CHAPTER 4: THE RETURN OF THE PRINCE
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCE
Six months after Richard Kane was arrested, I thought the drama was over.
I was wrong.
The trouble walked into my office wearing a designer suit and an arrogant smile.
"Hello, Emma."
I looked up from my laptop.
My stomach tightened instantly.
Ryan Kane.
Richard's son.
Twenty-eight years old.
Spoiled.
Entitled.
And somehow even more arrogant than his father.
"What do you want?"
Ryan sat down without being invited.
"Straight to business. I like that."
I closed my laptop.
"Try again."
His smile widened.
"My father wants his company back."
I actually laughed.
"No."
"That's your answer?"
"That's the only answer."
Ryan leaned forward.
"You think you've won."
"I did win."
His eyes darkened.
"You stole everything from my family."
The audacity nearly made me laugh again.
"Your father stole from shareholders."
"He built this company."
"My grandfather saved it."
Silence.
Ryan hated hearing that fact.
Everyone in the industry knew the truth now.
The court documents had exposed decades of secrets.
Without my grandfather's money, Kane Technologies would have died before it even started.
Ryan stood.
"This isn't over."
I shrugged.
"It is for me."
He walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
"My father always said you were dangerous."
That caught my attention.
"Dangerous?"
Ryan nodded.
"He said you were smarter than everyone around you."
I smiled slightly.
"Your father was right about one thing."
Ryan left.
The moment the door closed, my assistant rushed in.
"Emma."
Something in her voice made me look up.
"What happened?"
She swallowed hard.
"You need to see this."
She handed me a tablet.
My heart dropped.
A news article filled the screen.
EXCLUSIVE: Questions Raised About Emma Carter's Inheritance.
I opened it.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
All identical.
All anonymous.
All accusing me of manipulating my grandfather's trust.
Lies.
Every word.
But that didn't matter.
Because social media was already exploding.
Thousands of comments.
Thousands of accusations.
Someone had started a war.
And I knew exactly who.
That evening my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello."
A familiar voice replied.
"Enjoying the headlines?"
Ryan.
I gripped the phone tighter.
"What do you want?"
His voice sounded amused.
"Just getting started."
Then he hung up.
I stared at the screen.
For the first time in months, I felt something dangerous stirring.
Not fear.
Anger.
Because Ryan Kane had just made a mistake.
The same mistake his father made.
He underestimated me.
And three days later, I discovered something that changed everything.
Ryan wasn't trying to save his father.
He was hiding a secret of his own.
May you like
A very expensive secret.
To Be Continued...
