The Scorned Heiress's Hidden Empire (by Jade Quinn) novel Chapter 143

Chapter 144

Chapter 143

Henry Pierce stared at her.

55 volcan

He was so close that he could count her long, thick lashes, which cast a faint shadow under her eyes when the lowered them

With a calm air, he lowered his head and asked, “Aren’t you curious why I’m telling you all this?”

“Not really.” Natalie replied.

“Why?” Henry asked.

“Because you’re anxious,” Natalie replied.

Her tone was as casual as if she were talking about the weather. “When someone’s nervous, they’ll say just about anything.”

Henry’s breath hitched for a second.

Anxious? She thinks I’m anxious?‘ he thought.

He took over Pierce Group at sixteen, stood his ground in the boardroom against men forty years older at eighteen, and by twenty–two, he’d forced his rivals to come begging for peace.

Anxious? No one had ever used that word for him.

But Natalie was right. He really was anxious now.

From the moment she said she wouldn’t, the thread he’d always kept taut inside finally snapped.

Natalie averted her gaze from his face and pushed him away with a swift, no–nonsense motion.

Her push was firm, like she was telling him, ‘That’s enough.’

She slipped her hands into her pockets, her face calm as she looked at him, her voice even.

‘I don’t like it when people talk to me like they’re holding all the cards,” she said.

If you want me to get to know you, that’s on you.

“If you want to pique my interest, that’s your business. Whether I respond ok not, that’s up to me

Natalie turned away and walked off without looking back.

Behind her, Henry just stood there, staring after her as she disappeared from view.

His expression shifted from shock to disbelief, and then, almost involuntarily, a smule tugged at his lips

He stood on the rooftop, the night wind fluttering the hem of his shirt, but he didn’t even notice.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she spoke to him just now.

She said-

“If you want me to get to know you, that’s your business.”

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Henry leaned against the railing, gazing up at the moon, replaying her words over and over in his mind.

“That’s your business.”

It’s not I’m not interested.

It’s That’s your business.

She was giving him the green light!

She was letting him get close!

Henry dipped his head, a quiet laugh escaping him.

It was barely more than a breath, a soft sound slipping from his nose.

Then he glanced up at the closed door and chuckled again.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the railing, all the tension draining from his body.

For some reason, the moon looked especially beautiful tonight.

*****

59 yours

Two days later, Natalie stood at the Mitchells‘ front door with her white backpack, the whole family reluctant to see her off.

Charlotte held her hand tightly. “Natalie, when are you coming back?”

Natalie thought for a moment. “When school starts.”

What? You’re going to be gone that long?” Charlotte blurted out, her voice full of surprise.

Ryan looked at her with puppy eyes. “Natalie, are you really not going to take me with you?

I want to meet that uncle of yours too!”

Natalie pressed her lips together and shook her head.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to bring him along, but every year at this time, she had to attend an elite military training

camp.

This wasn’t your average student boot camp. This was a grueling program where top talents were handpicked from military units, special forces, and even some classified organizations she couldn’t talk about.

They were all sent to a place so off the grid that even GPS couldn’t find it, and worked until they were practically skinned alive before being sent home.

The roster changed every year, always top secret and the selection process was brutal

Mr. Marsh was the one who established this training camp. Natalie had been attending since the very first session nine year ago, never missing a single year.

And five years ago, she became the camp’s chief instructor purely on her own ability

Charlotte tugged at her hand, still unwilling to let go. “So, can you finally tell us who this uncle of yours actually is?”

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Chapter 144

#yan wouldn’t drop. You say you go see him every year, but we don’t even know his name

Natalie shot him a look, her lips quirking. “His last name’s Marsh.”

“What Marsh?” Ryan pressed, not satisfied.

“Mr. Marsh, Natalie said, keeping it vague as ever.

Ryan just stared, lost for words.

That’s not an answer at all, Ryan thought, feeling a bit frustrated.

Andrew just said, “If anything happens, let us know.”

Mr. Mitchell handed her a card. “No password. Don’t hold back on anything you need while you’re out there.”

Blake Mitchell didn’t really know what Natalie was up to, but since she wouldn’t say, nobody pressed her about it.

“I’ll be waiting for you to come back,” Blake said.

Jason Mitchell shoved a thick envelope into her hands. “Open it later! It might not help, but hey, just in case!”

Ethan Mitchell pushed up his glasses. “Relax, she’s not gone for good. It’s just two months, not a lifetime!”

Ryan Mitchell glanced at him and pouted.

Blondie had been waiting outside for a while, standing quietly by his black G–Wagon.

Natalie gave them a resigned wave. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.

With that, she walked over to the car.

The Mitchells just stood there in a daze, staring in the direction the car had gone.

They’d only had Natalie back in their lives for a little over a month, and they’d already gotten used to her being around Now, with her suddenly gone for two months, it felt like there was an empty space in their hearts.

Blondie glanced at her in the rearview mirror and started the car.

“Talia, are we heading straight to the assembly point?” he asked.

“Mm–hmm, Natalie replied.

Natalie glanced at the envelope and opened it.

She peeked inside and was left speechless,

What?

She stared at the stack of autographed photos in her hands, not moving for five whole seconds

Each signature was wild and dramatic, like the celebrity was terrified no one would recognize it was them

There was even a sticky note inside: “Natalie, keep these! My fans are all over the world. If you run into any trouble just hand out one of his autographed photos. If that doesn’t work, give them two And if that still doesn’t solve it go find

Andrew!

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he shoved the photos back into the envelope with a blank face, her lips twitching ever so slightly.

The car pulled out of Harbor City and hit the highway.

$5 vouchers

Two hours later, the scenery out the window morphed from skyscrapers to mountains, then from mountains to endless

unnels.

After the fourth tunnel, their phones lost signal completely.

Blondie tossed his phone into the center console and kept his eyes on the road.

They got off the highway and turned onto a road that wasn’t even on the map.

The pavement shifted from asphalt to gravel, then to mud, and the trees on both sides got so dense, you could barely see the ky anymore.

The road kept narrowing, until branches started scratching against the car doors, squeaking and groaning.

After almost an hour, they finally reached the end of the road.

Jp ahead was a narrow gorge, just a slit between two towering mountains, barely enough room for a single car to squeeze hrough.

No signs, no markings at the entrance, just two rusty iron posts on either side, with a battered wooden sign hanging between hem, so faded by wind and rain you couldn’t even make out the words.

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you weren’t in the know, you’d swear this was a dead end.

Two soldiers in camouflage fatigues stepped out from the shadows beneath the trees.

Their uniforms had no rank insignia, no unit patches, no name tags, just a number branded onto their chests.

They spotted the license plate, snapped a salute, and one of them glanced at the rear window.

Natalie rolled down the rear window.

ī

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