The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 169

The mood in the cliff house library was quiet, focused, and smelled strongly of expensive coffee and high stakes anxiety. It was what Clara had dubbed “War Room: Round Two.” The pizza boxes were gone, replaced by three large whiteboards covered in what looked like a conspiracy theorist’s fever dream. Strings of red yarn connected photos, names, and financial figures. It was part strategy map and part of modern art installation.

Drakonius stood before one of the boards, a dry–erase marker in hand. He’d drawn a crude but effective pyramid. At the top was a sticky note that simply said “KIERAN” in angry black letters.

“Okay,” he said, tapping the board. “We have the detective’s notebook. It’s a treasure map of corruption, bi it’s also a radioactive liability. If we drop the whole thing at once, naming cops and judges, we start a war we might not win. They’ll close ranks. They’ll bury it and then they’ll come after us with badges and gavels.”

Elera, perched on the edge of the large desk, nodded. “So we don’t start with the big guns. We start with a pebble. We create a distraction, something that makes him bleed in a place he thinks is secure. His money

Clara, from her nest of pillows on the floor, grinned. She was wearing what she called her “investigative journalist uniform“-sweatpants, a hoodie, and glasses that kept sliding down her nose. “I love it. Attack th villain’s wallet. It’s poetic. And it’s something the business press will salivate over. They don’t care about a five–year–old murder cover–up if there’s no stock ticker attached. But embezzlement? Fraud? That’s their Super Bowl.”

Frost, who was standing sentry by the door, spoke up. “The trick is the leak. It has to be untraceable, but credible enough that a reputable outlet will run with it. And it has to point a very specific, very public finger.”

“That’s where our friend at the Financial Sentinel comes in,” Clara said, pulling a laptop onto her knees. “Martin Cho. He’s their lead investigative guy. Hates Kieran Nethys with the fire of a thousand suns because Kieran once publicly called his reporting ‘the financial equivalent of a toddler’s crayon drawing. Martin has been waiting for a chance to shove a well–researched, evidence–backed crayon drawing right down Kieran’s throat.”

Elera smiled. “Perfect. What do we give him?”

They’d spent the previous night combing through not just Detective Reeves’s notebook, but also the financial files Xan had provided. They’d found a beautiful, ugly little gem: a series of transactions from Meridian Holdings–Kieran’s shell company–to a series of offshore accounts that ultimately circled back to fund a luxury development in the Caribbean. The development was a notorious money pit, a half–built resort on an unstable coastline. But the financials Kieran had presented to his board and shareholders showed it as a thriving, profitable venture. The difference–nearly eighty million dollars–had simply

vanished.

“It’s not murder,” Drakonius said, circling the figure on the board. “But it’s a clear provable fraud. Misappropriation of shareholder funds. SEC violation city. And it’s recent. It’s a bleeding wound but not an

old scar.”

“And,” Clara added, her fingers flying over the keyboard, “I can package it with some of the drier, more complex shell–company shuffles from Xan’s files. Make it look like a whistleblower from inside Meridian’s

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4:19 pm

PMM.

Chapter 169 Operation Meridian

0:40

Finished

accounting department got a conscience and it’s plausible, it’s spicy, and it will make Martin Cho’s career.”

“Then that’s phase one,” Elera decided. “Clara, you handle the leak to Cho. Make it drip–proof. Frost, we need to get Angela Reeves and Jennifer Martinez to a more permanent, secure location. The moment this story breaks, Kieran will be looking for anyone who can hurt him.”

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