The Heiress With Seven Secret Identies (Stella Shaw) novel Chapter 458

"That's the easy part," Jaron said confidently. They had built their success before; they could just do it again.

"Mr. Moore." Cody walked in carrying a thick stack of documents.

Cody was still reeling from the discovery of Amber's cruelty. He never expected that Felix's first love was actually alive, or that she had dumped her child on him just to secure a payout before disappearing to mingle with the elite. They had always viewed Felix as their biggest obstacle, never realizing there was a much larger force at play. The conspiracy they had uncovered was aimed directly at Nicole—a plot so vast it was terrifying.

If Jasper hadn't intervened and broken their scheme, Nicole would have been lost in the mountains. Cody didn't even want to imagine the outcome.

"Here is the information you asked me to look into," Cody said, placing the files down.

"Leave them there," Jasper commanded.

Cody started to say something more, but catching Jasper's look, he thought better of it. Instead, he turned to leave to follow up on the Walsh family's situation.

"Jasper, just focus on recovering," Jaron said. "Amelia and I will handle everything else."

"Alright. Thanks, both of you."

Jasper watched them walk away and sighed.

He couldn't help but feel that, in the end, things would never quite work out for Jaron and Amelia.

Nicole frowned slightly. "Jasper, are you guys keeping something from me?"

Jasper squeezed her hand and gave her a small smile. "We just want to get stronger together so we can protect the people we care about."

"And I'm guessing I'm not included in that 'we'?"

Jasper laughed, his eyes full of affection. "You have a much more important job."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Taking care of me," he teased. "And being a happy bride."

Nicole bit back a smile. "Who said I was marrying you?"

"Fine then," Jasper countered. "I'll marry into your family."

Nicole couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Are you really okay?" she asked, her voice softening.

"I'm fine," he promised.

His priority now was getting his strength back. From the look on Cody's face earlier, Jasper knew exactly what Amber had planned: she'd intended to sell Nicole off to White Pit Village. A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes, but as his hand moved to rest against Nicole's stomach, his expression instantly shifted back to one of warmth and tenderness.

Stella, it must be your kindness that gave me this second chance. You spent your whole life doing good and helping people, and that's the only reason I'm here today.

The people she wanted to save, he would save for her. The enemies she wanted to face, he would clear out of her way before they could even reach her. If her dream was a world without human trafficking, he would be the one to make it a reality.

"What are you thinking about?" Nicole asked.

Jasper carefully touched the wound on her arm. "Does it still hurt?"

"Not anymore."

He made a silent vow: anyone who even thought about hurting Nicole would pay the price.

"Dad, Jasper would rather die than be engaged to me," Zoe replied. "How am I supposed to win over a heart like that?"

"He isn't some playboy, Zoe. He's a responsible man. Given enough time—"

"No," Zoe interrupted. "He knows we set him up. It will only make him loathe me even more."

She looked at her father intently. "Think about it, Dad. The heirs of the Four Families might have their conflicts, but they've always stood together against outsiders. Azure Peak City belongs to them. Jasper might be powerless to resist right now, but once he takes over, the Four Families could join forces to blacklist us. Is it really worth destroying a century of Walsh family heritage for a man who doesn't love me—a man who actually despises me?"

The Walsh family fell into a heavy silence.

When Felix heard that the Walshes had called off the engagement, he arrived in a fury to demand an explanation.

"What is the meaning of this, Michael?" Felix demanded.

"Felix," Michael countered calmly, "it was Jasper who refused the engagement, not my daughter."

Felix found himself speechless.

After a lengthy discussion, the two families agreed to a clean break. The engagement party scheduled for that evening was quietly rebranded as a standard business mixer.

*****

After repeated pleas to her father and brother, Nicole finally secured their permission to postpone her studies abroad. With the pressure of her thesis gone, she spent most of her time at the hospital, devoted to Jasper's care.

Three months passed in a blur. Jasper rose to power with terrifying speed, earning a reputation for being ruthlessly efficient within the business world while maintaining a philanthropic image for the public. When he finally stepped back into the Moore estate, Felix looked at his son—once his greatest pride—and saw a complete stranger.