BETRAYED ONCE: FROM NOTHING TO BILLIONIARE POWER

Chapter 16: The Heir

Ryan didn't need anyone to tell him. He could see the features of their father on her face: their father's jaw, eyes, and the same rich hair lingering at her back. She was his blood.

Ryan adjusted his gaze to the two men. The older one, in his sixties, with silver hair and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. The other younger man beside him was built like someone who spent too much time in a gym and little in an office.

‘So that's Nikolai Volkov,’ Ryan thought. He had seen his picture in Harrison's files. The uncle and the family representative that was considered the string puller.

If he were here himself, then the Will must be really important in whatever plans they have.

Ryan averted his gaze back to the younger one, but his memory could place him in the pictures from the files, making him unknown.

"What do we have here?" 

Finally Ryan's eyes landed on Zhoula, who sat at the far end of the table, right next to Christopher. Her face was pale, like she'd seen a ghost, and her hands were clenched on her lap, bracing herself.

Christopher, sitting beside her, looked like he'd swallowed a bone that stuck in his throat.

‘They didn't know I'd be here.’

Ryan scoffed inwardly, allowing the silence to hang. Curious eyes panned to him, but he ignored their gaze and walked to the empty chair at the opposite end of the table. He was facing Harrison and everyone else, and with a smooth motion, he slid into the chair.

Marcus took a spot against the wall behind him with his arm across his chest.

Even with the curiosity making most of their faces, no one said anything.

Harrison cleared his throat, attracting their attention. “Now that we're all here, shall we begin?” he announced, scanning the faces.

“I thought he was dead,” a voice finally cut in, and the boldness in his voice lingered through the quiet room.

It was Nikolai Volkov's voice, and for someone so old, his voice sounded smooth and charming, the kind that had probably tricked people into bad deals for decades.

Ryan glanced at him but said nothing.

When Nikolai noticed his gaze, he smiled. “I mean no offense, young man. It's just that —

“No, you actually mean every offense,” Ryan interrupted, and the man furrowed his brow. “I'll forgive you because you didn't know I was, no one except my father, of course,” briefly glancing at Zoula, Force instantly forced a lump down her throat.

Nikolai leaned into his chair. “Your father never said you would be here today.”

Ryan let out a small smile. “Anyone in their right mind would know I would be here; I am my father's son, by the way." The sarcasm residing in his voice would have made the old man growl or frown, but for some reason he remained still. “One thing was for sure: my father knew you'd all be here.”

Nikolai's smile disappeared for a second, but it was enough for Ryan to see it before placing back the fake one on his lips. 

“After all these years, why now? Why exactly are you here?”

‘Is he really asking me that?’

Ryan leaned back in his chair. “You'll find out.”

Zoula, who couldn’t stay quiet anymore, placed her hand on the table. Even when the sound was a small slam, it reverberated through the cold room. “H…How are you alive?” Her voice cracked. 

Everyone turned to look at her.

Ryan held her gaze. “You tell me, Zoula Zhou.”

His voice was calm, so calm that it slid under her skin and made something tremble inside her.

He had never called her by her full name before, not like this. With Ryan, it had always been softer, drawn out with warmth, gentle enough to make her forget the world outside him. Even when she annoyed him or argued, he never sounded like this.

And now, hearing her full name again felt cold and dangerous.

“You were there,” Ryan continued, his voice dropping just enough to tighten the air between them. “You watched, and you thought I was gone." The smile on his lips was small, and his eyes were devoid of emotions.

Christopher shifted in his seat. “T… This is insane. You're not—"

“I'm not what?” Ryan's cut in. “Dead? No I’m not.”

Christopher, noticing the eyes around, quickly adjusted his tie. “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I guess my father was right after all,” Ryan muttered while leaning back into his chair. “A man can only die once.” 

Christopher scoffed, drawing a facade to his emotions, but Ryan could see through them. He was scared.

He turned to Zoula. “You don't get to walk away,” he whispered.

The silence was so loud that he could hear Zoula's heartbeat.

Her face crumpled into fear, and for the first time Ryan could see it, bright as day. After years of using him, dismissing him, and calling him useless, now she was actually scared.

The satisfaction made a small smile appear on Ryan's face. 

“Continue,” Ryan said, motioning to Harrison.

Harrison adjusted his glasses, and everyone averted their gaze in his direction. “The last will and testament of Thomas Wright,” he started. “This dated back to six months prior to his death, witnessed by three parties and filed with the probate court of this jurisdiction.”

Harrison raised up a document from his box that was sealed in a black casing. Every eye in the room followed the movement.

“I will now read the will of Thomas Wright,” he repeated.

Ryan narrowed his gaze to Katerina; he could see the pain in her eyes despite her concealment. She hadn't moved or spoken a word since he came in, and her face was void of emotions.

The realization of her waiting for this her whole life hit him, and the thought of it terrifying her made Ryan fill his lungs with air. 

“To my daughter Katerina Volkov,” Harrison began. “I leave ten percent of the shares of Aether Corporation to be held in trust until her twentieth birthday, with voting rights granted immediately.”

Katerina's jaw tightened. Ten percent was not nothing, but from her expression it was not what she'd expected, and Ryan could tell.

“To various charities and employees, I leave an additional ten percent of shares to be distributed as stated in Appendix B.”

Harrison turned the page, taking a glance across the crowd before returning his gaze to the document.

“To my son Ryan Wright." He paused, locking eyes with him. “I leave the remaining eighty percent of shares granting him controlling interest in Aether Corporation along with all real estate holdings, intellectual property, and liquid assets currently held by the estate.”

Eyes widened but none could talk. 

“To my friends and colleagues. “I give you my thanks and gratitude for the life lived.”

Harrison finally dropped down the file, and then the room erupted.

“This is outrageous!” A voice thundered, and the sound of a chair screeching through the floor reverberated through the space.

With stunned expressions, several heads snapped towards Ryan's direction. 

Nikolai Volkov, who was already on his feet as if ready to pounce on Ryan, daggered his gaze at him. “Eighty percent to a son he hasn't seen in seventeen years! A son who was dead until yesterday!”

“This is ridiculous!” Another voice chorus. It was that of the unknown man, and the anger in his face told Ryan he was someone he should know.

“Are you sure the will is authentic?!” Another voice followed.

Harrison, wearing a professional reaction wave to the document. “The will is legally binding,” he replied.

“Is this a joke? What are you getting at Harrison?!” Nikolai yelled, his face bulging with veins.