The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 154

Chapter 154 A Villain With Receipts

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Finished

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “You see, Xan, if you go to the police with your little story, I will release all of this. The story will be very clear: the bitter ex–fiancé, furious that Elera left him for a richer, more powerful man, concocts an elaborate frame–up to destroy her father. You bribed a witness to create a fake footage. You forged documents. You tried to pin your own crimes on me. And when it all falls apart, as it will, you’ll be the one going to prison. For witness tampering, bribery, conspiracy… and, given how convincing these documents are, possibly for being an accessory to the Lyros murders themselves.”

Xan felt the room tilt. He gripped the edge of the desk to steady himself. The sheer, breathtaking audacity of it left him speechless. Kieran hadn’t just committed crimes. He’d built an entire parallel reality where Xan was the villain.

“You’re insane,” Xan whispered.

“I’m a psychopath,” Kieran corrected. “There’s a difference. Insane people make mistakes. I don’t.” He stood up, circling the desk to stand in front of Xan. He was shorter than Xan, but he seemed to loom. “So here is what’s going to happen. You are going to go back to Sarah. You are going to tell her that Elera lied, that the evidence is fake, that she’s trying to manipulate her. You are going to keep Sarah focused on hating my daughter. And you are going to continue to be my useful little tool in applying pressure to her and her dying husband.”

Xan’s rage finally broke through the ice. “I won’t. I’ll go to the police anyway. I’ll tell them it’s all a setup.”

Kieran sighed, as if dealing with a particularly slow child. “And who do you think they’ll believe? You, the man with a clear motive for revenge, with these very damning files in his name? Or me, a respected businessman, a grieving father whose daughter has been led astray by a manipulative husband?” He smiled. “I have friends in the police department, Xan. Very high–up friends. I have a judge who owes me more favors than he can count. You’d be in handcuffs before you finished your statement.”

The truth of it settled over Xan like a lead weight. He was really trapped. Completely and utterly trapped. He could either play Kieran’s game and continue to hurt Elera, or he could be destroyed and accomplish nothing.

“Why?” Xan asked, the fight draining out of him. “Why her? She’s your daughter.”

Kieran’s expression hardened, just for a fraction of a second. The mask slipped, and Nan saw the real man underneath–cold, empty, and full of a spite so vast it was almost impressive.

“She stopped being my daughter the moment she thought she was smarter than me,” Kieran said quietly. “The moment she built her little empires in secret, the moment she defied me and didn’t want to work the story of me being there for her success, of me knowin her gifts, the moment she chose that walking corpse over her own family. She’s a traitor. And traitors get put

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Chapter 154 A Villain With Receipts

78

Finished

down.” He picked up his glass again. “Now get out of my house. And remember what’s at stake. Your freedom, your reputation and your future. All of it is in my hands. Be a good boy, and maybe I’ll let you keep some of it.”

Xan turned and walked out. He didn’t look back. The door clicked shut behind him, and he stood on the damp terrace, breathing in the cold, clean air, trying to wash the feeling of filth out of his lungs.

He had come here thinking he could be the hero. He left knowing he was just another and the board was owned by a man who had no rules at all.

pawn,

✩

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