Claimed by the Crown Heir novel Chapter 34

She hung onto his every word, completely subservient.

When he delivered Seraphina to that client's bed, Stella might not have wanted it, but she knew. And yet, she did absolutely nothing, silently endorsing her husband's horrific actions.

If Vanessa hadn't followed her father to the hotel that day, if she hadn't noticed that Seraphina was drugged...

A seventeen-year-old girl with her whole life ahead of her would have been destroyed forever.

Vanessa pushed a glass of warm water across the table, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"If she's going to be so blindingly irrational, why do you even bother visiting her?"

"Maybe I'm just addicted to the warmth of the past. Maybe I'm holding onto the pathetic scraps of a mother's love buried deep inside. Do you know what happens every time I visit? She never asks if I'm doing well. She just berates me for sending that bastard to prison. She blames me for ruining her family, for destroying her happiness."

Her voice choked up, fighting hard to keep the tears from falling.

"But what about me? Why doesn't she ever think about me... Why doesn't she think about the absolute hell I would have faced if they had succeeded, or if I even would have survived it?"

How could a person become so unbelievably selfish?

Vanessa offered a few gentle, aching words of comfort.

"Eat your dinner. Don't exhaust yourself over people who aren't worth it."

"Yeah," Seraphina forced a fragile smile. "At least I still have you and my uncle."

...

Lucas Lowery had sent out a small army to scour every inch of the city, yet they couldn't find a single trace of Vanessa.

Things at the company were a disaster. Titan Holdings seemed to have planned this all along, cornering him at every critical meeting and aggressively countering his every move, leaving him scrambling to survive.

He had once held absolute control over Vortex Group, but now he was rapidly losing his decision-making power. The suffocating pressure of being attacked from all sides was threatening to break him.

Late that night, reeking of alcohol, he stumbled blindly into the Clearwater Cove villa.

He let out a low, hollow laugh that reeked of devastating loneliness.

Lucas closed his eyes, and memories surged forward completely out of his control. In the past, whenever he came home drunk from a business dinner, no matter how late it was, a warm lamp would always be on in the living room. Vanessa would always be waiting with a hot mug of coffee. She would curl into his arms like a tame kitten, pressing a soft kiss to his skin. In those moments, all of his exhaustion and frustration would instantly melt away under her touch.

He couldn't understand it. How many successful men didn't have a few side flings? He figured he had actually been restrained—he only had Chloe. If Vanessa hadn't constantly rejected his advances and pushed him away, he wouldn't have been foolish enough to seek release in another woman's bed.

She couldn't seriously expect him to live like a monk forever, could she?

What was she so unsatisfied with?

As long as she was willing to come back, he could overlook the fact that she sold the shares to Titan.

The electronic lock on the front door suddenly clicked.

Was she back?

Lucas practically bolted upright from the sofa, his intoxication sobering instantly. His dark eyes locked onto the entryway, boiling over with uncontrollable hope and anticipation.