The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 171

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The Heiress He Underestimated

Chapter 171 Kieran’s Opening Gambit

Finished

“Watch,” Drakonius said, nodding to the other tablet, which showed real–time financial news feeds.

Within minutes, the ticker for Nethys Conglomerate–Kieran’s publicly traded flagship–started to stutter. Then it began to fall. A slow drip at first, then a slide, then a tumble. Alert after alert popped up on the

screen.

MARKET REACTS TO SENTINEL REPORT…

NETHYS CONGLOMERATE SHARES DOWN 5%… 8%… 12%…

TRADING HALTED VOLUNTARILY AMID SELL–OFF…

ANALYSTS: “SERIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT GOVERNANCE…”

‘It’s working,” Elera breathed.

The house phone rang–the private, secure line. Drakonius answered. He listened for a moment, his expression growing grimmer. “Understood. Keep monitoring.” He hung up.

‘That was our contact at the SEC. They’ve just opened a formal inquiry into Meridian Holdings based on the Sentinel article. They’re demanding all financial records. And… the FBI package has been received and logged. A preliminary review is underway.”

It was happening faster than they’d hoped. The dominoes were falling.

For a few beautiful hours, they allowed themselves to feel the flush of victory. They had drawn first blood They were no longer just hiding and defending. They were attacking.

Clara came bounding into the lab, looking triumphant. “Did you see? Martin’s story is trending! Hashtag MeridianMire! The business Qwitter nerds are having a field day! They’re dissecting the documents like it’s the Zapruder film! One guy already found a link to a shady environmental report for the resort that Kieran definitely bribed someone to approve. This is snowballing!”

She was practically vibrating with excitement. Frost appeared behind her, a slight smile on his usually stern face. “The first wave was successful. Now we brace for the counter–attack. He won’t take this lying down.”

They didn’t have to wait long.

The counter–attack came but as a thunderclap just after lunch.

Elera’s phone started blowing up. So did Drakonius’s. So did the main house line. Texts, emails, calls from board members, from her lawyers, from Clara’s media contacts.

“Turn on Channel 7,” Clara said, her voice suddenly tight. “Now.”

Drakonius grabbed a remote and flicked on the large wall monitor in the lab, tuning to the city’s most- watched news channel. A stern–faced anchor was speaking over a graphic that made Elera’s stomach drop.

BREAKING: QUESTIONS SWIRL AROUND NETHYS MEDICAL FINANCES

4:19 pm

PMM.

Chapter 171 Kieran’s Opening Gambit

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Finished

The graphic showed the Nethys Medical logo next to ominous phrases like “Secret Slush Fund” and “Questionable Transfers.”

“…documents obtained exclusively by The Chronicle appear to show a pattern of highly irregular financial transactions within Nethys Medical, the controversial biotech firm headed by Dr. Elera Mystral, who was recently revealed to be Elera Vex, wife of pharmaceutical heir Drakonius Vex. The documents suggest millions were funneled through offshore accounts with no clear research or business purpose, raising serious concerns about fiduciary responsibility and potential misuse of investor funds…”

On screen, they displayed the forged documents Kieran had created. They looked authentic like they were designed to.

Elera felt the world tilt. “He didn’t go after me. He went after the company.”

The phone rang again. It was Richard, the lead board member from Nethys Medical. Elera answered on loudspeaker, her hand shaking.

‘Elera. Have you seen the news?”

‘We’re watching it now, Richard.”

‘The documents they’re showing…are they real?”

‘No!They’re forgeries, Richard. My father created them. This is retaliation for the Meridian story.”

‘Retaliation or not, they’re out there!” Richard’s voice was strained. “The stock is in freefall. It’s down thirty percent in the last hour! We’ve got the SEC calling, the FDA is asking questions about the integrity of our clinical trial data, investors are screaming. We have an emergency board meeting in one hour. You need to be here. And you need to have an answer. A good real one.”

The call ended. The silence in the lab was deafening.

Clara was already on her other phone, talking rapidly. “Yeah, I see it. It’s a plant and it’s total fabrication, We need a statement… I know it’s bad! Just… give me ten minutes to draft something!”

Frost was typing furiously on a tablet. “The attack is coordinated. The story broke simultaneously across six major outlets. Social media is being flooded with bot accounts amplifying it. This is a full–spectrum smear campaign.”

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