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Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 36
Vanessa’s POV “Nothing’s working, is it?” I muttered, my voice low but enough to be heard. He ended the call and turned to me with wild eyes. “What do you expect me to do? Sit back while they tear our name apart?” “It’s already torn, Dad.” His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might hurl something across the room. But he didn’t. He just stood there, eyes burning, chest rising and falling. “I didn’t raise you to be useless,” he said coldly. I smiled bitterly. “And yet, here I am. Useless. Just like Nathan. Just like all of this,” I gestured around the room, “falling apart.” The silence that followed was deafening. For once, even he had no comeback. Truth was, I was just as ruined. My face, once on every skincare billboard and beauty column, had become the poster child for scandal. The media didn’t care about nuance. They saw “Hale” and ran with the juiciest headline. And me? I was a clickbait princess. “Richard,” came a softer voice from the doorway. My mother. Her
Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 37
Vanessa’s POV “Ethan, please.” My voice dropped. I hated the tremble I heard in it, but I kept going. “You came here for a reason. Maybe to gloat, maybe to talk. But I’m asking you… please help him.”Nathan growled beside me like a wounded animal. “Vanessa, shut up!”I ignored him.“Help him,” I repeated. “For old time’s sake, or for the sake of whatever little decency you have left.”Ethan chuckled. Not the kind that was amused. The kind that made my skin crawl. Cold, deliberate, and... condescending.“Decency?” he finally spoke, his voice low and smooth. “You’re asking me about decency?”I swallowed.Nathan scoffed. “You see? He’s playing you. He always has.”But Ethan continued, his eyes fixed on me now.“You know, when I was locked up… when your beloved brother came to visit, he didn’t bring a lawyer. He brought laughter. Mocked me through the glass, said it suited me.”He turned to Nathan now, who was grinding his teeth.“You remember what you said to me that day? ‘This is where
Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 38
Vanessa’s POV The morning air was unnervingly still, almost like the world itself was holding its breath. Our black SUV pulled into the courthouse lot without music, without laughter—without a single word.Nathan sat beside me, stiff in his tailored navy suit, the cuffs of his shirt peeking just slightly from his sleeves. His jaw clenched, nostrils flared. But it wasn’t fear on his face. It was something colder. Anger, maybe. Betrayal.“I swear,” he muttered, not looking at me, “if that bastard Ethan shows his face today...”“You need to focus,” I interrupted softly, adjusting my sunglasses to hide my red, sleepless eyes. “Please, Nathan. Just… don’t make things worse.”He scoffed. “Worse? I’m about to be crucified in front of a packed courtroom and the media. How worse could it get?”I didn’t answer. What could I say?Dad stepped out from the front seat, nodded once at the guards, and turned to Nathan. “Keep your mouth shut. Don’t show weakness. Let Leonard speak.”“Leonard’s a tire
Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 39
Ethan’s POV“They let him escape?”I shot up from my chair so fast my pen rolled off the desk. The moment I caught a glimpse of the headline flashing across the screen, I knew something had gone terribly wrong.“Breaking News: Notorious Hale Heir Escapes Police Custody. Details Emerging”I stared at the screen in disbelief as the reporter’s voice echoed from the speakers, steady and grave.“Earlier this evening, convicted felon Nathan Hale escaped custody while being transported from the High Court to the Federal Penitentiary. According to eyewitness reports, the police convoy was ambushed by unidentified assailants believed to be professionally trained mercenaries. The ambush occurred along the Grandway Route—an isolated stretch typically used for high-profile prisoner transfers to avoid traffic.”Of all the roads in this damn city… why the Grandway?The screen shifted to shaky amateur footage. Smoke. Sirens. Screams. Two police vehicles overturned, one on fire. Masked men, seven, ma
Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 40
Vanessa’s POV “What in God’s name are you saying?” Father’s voice ripped through the room like shattering glass. “You want to go back to Ethan Sinclair?”“Not go back,” I said coolly, lifting my chin, “win him over again.”“You’ve lost your damn mind,” he spat, pacing behind his desk. “After everything after how he humiliated you in front of the entire city, this is what you come up with?”“I don’t intend to be humiliated again.” My voice was sharp, low, and deliberate. “I intend to be victorious.”He stopped pacing, glaring at me like I was some venomous thing crawling into his office. “You think he’ll just forgive you? Open his arms and welcome you like nothing happened?”“No,” I replied with a smirk. “I think he’ll suspect me every step of the way. I think he’ll hate me a little more each time I smile at him. But I also know something you don’t, he won’t ignore me.”Father narrowed his eyes. “You better start making sense fast, Vanessa.”I crossed the room and stood directly in fr
Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 41
Ethan’s POV "Gracious me!" I sighed for the third time in the past five minutes, "I just hope I don't loose my fucking mind at this rate." It had been one week since that night. One week since Olivia’s body tangled with mine in ways I still hadn’t fully forgiven myself for. Her scent lingered in my sheets longer than I liked, and despite laundering everything twice, I could still feel the ghost of her lips on my skin. My phone lit up for the seventh time that morning.OLIVIA CALLING.Again.I stared at the screen like it was some kind of ghost trying to crawl back into my life. I pressed the side button and diverted it to voicemail. “She just doesn’t quit, does she?” I muttered, tapping the screen away and returning to the planner on my desk. Meetings, contracts, board minutes… every line carefully structured. Predictable. Manageable. Unlike Olivia. That was Olivia’s umpteenth call since our night together. Like she suddenly thought she had a place in my life. Like what happened
Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 42
Ethan’s POV “So… are you going to invite me in or just keep pretending you didn’t see me walk through the glass walls?”Vanessa’s voice was sugar-laced poison, her smile the kind you’d carve into a wax doll before tossing it into fire. And me? I should’ve shut the door in her face. I should’ve told Clara to send security. Instead, I stepped aside like a fool caught between two detonating bombs.“Fine,” I muttered. “Come in.”Vanessa swanned past me like a queen reclaiming her throne. She didn’t look at Olivia. Not at first. But I saw the calculation in her eyes, like a cat pretending not to notice the wounded bird in the room.“A lovely office” she said, eyes scanning my office like she owned it. “But then again, nothing ever really changes with you, does it, Ethan?”“Make your point,” I said, already exhausted.“Why so tense?” she said sweetly, settling into the chair across my desk like it had been reserved for her. “You used to be better at hiding that.”Olivia hadn’t moved from t
Sinclair's Lost Heir[The Rise Of The Betrayed Son-in-law] CHAPTER 43
Ethan’s POV “I’m here because I made a mistake,” she said, voice low now, like honey dripping through a cracked spoon. “I messed up, Ethan. But it wasn’t all my fault, I didn’t mean to. You know it wasn’t.” “Don’t you dare,” I warned.She ignored me, charging forward with her twisted, delusional gospel. “They forced me to do it! My family, my father, he hated you. You know that. You saw what they were capable of, I was also being manipulated.” “They didn’t force you to cheat.”Her face twitched. “They didn’t force you to shut me out night after night. They didn’t force you to curl up with every man who offered you validation while your husband begged for scraps of affection.” “Ethan...” “They didn’t force you to kill our baby.”Her breath hitched like I’d driven a dagger straight through her ribcage. But the only thing she clutched was her lie-ridden heart. “You think I don’t remember?” I growled, stepping in close now. “You think I forgot how you told me you were pregnant and
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 53
Ethan’s POV I forced a breath through my nose and strode forward, shoulders squared."Evening, gentlemen," I called, my voice slicing cleanly through the laughter.Both men turned sharply. "Ethan, my boy!" Tim Roberts barked, rising slightly from his chair. "Look at you! Bigger than a bloody line-backer. What the hell are they feeding you over at Sinclair?" Grandfather cackled. "Deals and enemies, that's what! Come on over here, son." I smiled tightly and crossed the few feet between us. Both men clapped my back so hard I nearly stumbled. "You’re both exaggerating," I said, fighting the tension climbing my spine. "Last I checked, I still fit through doorways." Tim shook his head, grinning. "You could probably bench press William and me both without breaking a damn sweat." "And humble, too," Grandfather chimed in, his eyes gleaming. "Heard about the Landmark account, boy. Two days. Clean sweep." "Youngest chairman in New York history," Tim added proudly, raising his glass in sa
CHAPTER 52
Ethan’s POV "Think, Ethan! Think!" I barked, slamming my palm against the steering wheel hard enough to make the horn wail briefly.I was racing nowhere fast, and every second ticked like a bomb in my chest. Olivia was out there. Alone. Missing... not quite anyways. And I was sitting here like an idiot, useless, with nothing but a dead phone and fraying nerves to show for it. "Who the hell do I call?" I muttered, dragging my hand through my hair. "The police? And tell them what? That my… what? My what? Olivia wasn’t mine. Never was." I cursed under my breath, tapping the steering wheel rhythmically as I scanned the empty street for answers that weren’t there. "I can't blow this up," I gritted out. "If I make noise, the media will smell blood. She’ll get dragged through the dirt."That wasn’t an option. Not for Olivia. Never for her. I leaned back against the seat, exhaling sharply, when suddenly, like a spark snapping in the dark, it hit me. "Her grandfather," I said aloud, the
CHAPTER 51
Ethan’s POV "Pick up the damn phone, Olivia," I muttered under my breath, pacing the living room like a caged animal. I pressed the device harder against my ear, as if sheer force could will her to answer. Another voicemail. Another dead end."Fine," I snapped at the silence, yanking the phone from my ear and staring at the blank screen like it had personally betrayed me. "Ignore me, then. See if I care."I tossed the phone onto the coffee table, the clatter slicing through the heavy stillness of the room. For a moment, I just stood there, breathing hard, hands curled into fists at my sides.Why should I care? She wasn't answering. Big deal.Maybe she was busy. Maybe she finally realized what a bastard I was.Good for her.Wasn't that what I wanted? To push her away before she could get too close?Hadn't I made that crystal clear the last time we met, spitting venom just to watch her flinch?I sank down onto the leather sofa, scrubbing a hand over my face.But what if she wasn’t just
CHAPTER 50
Ethan’s POV “Are you sure you want to do this?” Jordan’s voice crackled through the secure line. “Because once this gets out, there’s no going back.” “No one burns my house and walks away,” I said flatly, gripping the edge of my desk. “Let it burn them instead.”“You’ll be starting a war.”“I didn’t start it. The Hales did the moment they tried to ruin me.”Silence on the other end. Then a slow exhale.“Alright. The files are ready. Everything you asked for—bank transfers, offshore accounts, distribution routes, and the tapes from the warehouse surveillance.”I closed my eyes for a second, letting the gravity of it wash over me. “Send the package anonymously to the District Prosecutor,” I said. “Make sure it can not be traced back to me.” “Already handled. By tonight, the press will be begging for statements.”“Good,” I muttered, staring at the framed photo of myself on the shelf. “Let them watch it burn.” The call ended. It was only a matter of hours before the news spread like
CHAPTER 49
Vanessa’s POV “Of course it’s Nathan’s,” he scoffed, waving the packet. “That brother of yours really comes in handy when you need an alibi, doesn’t he?”“Goodness, Collins, what is wrong with you?” I took a step back, robe clutched tight, trying to gather what little dignity I had left.“Wrong with me?” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I’m not the one playing house in a silk robe with mystery condoms on the floor.”“Nathan brought his junk here, trashed the place, and I’ve been trying to get everything back in order. That’s it. I’m tired. I haven’t even eaten today.”“You want me to believe that?” His voice dropped, low and dangerous. “Then prove it.”My jaw tightened. “Prove it how?”He stepped closer. Too close. “Let me touch you. Right here. Right now.”My breath caught. “What?”“You’re so innocent, right?” he said, pressing a hand against the wall behind me, trapping me. “Then let me touch what’s mine.”“We’re not doing this.” I shoved at his chest, but he didn’t budge
CHAPTER 48
Vanessa’s POV Tired of the whole drama, I slammed the door behind Nathan and his pathetic entourage, locking it with more force than necessary. The bass from the now-silenced speakers still thudded inside my skull, a cruel echo of the madness I had just evicted. Drunk girls with smudged mascara and glittered heels had been stumbling over my Persian rug like it was a damn runway. Nathan, high out of his mind, had laughed at thin air, drooling over the same chaos he dragged in. My home, my place if solace, had turned into a drug-fueled circus in a matter of hours.“Why do I even let him back in?” I muttered aloud, tightening my silk robe around me. “Because he’s my brother? Or because somewhere in my deranged heart I think he’ll change?”Maybe I was the deluded one. Always hoping. Always giving him another chance. But I was done. Done playing mother, fixer, savior.I needed to cleanse every ounce of that filth. I needed a bath, something hot enough to scald off Nathan’s stench from my
CHAPTER 47
Vanessa’s POV As I stepped into the foyer, the sharp thump of bass-heavy music slammed into my ears like a slap to the face. My heel paused mid-step. That sound... it was coming from the west wing. The west wing? That place hadn’t seen life in years.“Who the hell is playing music in there?!” I hissed aloud, my voice slicing through the silence of the hall like a whip.My fingers curled tighter around my clutch, jaw clenched and body tense. Which one of the staff had lost their damn mind? That wing was sacred. Deserted. Locked down. No one went in there. Not unless they wanted to face my wrath.“Have the maids gone stupid? Or just suicidal?” I snapped under my breath, heels stabbing furiously into the marble tiles as I advanced. Each echo of my steps was a countdown.The closer I got, the more the bass trembled through the walls. Rap music, filthy lyrics, distorted and booming with disrespect. My fists balled up.“I swear, if this is someone’s idea of a joke, they won’t live to tell
CHAPTER 46
Vanessa’s POV I had just returned home from seeing Ethan, an experience I would rather not recount to anyone.I sat in my car, parked just outside the house like the marble driveway suddenly demanded my respect. My fingers were still trembling around the steering wheel, nails digging into the leather as if the wheel had wronged me. I couldn’t go inside. Not yet. Not while my heart was still stuck in that cold, heartless office where he’d looked at me like I was filth.“He hates me,” I whispered under my breath, my voice cracking. “He really... hates me.”I tilted my head back against the headrest, blinking away the sting in my eyes. I hadn’t cried when he yelled. Not when he called security. Not even when he spat the word trash like it belonged to me. But now, alone in the quiet bubble of my car, it hit differently.“Who wouldn’t?” I muttered, scoffing bitterly at myself. “I practically destroyed the one person who actually loved me.”He loved me once. I know he did. There was no way
CHAPTER 45
Ethan’s POV Lost in thoughts, the ring from my phone snapped me back into consciousness of my surroundings. I picked it up. It was Jordan.“Good day Ethan.”I really hoped there were goods left in my day today.“Good day, Jordan. What do you have for me today?”“They’re laundering money through a ghost company, Ethan. One that supposedly shut down over thirty years ago.”“What?” I straightened in my seat, pulse spiking. “Say that again.”“A shell corporation. Called Bellemore Industries. Disbanded on paper in ’92. But a few bank records show it’s very much alive. Just—operating from the shadows. Massive offshore transfers. Cayman Islands. Liechtenstein. You name it.”“And you’re sure the Hales are behind this?”“Positive. I followed the money trail, and guess where it leads?” Jordan paused dramatically. “A building owned by none other than Richard Hale. Bought under the alias ‘Carl Donovan.’”I shot up from my chair, heart pounding against my ribs. “An alias?”“Yeah. He used a dead m