+15 Bonus
Like chess pieces.
ke future investments.
One investor preferred Alice because she was naturally charismatic.
Another wanted Alex because he believed he would inherit Sun Corporation one day.
Someone else argued that Iris was the most intelligent choice because she had adapted quickly and would become an influential businesswoman.
Another favored Rose because she carried blood ties to multiple powerful families.
I kept scrolling.
Every email somehow became worse than the last.
One message stopped me cold.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
It was written by Alexander Vincent.
Not directly.
Never directly.
But I recognized the wording immediately.
“Mr. Sun-Asher’s wife is carrying twins.”
“If fortune smiles upon them, one child will undoubtedly inherit the Sun family while the other secures the Asher legacy.”
“That leaves excellent opportunities to unite the remaining heirs through advantageous marriages.”
Another investor had replied only minutes later.
“Exactly.”
“If we secure engagements early enough, the children will grow together.”
“By adulthood they won’t even question it.”
My hands started shaking.
Another message followed.
“Children are easier to shape than adults.”
I stopped reading.
I couldn’t.
I physically couldn’t.
I slowly lowered the tablet onto the desk.
2/6
༢༽
+15 8gnus
For several moments neither Jason nor I spoke.
The silence felt suffocating.
Finally, I whispered,
“They’re talking about babies.”
Jason nodded once.
“They’re talking about children.”
“Our children.”
“They aren’t even born yet.”
He closed his eyes briefly.
“I know.”
I looked toward the ceiling.
Above us, four children were sleeping peacefully.
Alice.
Alex.
Rose.
Iris.
Completely unaware that grown adults were discussing who they should marry decades before they would even understand what marriage meant.
It made me sick.
“They’re trying to steal their futures.”
Jason looked at me.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“They’re trying to write them.”
That sentence somehow hurt even more.
I leaned back in my chair, pressing a hand against my stomach.
“They’re not people to them.”
“They’re bloodlines.”
“They’re companies.”
“They’re alliances.”
Jason nodded.
3/6
“Exactly.”
The room fell silent again.
Then I looked at him.
“They made a mistake.”
He already knew what I meant.
“They involved our children.”
I smiled.
It wasn’t a pleasant smile.
“They could have attacked me.”
“They could have attacked you.”
“They could have attacked our companies.”
“I would have played defense.”
I leaned forward.
“But this…”
I tapped the tablet.
“This is different.”
Jason slowly smiled.
The same dangerous smile I had seen only a handful of times.
“I already started.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You did?”
He turned the tablet back toward himself.
“I’ve been tracking every investor involved.”
One screen filled with names.
Another with companies.
A third with financial transactions.
“They all have something.”
He enlarged another window.
“Tax fraud.”
Another.
4
4/6
15 Bonus
༧ ༽
+15 Bonus
“Market manipulation.”
Another.
“Insider trading.”
Another.
“Undisclosed offshore accounts.”
I looked at him.
“You already investigated them?”
“I started the moment I found the first email.”
Of course he had.
I reached for my own laptop.
“If we’re doing this…”
Jason looked at me.
“…we’re doing it together.”
Within minutes, both our computers covered the table.
We divided the list.
He followed the money.
I followed the people.
Companies.
Properties.
Family connections.
Political influence.
Every hidden asset.
Every shell corporation.
Every fake foundation.
Every secret account.
Hours passed without either of us noticing.
Occasionally one of us would quietly say,
“Found something.”
The list kept growing.
By two in the morning, every investor who had participated in those conversations had their own digital folder.
5/6
Each one filled with enough evidence to ruin their careers.
Nooked across the table at Jason.
“So…”
He closed his laptop.
“So.”
ལ་
+15 Bonus
“What do we do now?”
He stood and walked toward the window overlooking the castle grounds.
Moonlight illuminated the gardens.
Somewhere beyond them, our children slept peacefully.
VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother