The Heiress Revived from the Ashes (Lauren Bennett) novel Chapter 186

Chapter 186 A Web of Deceit

#Finished

The documents laid it bare, David was not who he seemed. He was a scheming opportunist, determined to seize Alice’s family fortune.

Alice, the only daughter of Hoverdale’s prestigious Pierce family, had been born into privilege, pampered from birth. David, by contrast, had clawed his way out of a remote mountain village. His mother vanished after his birth, leaving him to fend for himself.

Upon gaining admission to Hoverdale Tech University, he set his sights on Alice, the heiress who could elevate him from rags to riches. Their meeting, courtship, and marriage were all meticulously orchestrated by David.

Alice’s father, a seasoned businessman, saw through David’s facade and fiercely opposed the match. But Alice, blinded by love, ignored her father’s warnings. Pregnant with David’s child before graduation, she insisted on marrying him.

Left with no choice, Alice’s father reluctantly agreed, on one condition, David must enter the Pierce family as a live–in son–in–law. Though David outwardly complied, he seethed with humiliation, burying his resentment deep within.

When their son was born, Alice’s father insisted the child take the Pierce surname. David, powerless to, object, festered with rage. He began subtly driving a wedge between Alice and her father, stoking her sympathy for him.

Alice, pained by her father’s treatment of David, vowed their next child would bear his surname. David agreed outwardly, but his hatred for the Pierce family grew. He felt belittled, craving respect and recognition.

Then Sharon entered his life, a “light” in his twisted world. Their affair thrilled him, especially under Alice’s nose. He even engineered Sharon’s pregnancy to spite the Pierce family.

Had Alice’s second child been a boy, David might have kept it, as it would carry his name and lineage. But it was a girl, Lauren. Useless in his eyes, he abandoned her at an orphanage. Instead, he brought Sharon’s child, Willow, into the family under the guise of adoption, handing her to the grieving Alice.

Watching Alice dote on Willow as her own brought David a perverse satisfaction.

After Lauren’s birth, Alice had a kidney removed, leaving her unable to bear more children. To preserve his lineage, David murdered Alice’s father by pushing him off a building, staging it as an accident. He then seized control of the Pierce Group, renaming it the Bennett Group, and even changed Elliot’s surname to

Bennett.

Lauren’s disappearance and her father’s sudden death shattered Alice. Her health deteriorated, and she withdrew from the company, leaving David in full control.

Initially, David valued Elliot, his only son. But when Sharon bore him another son, his attitude shifted. Elliot, tainted by Pierce blood, became a liability. David secretly made him the company’s legal representative, planning to scapegoat him if the business faltered.

When Willow inherited Sharon’s kidney disease, David saw Lauren as the solution. Since Alice’s kidney had saved Sharon, Lauren’s could save Willow. That was why he brought Lauren back from the orphanage, only to frame her and send her to prison, where her kidney could be taken without consequence.

Over the years, David siphoned the company’s assets, transferring them to Sharon. He planned to secure a final windfall through a partnership with the Brooker Corporation. then abandon Alice and Elliot with the

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