Rebirth Of The Heiress And The Tycoon's Lover (Alina) novel Chapter 347

Chapter 347

AUTHOR’S POV.

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“Damien Evergreen,” he said evenly. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?”

Damien exhaled, the breath sounding heavier than it should have, like it had been sitting in his chest for days.

“Thanks for meeting me,” he said, before pulling out the chair opposite Lucian and taking a seat.

Lucian didn’t mirror the courtesy. He remained where he was, posture relaxed but eyes sharp, the kind of stillness that warned people not to mistake calm for softness.

“Make whatever this is quick,” Lucian said flatly. “I don’t have all night.”

Damien nodded once, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “It’s about Alina.”

Something shifted.

Not much. Just enough.

Lucian leaned back slightly, folding his arms across his chest. His expression cooled into practiced indifference, as if Damien had mentioned the weather instead of a name that still echoed too loudly in his mind.

“I still don’t see how that’s any of my business,” Lucian said.

Damien studied him for a second, searching for cracks. “Are you trying to say you don’t care about her anymore?”

Lucian’s jaw tightened.

“The moment your family stormed my wedding,” he said slowly, each word measured, controlled, “and took my bride away, she became your business.”

Damien swallowed. “I know that. I do. But I need your help.”

Lucian let out a short, humorless breath. “You’re Damien Evergreen. Heir to the Evergreen dynasty. Your family owns half of Ravinne.” His eyes lifted, sharp and unblinking. “And you need my help. With what, exactly?”

“To stop the wedding,” Damien said. “Between Cassian and Alina.”

Lucian laughed. Not loud. Not amused. A dry, empty sound that died almost as soon as it left his throat.

“Isn’t that the fiancé your family so conveniently found for her?” he asked. “The miracle heir.”

Damien leaned forward. “Cassian isn’t who he’s claiming to be.”

That did it.

Lucian’s do you mean?”

s narrowed, interest flickering to life. “Wh

“Alina had her suspicions from the beginning,” Damien said. “From the very first day he showed up. Yes, Cassian came with evidence, documents, DNA results, testimonies…but he doesn’t feel like the Lucius we grew up with. Not even close.”

Lucian didn’t interrupt. He just listened.

Damien took a breath and continued, the words tumbling faster now that he’d started. “He watches people too closely. Like he’s calculating every move. And he makes phone calls….sneaking off when he thinks no one is paying attention.”

Chapter 347

Lucian tilted his head slightly. “And you’re sure?”

“I wouldn’t be sitting here if I wasn’t,” Damien said. “I couldn’t use Evergreen resources. My father would find out immediately. He’s already convinced Cassian is the answer to everything.”

Lucian’s fingers tapped once against his arm. “Go on.”

“There’s more,” Damien said. “I don’t think Cassian is working alone.”

Lucian’s gaze sharpened. “Why?”

“Because of a call I overheard,” Damien replied. “He was telling someone that everything was going smoothly. That the engagement announcement worked perfectly. He said it like he was reporting progress.”

Lucian’s silence stretched, heavy and deliberate.

“And you think someone is pulling the strings,” Lucian said at last.

“Yes,” Damien said. “I don’t know who. But Cassian feels like a pawn pretending to be a king”

Lucian leaned back further, eyes never leaving Damien’s face. “And you came to me because…?”

“Because Alina is breaking,” Damien said quietly.

Lucian’s jaw flexed.

“She doesn’t eat anymore,” Damien went on. “She barely speaks. The manor feels like a war zone. My mother cries herself to sleep. My father won’t listen to anyone. And Alina-” His voice faltered. “She’s become a shadow of herself.”

Damien reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. He hesitated for half a second before sliding it across the table.

Lucian looked down.

The image hit like a blow to the chest.

Alina stood in the photo, pale, eyes hollow, shoulders slumped like she was carrying something too heavy for her frame.

Lucian’s hand curled into a fist so tightly his knuckles went white.

“How did you let it get this bad?” he asked, voice low and dangerous.

Damien flinched but didn’t look away. “We tried. God knows we tried. But my

father-

“If I had known this was how you were going to treat her,” Lucian cut in, anger finally bleeding through the calm, “I wouldn’t have let you take her in the first place.”

Damien swallowed hard.

“The only reason I let her go,” Lucian continued, voice tight, “was because I thought she’d be safer with you while I figured some things out. And now it looks like I made a mistake.”

Silence settled between them, thick and bitter.

“That’s why I need your help,” Damien said softly. “To find proof. To expose Cassian as an imposter.”

Lucian’s eyes darkened. “And your father?”

“He’s too stubborn,” Damien said. “Too obsessed with legacy and blood merger. He won’t listen to reason. Not unless we put undeniable evidence in front of him.”

15:24 Tue, Dec 23 TJG.

Chapter 347

Lucian stared at the photo one last time before pushing the phone back across the table.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he said.

“I know,” Damien replied. “But I’d rather risk everything than watch my sister disappear.”

Lucian exhaled slowly, the weight of the past and present colliding in his chest.

“Then listen carefully,” he said at last. “Because if Cassian isn’t who he claims to be… I’ll tear the truth out of the shadows myself.”

Damien’s shoulders sagged in relief. “So you’ll help me?”

Lucian’s gaze hardened, burning with something that looked very much like resolve.

“For Alina,” he said quietly. “I always will.”

“But then,there’s something I need from you in return.”

Damien blinked, momentarily pulled out of the spiral of Alina, Cassian, and everything burning down around his family.

“With what?” he asked.

Lucian leaned back again, but this time the movement wasn’t casual. It was thoughtful. Heavy. Like he was weighing how much of the truth he could afford to let slip without shattering everything.

“I’m looking for someone,” Lucian said finally.

Damien waited.

“I don’t have the right resources,” Lucian continued. “Not the kind I need.”

Damien’s brows pulled together. “Someone powerful?”

“Someone old,” Lucian replied. “A man who’s probably as old as the Evergreen family itself.”

That made Damien straighten slightly. “And this man,what does he have to do with Cassian?”

Lucian’s gaze flicked up, sharp but guarded. “Everything.”

Damien didn’t interrupt this time. He could feel it, there was something coiled beneath Lucian’s calm, something dangerous and deeply buried.

“The only evidence we need right now,” Lucian went on, “is locked in a safe. In a bank.”

Damien frowned. “Then why not break into it?”

“Because the problem isn’t the safe,” Lucian said. “It’s the key.”

Damien leaned forward. “You don’t know where it is.”

“No,” Lucian said. “And the only person that does is dead and the clue she left behind is cryptic.”

Damien exhaled slowly. “What’s in the safe?”

Lucian didn’t answer immediately. His eyes drifted somewhere far away, like he was staring at ghosts only he could see.

“Evidence,” he said at last. “Answers to everything.”

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