Claimed by the Crown Heir novel Chapter 83

Lucas sprinted forward, seizing her arm in a vice-like grip.

"Vanessa, where else are you going to hide?"

His grip was terrifyingly strong, his knuckles practically digging into her flesh. Vanessa frowned sharply in pain.

"Let go!"

"Why are you here?" Lucas didn't release her; instead, he tightened his hold, his tone commanding.

Harrison had dug into the woman sharing her exact name and discovered she was the eldest daughter of the wealthy Grant family in Sterling City.

After gleaning some details from Silas Sterling last night, Lucas had immediately chartered a private jet back.

Standing in the massive airport, he hadn't known where to find her, so he instinctively drove to Grant Enterprises.

He had only been trying his luck. He never expected to actually catch her here.

Was she truly the wealthy heiress of the Grant family, and not the destitute orphan he had always believed her to be?

The fury of being deceived crashed over him like a tidal wave.

Vanessa's expression was ice-cold. "I said let go. Did you hear me?"

When he remained motionless, anger surged in her chest. Without hesitation, she raised her hand and delivered a vicious slap across his face.

Smack!

The sharp sound echoed loudly through the parking lot.

Lucas's head snapped to the side, his eyes wide with utter disbelief.

"But I do love you! I just... every time you pushed me away in bed, I couldn't handle the rejection. I had a moment of weakness and got tangled up with Chloe..."

"I won't even hold it against you for selling half of Vortex's shares. Let's just start over, please?"

Vanessa listened without a shred of emotion, as if hearing a story about strangers. Her heart remained a stagnant, dead lake.

Finally, she let out a quiet scoff, her voice devoid of any warmth. "Lucas, everything you have today is because of me. You should be counting your lucky stars I only sold half of the company."

"When we first got together, you knew perfectly well the trauma from that day left me with deep psychological scars. You told me yourself you didn't care. You promised you'd stay by my side until I slowly healed."

"But what I thought was a sweet, stable three-year relationship turned out to be two solid years of your betrayal."

"Every time you got your satisfaction from her, how did you manage to lie next to me with such a clear conscience?"