The Heiress He Underestimated novel Chapter 223

Chapter 223 Blood And Authority

“That’s good, right?” Clara said, hopeful. “It clears your name completely. The whole ‘vindictive other woman‘ angle is gone.”

“My name doesn’t matter,” Elera said, not taking her eyes off the oxygen saturation monitor. It was at 92%. Not great, neither was it terrible. Holding. “Only his does.”

Later that afternoon, the real spectacle began. Clara, who had been glued to a live news stream on her laptop with the volume low, suddenly gasped. “Oh, my popcorn–loving heart. Xan is holding a press conference.”

Elera didn’t want to look, but some morbid part of her turned her head. On the small screen, standing on the steps of what looked like a government building, was Zephyros Valdris. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. His usually impeccable suit was wrinkled, his tie slightly askew. He had no podium, no notes. Just a cluster of microphones and a sea of shouting reporters.

“He looks terrible,” Clara observed. “In a handsome, ‘I’ve–seen–the–abyss‘ kind of way.”

“Shh,” Elera said.

Xan raised his hands, and the crowd quieted to a restless murmur. He looked directly into the cameras, his jaw tight.

“I’m not here to make excuses,” he began, his voice clear but strained. “I’m here to take responsibility. For years, I was a willing participant in Kieran Nethys’s schemes. I allowed my own ambition and my own… warped sense of grievance to blind me. I harassed an innocent woman. I participated in a campaign of intimidation against Elera Nethys–Vex and her husband, Drakonius Vex. I saw people as pawns. I helped spread lies. For that, I am deeply and permanently ashamed.”

He paused, swallowing hard. A camera flash went off, illuminating the stark pain on his face.

“Effective immediately, I am resigning from my position as CEO of Valdris Holdings. The board has accepted my resignation. Furthermore,” he continued, raising his voice slightly over the new wave of murmurs, “I am liquidating forty percent of my personal wealth. These funds will be used to establish two foundations. The first will provide legal and financial support to victims of corporate corruption and white–collar crime. The second will be dedicated to mental health advocacy and treatment, particularly for those dealing with trauma and coercive control.”

The reporters erupted with questions. “Mr. Valdris, is this a legal strategy?” “Do you expect to face charges?” “What is your relationship with Elera Nethys–Vex now?”

Xan ignored them for a moment, his gaze still fixed on the middle distance, on some internal horizon. “This isn’t a strategy. It’s a penance. I don’t expect forgiveness from the public, or from the people I’ve hurt. I can only try, for the rest of my life, to be someone who doesn’t add to the poison in the world.” He finally looked at the clamoring crowd, his eyes weary. “That’s all I have to say.”

He turned and walked away, ignoring the shouted questions, disappearing into the building The camera lingered on the empty space where he’d stood.

Clara let out a low whistle. “Well. Damn. That’s… that’s a redemption are you don’t see every day outside of a movie. He just torched his public life.”

1.31 am P p p.

Chapter 2 Plood And Authority

“He’s building a new one,” Frost said, surprising them both by commenting. “From the ground up. It’s a harder fight than keeping the old one. We’ll see if he has the spine for it.”

Elera said nothing. She remembered Xan in the command van, focused and useful. She remembered him distracting Kieran, putting himself in the line of fire. This public immolation felt like an extension of that. A desperate, brutal attempt to scrub his soul clean. She hoped, for his sake, it worked. But her capacity for emotional investment in anyone other than the man in the bed was less than zero.

DAY THREE: THE UNEXPECTED VISITOR

On the morning of the third day, the fragile stability of Drakonius’s condition took a subtle, worrying dip. His kidney function markers, which had been slowly climbing, stalled. Dr. Evans used words like “concerning” and “watchful waiting.” Elera heard the words “prelude to failure.”

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