The Discarded Heir's Billionaire Vengeance

Chapter 8

The weekend passed quietly, but Monday brought new trouble.

Someone had posted a short message on the campus forum late Sunday night. It said there was still no official record of any Daniel Reed connected to the Reid family. The post did not use Liam’s name, but everyone knew where it came from. By morning the message had been shared dozens of times.

Daniel felt the change as soon as he walked into the business building. More people looked away. A few whispered behind their hands. One guy from another class muttered “card thief” just loud enough for him to hear.

He kept walking.

At the end of the second lecture, Liam was waiting in the hallway with three friends. Maya stood a little behind them, arms crossed.

Liam stepped in front of Daniel and spoke in a calm voice that still carried.

“See? Even the open records agree with me. No Daniel Reed in the family line. The card is real. The owner is not. How long are you going to keep this up?”

Students slowed down to watch. Phones came out again.

Daniel stopped. He was tired of the same talk, but he would not look weak.

“You still don’t know the full story,” he said.

Liam smiled without warmth. “Then tell it. Right here. Explain how a guy who used to wash dishes ends up holding a card that doesn’t match any public record. Or admit someone is using you.”

The hallway grew quieter.

Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled the black card out once more. He held it up so the fluorescent lights caught the gold crest.

“You’ve seen it. Other people have seen it. What else do you need?”

Liam did not take the card. His eyes stayed hard.

“I need the truth behind it. Not the plastic.”

Before either of them could say more, a woman in a dark green suit walked out of the department office. She was in her forties and carried herself with quiet authority. Several students and one professor straightened when they saw her.

It was Mrs. Patricia Voss. She was a visiting executive from a large investment group and also sat on an advisory board that worked with several major families, including the Reids.

Mrs. Voss noticed the tense group and the black card in Daniel’s hand. She walked over.

“Is there a problem?” she asked in a clear voice.

Liam quickly put on a polite face. “Just a discussion between classmates, ma’am.”

Mrs. Voss looked at the card. “May I?”

Daniel handed it over. She turned it under the light, checked the crest, and felt the weight. Her expression grew serious.

She looked at Daniel for a long moment, then spoke so the students around them could hear.

“This is a genuine Reid Consortium executive card. Highest level. I have only handled two of these in my career. The material and crest are correct.”

She gave the card back and nodded once to Daniel.

“I don’t know your full background, but the card itself is real.”

Then she walked away down the hall.

The students started whispering at once. Some looked impressed. Others still looked doubtful.

Liam’s face had gone tight. Another confirmation. The seventh one. Every public moment like this made it harder for him to control the story. But his pride would not let him stop.

He looked at Daniel with cold eyes.

“Seven people now. Still doesn’t fix the missing records. I’m not walking away. My father is still digging. Sooner or later we’ll find the real owner of that card. And when we do, this whole campus will see the truth.”

He turned to the watching students and raised his voice just enough.

“Remember what the open records show. A real card in the wrong hands is still a problem. Don’t be fooled just because important people look at the plastic.”

Then he walked off with his friends. Maya followed more slowly. She glanced at Daniel once with a mix of worry and confusion before she left.

Daniel put the card away. His chest felt tight. The confirmations kept coming, yet the pressure on him only grew. Liam had learned how to turn every good moment into new suspicion.

He left the building and walked toward the dorms. The afternoon air felt cool.

His black phone buzzed once. A message from Alexander:

Young Master. Liam Baxter’s father has paid for access to two restricted contact lists. He is getting closer to names that should stay hidden. Shall we close those paths now?

Daniel stopped under a tree and typed back.

Not yet. Let him spend the money. Let him think he is winning.

He put the phone away and kept walking.

Across campus, Liam sat in his car with the door closed. He was on the phone with his father. His voice was low and sharp.

“Another executive just confirmed it in the hallway. I don’t care. Keep pushing the records. Someone out there knows who this Daniel Reed really is. Find that person before this gets any bigger.”

He hung up and stared at the steering wheel. His pride hurt. Every public confirmation made him look less in control. Fear of losing face pushed him harder than anger.

He opened a new private message and began typing a longer request to a contact who worked in quiet information circles.

The seventh confirmation had not ended the fight.

It had only made Liam more careful — and more dangerous.

Daniel still chose not to strike first.

But both of them could feel the ground shifting under their feet.