The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102 Exposure

Despite everything, Elera smiled. “Fair point.”

** Finished

Drakonius sat down on the edge of her bed, keeping a respectful distance. “Do you want to talk about it? About what happened five years ago?”

“I don’t know what happened,” Elera said honestly. “I was at that party. I remember Sarah being there. I remember leaving early because I had an exam the next day and didn’t want to be exhausted. I remember getting home, going to bed. The next day I woke up to news reports about the crash and Sarah being arrested. I gave a statement to the police saying I’d left early, saw nothing, knew nothing. And that was true. I didn’t see anything.”

“But?” Drakonius prompted gently.

“But later, months later, after Sarah had been sentenced and sent away, my father took me to dinner. He was in a good mood, which was rare. He’d just closed a big business deal. And he made this offhand comment about how lucky it was that Sarah Lyros had been drunk that night, because if she hadn’t been, people might have started asking uncomfortable questions about how her parents died. He said it like a joke but something in his eyes was serious. Cold. And I knew. I didn’t have proof, but I knew he’d done something. Something terrible.”

“Did you confront him?”

“I tried. He laughed it off, said I was being dramatic, that I watched too many crime shows. And then he reminded me that the Nethys family took care of each other, that loyalty was everything, and that smart girls knew when to keep their mouths shut.” Elera’s hands were shaking. “I was fifteen or eighteen. I was scared. And I didn’t have any proof, just a feeling and a sick joke from a man who’d proven over and over that he’d sacrifice anyone for his own benefit. So I kept quiet. And I’ve been carrying that guilt ever since.”

Drakonius moved closer, taking her trembling hands in his steady ones. “You were a kid. You did what you had to do to survive. You can’t blame yourself for your father’s sins.”

“Can’t I? I knew something was wrong and I did nothing. And Sarah spent five years locked up, being told she was a murderer, having her whole life destroyed, and I just went on with mine. Built my empires, wrote my books, pretended everything was fine.”

“And what could you have done? With no proof, no evidence, just a gut feeling? You would have destroyed yourself trying to fight him and changed nothing. You know that.” Drakonius squeezed her hands gently. “But now? Now you have power. Now you have resources. If there’s truth to be found, we can find it. Together.”

Elera looked at him, at the fierce determination in his eyes, and felt something warm bloom in her chest. He wasn’t trying to protect her from this. He was offering to stand beside her and face it head–on.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Always,” he said. And then, very carefully, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. It was gentle, chaste and protective. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow we figure out who sent that message and what they really want, Tonight, you rest.”

He stood to leave, but Elera caught his hand. “Stay. Please. I don’t want to be alone right now.

11:54 pm

Chapter 102 Exposure

* Finished

贊助

Something vulnerable flashed across his face. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

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