The Return Of The Real Heiress

Chapter 4: Turning the Lens.

Edward didn't move a muscle, but the air in his private study instantly turned freezing cold. He stared down at the microscopic camera resting on his mahogany desk, its tiny blue light blinking like a mocking heartbeat. For three years, he had shared his space with Beatrice, believing she was a traumatized heiress. Now, the physical proof of her espionage lay between him and Evelyn.

"Beatrice was thorough," Edward said, his voice dropping into a low, lethal register. He slowly reached out, his long fingers hovering just above the device without touching it. "She didn't just steal your life, Evelyn. She used my engagement to map my home and pipe my corporate data directly to her handler."

"Which means whoever is running this operation knows your schedules, your security protocols, and your shipping logistics," Evelyn said, leaning against the edge of the desk, her arms crossed. She showed no fear, only the cold precision of a survivor. "They didn't just want to destroy the Maddison family. They wanted to use Beatrice to anchor themselves into the Vance empire as well."

Edward stood up, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the room. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the fortified perimeter of his estate. "Commander Mensah!" he called out.

The heavy doors of the study opened instantly, and his head of security stepped in, his face tense. "Yes, Mr. Vance?"

"Our cyber-security unit needs to trace the frequency of this transmitter," Edward commanded, pointing to the desk. "But they are not to disable it. Do not cut the feed."

Evelyn’s eyes sharpened. She understood his angle immediately. "You want to leave it running."

"If we destroy it right now, the mastermind will know we found it. They will go dark, pull back their assets, and hide deeper in the shadows," Edward said, turning around to face her with a ruthless, brilliant glint in his dark eyes. "But if we leave it active, we control what they see. We control what they hear. A spy is only dangerous when they think they are invisible."

Evelyn walked back to the desk, looking down at the blinking lens. A slow, dangerous smile curved her lips. "Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM is the emergency board meeting for the Maddison Group. The directors are panicked. They think the company is collapsing because the fake Evelyn is dead and the real one has returned from the grave."

"Exactly," Edward agreed, stepping closer to her. "The mastermind expects you to walk into that boardroom defensive, weak, and desperate for the directors' approval. They think the stock market crash will force your grandfather to sell the remaining shares of the Maddison Group."

"Then let's give them a different script," Evelyn whispered. She leaned down toward the hidden microphone of the camera, her voice perfectly matching the tone of a stressed, overwhelmed woman fighting with her new husband. "Let them think we are fractured."

Edward caught on instantly. He stepped into the frame of the camera's assumed angle, his face hardening as he played along with flawless precision.

"If your family's company cannot stabilize its shares by tomorrow noon, Evelyn, our marriage contract is void!" Edward shouted toward the desk, his voice echoing with calculated arrogance. "I am not funding a sinking ship. If the Maddison Group loses its board confidence tomorrow, the Vance Group will pull its logistics support!"

Evelyn threw her hands up, her voice trembling with a brilliant imitation of panic and anger. "You promised me protection, Edward! My grandfather gave you the shipping routes! You cannot back out of the contract just because the directors are staging a coup!"

"I am a businessman, not a charity!" Edward snapped back, slamming his hand down on the desk for dramatic effect. "Secure the board tomorrow, or you face the wolves alone."

With a sharp movement, Evelyn grabbed the camera, marched back to her master suite, and shoved it back into the air conditioning vent, ensuring it faced the bed exactly as it had before. She walked out of the line of sight, her breath steadying as her normal, icy composure returned.

She walked back to Edward, who was waiting in the hallway.

"They swallowed it," Evelyn said quietly. "By morning, the mastermind will believe that our alliance is fragile. They will instruct their inside directors on the Maddison board to push hard during the meeting, thinking I am weak and unsupported."

"They will walk right into the trap," Edward said, his eyes locked onto her face with a growing, intense respect. Evelyn wasn't just a victim claiming a birthright; she was a strategist who could weaponize her own vulnerability. "I've already ordered my legal team to quietly buy up any Maddison Group shares that hit the market at dawn. While the mastermind tries to short your stock, we will be absorbing the floating shares."

"Tomorrow at the meeting, I won't just introduce myself to the board," Evelyn stated, her eyes burning with unyielding fire. "I am going to find out exactly which director was feeding Beatrice her orders. 35 chapters or a hundred, Edward—I am going to strip them of everything they own."

"Get some sleep, wife," Edward said, a genuine, dark amusement dancing in his voice. "The wolves are waiting for us in the morning, and I want to see you tear them apart."