inside.

Her phone rang the moment she stepped into her room.

Unknown number.

She picked up.

“Miss Stone.” The voice on the other end was smooth and unhurried, carrying the particular arrogance of

someone who had never been told no. “I think you know who this is.”

She did.

Griffin Drake.

“I’ll keep this brief,” he said. “Hand over Lance. Stop whatever you’re doing against my family. Do it now, and I’ll consider letting this go.”

Amelia let out a short, quiet laugh.

“The Drake family,” she said, “doesn’t have a territory left worth protecting. You’re running out of ground to

<Chapter 429 Strike Back

stand on, Griffin. Why would I be afraid of a pack of strays?”

His tone sharpened.

+25 Points

“Careful, Miss Stone. Your uncle Jaxon is currently sitting in a police station. That’s not nothing.”

“No,” she agreed. “It isn’t nothing. But Jaxon hasn’t done anything wrong.” Her voice dropped, losing its lightness entirely. “An innocent man doesn’t need to fear an investigation.”

Silence on the other end.

“As for you,” she continued, “I don’t care who’s standing behind you. It doesn’t matter.” She let the words land slowly. “Three months. That’s all the time your family has left. When it’s over, there won’t be anything left to salvage.”

She paused.

“If you want to know where Lance is, call the police. They’ll tell you.”

She ended the call.

Griffin stared at the screen.

The call had lasted less than two minutes.

He set the phone down on the desk. Picked it up again. Set it down.

–

The anger moved through him in a slow, controlled burn – the kind that didn’t explode, but calcified into something harder and more deliberate.

He reached for his phone again and dialed.

“Find them,” he said, when the call connected. His voice was flat and cold. “Every family that lost someone because of a Stone Botanicals device failure. Every single one.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“Set up a shell account. Transfer one million dollars to each family before they go in. Another million after, once it’s done. Make them sign NDAs.” He paused. “I want them at the company gates. All of them. And I

want it loud.”

Monday morning, the markets opened.

Stone Botanicals‘ stock dropped before the first hour was out.

Amelia arrived at the company before eight. The lobby was tense. Staff moved quickly and spoke in low

voices.

Her assistant met her at the elevator, clipboard in hand, face pale.

Chapter 429: Strike Back

+25 Points

“There are over thirty media outlets outside,” he said, keeping his voice down. “And families. They have signs with photos.”

Amelia said nothing.

“The families” He swallowed. “They’re crying. Some of them are livestreaming. One of the women is being held up by her husband. She can barely stand.”

He thrust the clipboard toward her, showing her the trending hashtag.

*#StoneBotanicalskills.*

It was climbing fast.

“Call the police,” Amelia said.

He nodded quickly. “I did. They came. But they said they can’t forcibly remove civilians who aren’t

committing a crime. The crowd isn’t moving.”

Amelia looked at the feed on her phone. The comments were pouring in.

*Their greed killed our loved ones.*

*Even with powerful backers, they can’t bury this one.*

*How many more have to die?*

She scrolled without

expression.

By evening, the crowd outside had not thinned.

If anything, it had grown.