THE HEIR'S REVENGE.

CHAPTER7

Chapter 7: Tightening the Noose

By three o'clock that afternoon, the rain had returned, slicking the high-rise windows in silver sheets.

Clara sat in Alexander’s temporary office three blocks away from the financial center. The room was chaotic—stacked with boxes of paper records, financial ledgers, and three monitors displaying real-time stock ticks and offshore bank transactions.

Alexander tossed a printed ledger onto her desk. "Julian is panicking. The moment you killed the stock dilution, he realized his short position on Eldridge stock was going to bleed him dry. He just initiated a emergency transfer from his primary holding company to cover his margin call."

Clara scanned the numbers. "Where did the transfer originate?"

"An account registered in the Cayman Islands under the name *E.V. Holdings*," Alexander said, leaning against the edge of the desk. "He’s using the stolen trust money to double down. He thinks if he can buy enough private shares off the dark pool, he can still force a hostile takeover before your wedding day."

"He’s desperate," Clara murmured. "He’s using every resource he has left."

"And that makes him dangerous," Alexander cautioned, his grey eyes dead serious. "A man like Julian doesn't accept defeat quietly. When he realizes he can't win in the boardroom, he’ll look for a permanent solution."

Clara picked up the paper, her fingers tracing the printed name *E.V. Holdings*. She remembered the icy cellar floor, the smell of wood smoke, and the cold click of the deadbolt locking her into the dark.

"He already tried his permanent solution," Clara said softly. "He just doesn't know I survived it."

Her phone buzzed on the desk. The screen displayed Elena’s name.

Clara answered, placing the phone on speaker. "Yes, Elena?"

"Clara!" Elena’s voice was breathy, laced with a hyperactive, frantic cheerfulness. "Sweetie, are you okay? Julian was so stressed after the meeting today. He... he feels like you don't trust him anymore."

"Trust is earned, Elena," Clara said smoothly.

"I know, I know! Look, why don't we all get together tonight? Just the three of us at the family estate in the country. We can have dinner, open a bottle of wine, and talk through everything without the lawyers around. Just like old times."

Alexander looked at Clara, slowly shaking his head *no*.

Clara smiled—a hard, cold expression that never reached her eyes.

"The country estate sounds lovely, Elena," Clara said into the phone. "I’ll be there at eight."