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CHAPTER 23

Author: queensly aria
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-12-19 19:29:44

Maya

The partnership launch was scheduled for three weeks from now.

I sat in the Lawson Corporation conference room surrounded by marketing teams, product designers, and Adrian's top executives. The energy was electric. Nervous. Everyone understood this launch would define both companies for years to come.

Adrian stood at the head of the table presenting our timeline. He was in full CEO mode. Sharp. Focused. Completely different from the man who kissed me three nights ago.

"We go public with t
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  • THE HEIR I USED TO BE   CHAPTER 39

    Maya"Gone?" I stared at my father. "What do you mean gone?""Richard Hayes cleaned out his office at six this morning. Took his personal files, his laptop, everything." My father stepped into the conference room. The lawyers followed. "Security footage shows him leaving the building with three boxes. He has not answered his phone. His wife says she does not know where he is."Adrian stood. "How long ago?""Two hours. We have been trying to track him down." My father looked at me. "Maya, if Richard is the leak, he just burned every bridge. He knows we are onto him."I felt the ground shift beneath me. Richard Hayes. VP of Operations. Fifteen years with Lawson Corporation. Longer than I had been CEO. Longer than most of the executive team."Steven, get your team on this," Adrian said. "I want to know where Richard went. Check airports, train stations, his known associates. Everything.""Already working on it," Steven said, pulling out his phone.I turned to my father. "Why would Rich

  • THE HEIR I USED TO BE   CHAPTER 38

    DavidThe board meeting was in three hours.I stood in front of the hotel mirror, adjusting my tie for the fifth time. Navy blue suit. White shirt. The uniform of David Chen, Chairman. Not David the painter. Not David the coffee shop regular.Just David Chen. Back in the world.My phone rang. Dr. Chen."How are you feeling?" she asked."Terrified. Like I am about to walk into a room full of people who will see right through me.""See what, exactly?""That I am not ready. That I am still broken. That I do not belong there anymore.""David, you were never broken. You were hurt. There is a difference." She paused. "What is the worst thing that could happen today?"I thought about it. "I could have a panic attack in front of the entire board. I could freeze. I could prove that I am not capable of being Chairman.""And if that happens?""Then I leave. Go back to the hotel. Keep painting.""Exactly. You have an exit. You are choosing to attend this meeting. You can choose to leave at any t

  • THE HEIR I USED TO BE   CHAPTER 37

    MayaI barely slept.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those three names. Jennifer. Thomas. Richard. People I had trusted. People I had worked with for years. One of them was destroying everything we built.At six in the morning, I gave up trying to sleep. Showered. Dressed in my sharpest suit. Navy blue with a white blouse. Professional armor for what would be a brutal day.Sophie arrived at my office at seven thirty with coffee and a thick folder."I have everything you asked for," she said, setting the folder on my desk. "Access logs. Communication records. Movement patterns for the past month."I opened the folder. Pages of data. Timestamps. File accesses. Email trails. Three lives documented in spreadsheets and charts."What did you find?" I asked."All three accessed the leaked files within the appropriate timeframes. Jennifer reviewed strategic documents two days before they appeared in the competitor's presentation. Thomas had system administrator access to everything. Richar

  • THE HEIR I USED TO BE   CHAPTER 36

    AdrianMaya walked out of the conference room and I stood there feeling like I had just destroyed everything.She was right. I should have told her. Should have trusted her with the truth instead of trying to protect her from it.But the look on her face when I showed her those names. The betrayal. The pain. I had wanted to spare her that.And instead I had become exactly what she feared. Another man who kept secrets. Another partner who decided what she could handle.My head of security, Steven Blake, appeared at my elbow."Sir, we need to discuss next steps. If the leak is from Lawson Corporation, we need to move quickly before more damage is done.""Not now, Steven.""Sir, with respect, the launch is in two weeks. Every day we wait is another day for information to get out."He was right. But all I could think about was the way Maya looked at me. Like I had broken something fundamental between us."Give me an hour," I said. "Then we will strategize."I went back to my office. Sat

  • THE HEIR I USED TO BE   CHAPTER 35

    MayaThe emergency meeting convened within the hour.Adrian arrived with his CFO and head of security. His expression was controlled, but I saw the tension in his shoulders. He knew something. I was certain now."Thank you for coming so quickly," I said, closing the conference room door. Both executive teams filled the room. Sophie distributed copies of the leaked documents."Someone has been leaking confidential partnership information to our competitors," I began. "Strategic details, financial projections, launch timelines. Everything we have been building for months."The room erupted. Questions. Accusations. Panic."When did this happen?" Adrian's CFO asked."The documents showed up in a competitor's presentation yesterday. Word for word from our internal materials." I looked directly at Adrian. "Only senior leadership from both companies had access to these files."Adrian met my gaze. Something passed between us. An understanding. A confirmation.He knew. He had known."How many

  • THE HEIR I USED TO BE   CHAPTER 34

    DavidFive weeks of coffee shops changed something fundamental.I had become a regular at the bookstore café. The owner, Marcus, knew my order. Black coffee. Whatever pastry was left from the morning. A table by the window where I could watch Harbor City move without being part of it."You are here early," Marcus said, pouring my coffee. "Usually you come around ten.""Could not sleep. Thought I would paint instead. Then decided coffee sounded better.""How is the painting going?""Terrible. But consistently terrible. That feels like progress."Marcus laughed. "Consistency is underrated. Most people give up before they get consistently bad at something."I took my coffee to the window table. Opened the book about impressionists. Read about Cézanne's obsession with painting Mont Sainte-Victoire. Over sixty paintings of the same mountain. Different angles. Different light. The same subject endlessly explored.Maybe that was the point. Not to paint something new. But to see the same thi

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