The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161 Inheritance Of Ashes

69

Finished:

“Let them talk. Drakonius said, though the news about the board sent a jolt of anxiety through him. “The work we’re doing, the Chimera Protocol, it’s going to change the medicine world. It’s worth more than any quarterly earnings report.”

“It’s a pipe dream! You’re chasing a miracle while the house burns down around you!” Lyra leaned forward, her cool facade finally breaking. “Just walk away, Drakonius. Please. Sign over temporary control of Vex Industries to me. Come to Switzerland with me. The clinic there is the best in the world. We can focus on your health, on saving the company and on preserving what our parents built. We can be a family again. Just the two of us. Like it used to be.”

There it was. The real plea, buried under all the business talk. The fear. Drakonius felt his anger soften, just a little.

“It never used to be ‘just the two of us, Lyra,” he said gently. “It was the two of us against them. Against our parents, who were never there. Against the world that saw us as trust fund orphans. We were a team because we had no one else. But that’s not a family, we just built our fortress.”

“And now you’re tearing down our fortress to build one with her!” Lyra’s voice was sharp with pain. “Don’t you see? If you die for her, if you throw everything away for her, I lose you. I lose my brother. And I will be completely alone. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not,” Drakonius said, his heart aching. “But I’m not going to die, Lyra. The treatment is working. Elera is saving my life. And I’m not throwing everything away. I’m building something new and something better. And I want you to be a part of it. But not like this. Not as the jealous sister trying to protect her inheritance, but as my family. Who supports me, and who gives the woman I love a chance.”

“The woman you love,” Lyra repeated, the words dripping with disdain. “You love her? After a few weeks? This is a sickness talking, Drakonius. A desperation. You’re clinging to the person who offers you hope, and you’re calling it love.”

“It’s not a sickness. It’s the first healthy thing I’ve felt in years.” He took a deep breath. “And there’s something else you need to know. Something that makes all of this–the takeover, the attacks–look like a child’s game. Kieran Nethys, Elera’s father, is a murderer.”

Lyra stared at him. Then she let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Now he’s a murderer? What’s next, a secret identity as a pirate? This is ridiculous.”

“He killed Sarah Lyros’s parents. He staged a car accident and framed Sarah for it. He had a detective murdered when he got too close. He has police commissioners and judges in his pocket. He’s not just a ruthless businessman, Lyra. He’s a monster and he’s coming for Elera and for me, because I’m in his way.”

Lyra’s expression was a mask of utter incredulity. “And you believe this? This fantastical story

16:39 Fri, Apr 3

Chapter 1

that just happens to make Elera’s father the ultimate villain and her the heroine? How convenient. How very, very convenient for her.

poor, victimized

“We have evidence,” Drakonius said, trying to keep his patience. “Traffic camera footage and witness testimony with a dead detective’s notes”

“Evidence she provided,” Lyra shot back. “Or ‘found. Don’t be naive. She’s smart. She could fabricate all of that to turn you against her father, to make you her protector, to secure her position. She’s playing you, brother. And you are falling for it, hook, line, and sinker.”

Drakonius felt the gulf between them widen into a chasm. He could present the files, the footage, the notebook, and she would find a way to dismiss it. Her mind was made up. Elera was the enemy. And any story that painted Elera as a victim was, by definition, a lie.

“Okay,” he said, his voice flat with defeat. “Believe what you want. But know this: I am not leaving her. I am not going to Switzerland. I am not handing you the company. I am staying right here, and I am fighting. With her, for my life, and for hers. If you want to be my sister, you can stand with us. If you want to be my adversary, then get in line. But make your choice, Lyra. Because I’ve made mine.”

Lyra stood up. Her face was pale, her lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line. She looked at him as if he were a stranger. “You’ve chosen her over your blood. Over your legacy and over me. Remember that, when it all comes crashing down. Remember that I tried to save you.”

She walked to the door, then paused, her hand on the knob. She didn’t look back. “Goodbye, Drakonius. I hope she’s worth it.”

Then she was gone.

Drakonius sat in the quiet sunroom for a long time, listening to the distant sound of the ocean and the echo of his sister’s final words. It felt like a death of a different kind. The death of a hope that they could ever be more than two strangers who shared a name and a painful past.

98

2/2