All Chapters of What the Heart didn't Know: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

POV: AdrianThe sedan sliced through the early morning traffic. The frantic energy of the city was a quiet backdrop to the panic roaring in my ears. Amelia sat beside me, silent, clutching the burner phone with the anonymous text of the one warning her about Eva's apartment."It's a trap, Adrian," she stated, her voice tight but devoid of tears. The CEO mask was back, brittle but necessary. "She knows it’s the only place I can't let her touch. It’s pure emotional leverage.""Then we treat it as an active ambush," I agreed, running a hand through my hair. The cut on my jaw throbbed. "But the trap isn't the problem. The problem is what Martha said.""The third organization," Amelia finished, her eyes fixed straight ahead. "The man on the balcony. He wasn't working for Branwyn. He was working for someone else.""Exactly. Branwyn is obsessed with revenge, but he's not a chess master. He's a hammer. This is the coordinated legal assaults, the deep financial probes, the corporate timing, th

POV: AdrianThe warehouse smelled of dust and old machinery which is perfect. It was Marcus’s doing, the loyal former COO Amelia had contacted. It was our operational hub, tucked away in a remote industrial park, powered by generators and shielded by Marcus’s quiet influence. Amelia was in the next room, coordinating her public return with my father's PR team. I was focused on the fight."Julius, let's talk strategy," I said into the secure line, pacing the concrete floor. "Lyra is invoking Clause 7B, Emergency Asset Divestiture. She's moving too fast. How do we slow her down?"Julius Anderson, his voice sharp and precise, didn't hesitate. "Legally, we can't. The board's proxy vote gives her authority until Amelia can return and rally the shareholders. Our only immediate move is to destroy her credibility. We need the smoking gun that proves she's acting against the company's interest, not just Amelia's.""We have the evidence of the old Branwyn Hayes bribe," I reminded him."It's a s

Adrian's POV "The account is a ghost. It vanishes in the Cayman Islands."I slammed my fist softly on the table in our secret hub. The frustration was a hot, bitter taste. I stood with Julius Anderson and David, our IT expert, staring at the financial tracking screen. Lyra had been brilliant. She'd moved the initial corporate kickback money through so many shell companies it disappeared into thin air."Julius, your forensic team is the best," I pressed. "Tell me there's a loophole. Lyra sold the initial asset, the one Amelia blocked later, to pay Branwyn. Where did that money go?""The transfer was initiated, Adrian," Julius explained, tapping the screen. "Lyra used a series of holding trusts controlled by Aegis Acquisitions. It’s layered perfectly. Every account holding the money is already closed. The trail is cold.""So she gets clean money for the assassination plot, and we get nothing?""We get a dead end. But we know why she did it," Julius countered. "This wasn't about quick c

Amelia's POV "We have to go. Now."I ripped the phone from Martha’s shaking hand, the name on the screen was the ultimate betrayal burning into my retinas. The shock was a cold, paralyzing wave. Not Branwyn. Not Lyra. Someone from Adrian's own family."Adrian," I whispered, turning to him. "Your father... he knows this person. We need to tell him.""We tell him nothing until we have the evidence," Adrian stated, his voice tight, his face a mask of iron control. He looked like a statue carved from granite. "This changes everything, Amelia. The Aegis group, the money trail, wasn't just corporate revenge; it was a move from the inside. They knew every step we'd take. We go to Pier 7. We will finish this."We drove in silence, the weight of the new enemy suffocating the air in the car. We were going into a den of thieves and murderers, and now we knew the highest level of the conspiracy wore a familiar face.We arrived at the Pier 7 warehouse thirty minutes ahead of the planned meeting t

Amelia's POV "She's finalizing the global sale right now!"I slammed the burner phone down on the car seat, my chest heaving. Lyra wasn't just attempting a takeover; she was executing a full-scale corporate ambush. Adrian's frantic voice telling me to stay safe was drowned out by the roar of the engine as my cab driver sped toward Hayes Corp headquarters."Faster!" I urged the driver. "There's a crisis!"Crisis was an understatement. Lyra had moved the vote. She had locked the building. She was selling my entire international portfolio—the heart of the company—to Branwyn Hayes to cover the cost of the murder. This wasn't about money anymore. This was about erasing me.I clutched my laptop bag, my weapon in this fight. Inside was the evidence: Brandon's confession, Julius Anderson's preliminary injunctions, and the digital proof of Lyra's deep corporate back door.The headquarters building loomed ahead, a glass monolith of power. I paid the driver and sprinted toward the entrance. Sec