The Billionaire's Forgotten Heir

Skyker Thompson

SKYLER THOMPSON

"You're awake!"

"Oh, thank God."

Clara helped Skyler sit up slowly, her voice laced with concern.

"Mark brought you here. He said you fainted earlier," she explained.

Skyler didn't answer, her mind still reeling from recent events, when Clara spoke again.

"What is this all about? Liam is getting out of the hospital, and *you* go and get sick? Are you trying to kill me or what?" she scolded, pursing her lips.

"I'm fine," Skyler insisted, even though deep down, she wasn't.

Her gaze drifted to her empty hands before sweeping across the room, her brows furrowed.

"Are you looking for this?"

Clara’s voice drew her attention back. She was holding up the photograph.

Skyler immediately reached out to grab it. Her thumb brushed against the worn edge of the photo as she gazed at her mother's face.

Her mother had always been sick.

She was constantly going back and forth to the hospital.

Skyler was nine years old at the time—too young to understand what was happening and too young to change anything. She had barely seen her mother during those final months. She still remembered the day Thompson told her that Selena was gone.

She had cried into her pillow until it was soaked.

Thompson stopped eating; he barely spoke, either.

And then, Margate had arrived.

At first, Skyler had thought she was there to support him and help him cope.

Later, she discovered the truth. Victoria was their daughter, born long before. Selena's death explained why Thompson had brought his former mistress into their home. Skyler had never thought to question it.

Until now.

Skyler climbed out of bed, ignoring Clara’s worried protests.

She grabbed her phone from the table and scrolled through her contacts until she found the number she was looking for.

The call connected after a few rings. "Yes, Boss?"

"Mark, I need you to find something out for me."

"Anything you want, Boss." Mark’s reply was immediate.

"I want everything you can find on my mother’s death: hospital records, medical reports, doctors... anything that can explain exactly what happened to her." A brief silence followed.

"Your mother’s death?"

"Yes."

"I’ll look into it."

"Make it quick."

The call ended, and Skyler hung up.

She paced the room for a few minutes.

The old man’s words kept running through her mind.

"Is everything okay?" Clara asked. Skyler looked up at her.

Then, unable to keep it to herself, she told her everything. Skyler explained the situation, and together, they waited.

A few minutes later, Skyler’s phone rang. It was Mark.

She answered immediately. "What did you find?"

"I have all the information, Boss."

"And?"

"Selena Thompson died of heart disease." Skyler fell silent.

"Boss?"

"I’m here."

"There’s something else. The records show she was diagnosed years before she died. She had been hospitalized several times due to complications from the condition."

Skyler slowly sat down.

Her gaze fell on the photograph she was holding.

Heart disease. That was indeed what she remembered.

"What are you going to do now?" Clara asked.

Tears blurred Skyler's vision. "I don't know."

Everything seemed to point to the same conclusion.

Her mother had been ill and had died from that illness.

But why couldn't Skyler shake the feeling that something was wrong?

Her fingers tightened around the photo until her knuckles turned white.

She needed answers, and there was only one person who could provide them.

But where could she find him?

Meanwhile, in the living room of a luxurious penthouse, a porcelain teacup was hurled at Damon the moment he stepped through the doorway.

It shattered just inches from his feet; Damon looked up at the old man sitting at the far end of the sofa.

"That’s one way to say welcome," he remarked, dropping heavily into the nearby armchair and sprawling out with his legs wide apart.

Edward was practically seething, but he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I told you I wouldn't accept this, yet you have the audacity to show up here?"

"Why did you go back?" Damon asked, changing the subject.

He watched his grandfather’s expression shift from anger to softness in an instant. "I went to visit an old friend's daughter," he said, his voice suddenly lower.

He had gone to see Selena, but he hadn't expected to run into her daughter there. Hadn't she disappeared?

How had she managed to return without him knowing?

At that thought, he turned back to his grandson, his anger flaring up again.

"Don't think this will make me change my mind. I won't accept your marriage to that mayor's daughter."

Damon remained silent, and Edward thought he detected something in that silence.

"Is Emily still pushing you to do this?" he asked, his anger mounting. But Damon shook his head.

"This marriage... it's my decision." »

Edward ought to have been delighted to see his grandson finally ready to settle down, but the thought of him marrying the mayor’s daughter thoroughly displeased him. That was, in fact, the very reason he refused to visit the Carters.

He turned to his grandson, his voice now softer.

"I know you’re doing this only because of what happened five years ago. But this is the twenty-first century, my boy. Those things don't matter anymore." "Listen, I have someone in mind for you. She’s the daughter of an old friend... a real gem." His eyes misted over as he spoke, and he blinked rapidly.

Damon shook his head at these words.

In this life, no one could hold his attention—except Sophia. Every encounter that evening left a void he couldn't fill, no matter what.

Perhaps it was because he had hesitated too long—waited too long to make the first move over the years.

Perhaps having her by his side would reignite the thrill he felt whenever he entertained such thoughts. At that idea, Damon couldn't bring himself to agree to his grandfather's request.

"Sorry, Grandfather, but my mind is made up. Whoever this person is, I bet she can find someone better than me."

With that, he handed the old man's medication to the butler, knowing that staying another minute would expose him to an attempt at emotional blackmail.

Edward watched him walk away, his eyes red-rimmed. It was his fault.

It was all his fault.

It was because of him that Selena’s daughter had been forced to live as an outcast. The reason she had vanished for so many years was that all his plans had backfired. He had been unable to save Selena and hadn't even managed to ensure a happy life for her daughter.

At that thought, he reached out and shouted:

"I know her name; it was Skyler Thompson."