The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 181

Chapter 181 Clean Break

Finished

He couldn’t go to the cliff house. That was her fortress now, with Vex. He wouldn’t be welcomed, and he didn’t deserve to be. He needed a neutral ground. Somewhere sterile, professional and safe.

He picked up his phone and called the only law firm he knew that was untouchable by both Kieran’s money and Vex’s influence–Sterling, Pike & Coleson. They represented governments and galaxies. They were obscenely expensive and famously discreet. He booked a small conference room for two hours, under a corporate shell name. Then he sent a message through the encrypted drop Elera had used before.

Tomorrow. 10 AM. Sterling Pike, 40th floor, Conference Room C. Come alone. I have something for you. No tricks. -X

He didn’t expect a reply. He didn’t deserve one.

The next morning, Xan dressed with a care he hadn’t shown in weeks. A simple, dark suit with a white shirt and no tie. He looked like a man going to a funeral, which felt appropriate. He slid the USB drive into his inner pocket. It felt like it was burning a hole against his chest.

The drive to the financial district was a blur. He parked in an underground garage and took the elevator up to the gleaming, silent lobby of Sterling Pike. The receptionist, a woman with the calm demeanor of a lighthouse keeper in a calm sea, checked his alias and directed him to the conference room.

The room was all cool grays and blond wood. A long table, eight chairs, a water carafe, and a stunning, soulless view of the city. Xan stood by the window, his hands clasped behind his back, waiting. He felt utterly empty. All the anger was gone, burned out. All that was left was a dull, aching shame and the desperate need to do this one thing right.

The door opened precisely at ten. He turned.

Elera walked in. She wasn’t alone. Frost was with her, a silent, looming shadow in a suit that probably had Kevlar woven into the lining. Frost gave Xan a look that could have frozen the water in the carafe, then took up a position just inside the door, his back to the wall, his eyes missing nothing.

But Xan only saw Elera. She looked… different. Not just because of the elegant, serious pantsuit she wore. She looked grounded. Solid. The frightened, performative heiress he’d known was gone. In her place was a woman who knew exactly who she was and what she was worth. It was both breathtaking and heartbreaking. He’d had a chance with this woman, and he’d thrown it away to play the villain.

“Elera,” he said, his voice coming out rougher than he intended.

“Xan,” she replied. Her tone was neutral. Careful. She didn’t sit. She stayed near the door, Frost between them like a human shield. “You wanted to meet.”

“I did.” He gestured to the table. “Please. Sit. I… I come in peace. Seriously. Frost can pat me down if he wants. I’m not armed with anything that goes bang.”

Frost’s expression didn’t change. “Already scanned you on entry, Mr. Valdris. No metallic or explosive

3:49 pm

Chapter 181 Clean Break

signatures. The drive in your inner left pocket is a standard data storage device.”

09

Finished

Xan almost smiled. Of course. He should have known. He slowly reached into his jacket, pulled out the USB drive, and placed it on the middle of the long, empty table. It looked very small and alone there.

“What is that?” Elera asked, her eyes on the drive and not him.

“Everything,” Xan said simply. “Every communication, every financial trail, every dirty secret I have on Kieran from the past three years of our ‘alliance.‘ Voice recordings, emails, transfer records, meeting notes. Dates, amounts, names. The works. It’s all encrypted, but the key is on there too. It’s… it’s everything you need to bury him.”

Elera’s gaze flicked from the drive to his face. Her eyes were wary, searching for the trap. “Why?” The single word hung in the sterile air.

Xan took a deep breath. This was it. The confession. He could give her a slick, polished reason. For justice. To make amends. But she deserved the ugly, honest truth.

“Because I was wrong,” he said, the words feeling like stones in his mouth. “So completely, catastrophically wrong. I loved an idea of you. The perfect heiress princess. Then I hated a lie about you. The careless monster who ruined Sarah. I never bothered to look for the real you in between. The one who was just… surviving him. Like Sarah was. Like I was, in my own pathetic way.”

ka step

closer to the table, but not too close. Frost shifted his weight almost imperceptibly.

98

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