All Chapters of THE BILLIONAIRE'S SECRET HEIR: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The elevator glided effortlessly upwards, its metallic walls echoing a dozen Aria Morgans—dozens of serene, poised, composed Aria Morgans. There was only one who really existed, and she was trying not to breathe.Vale Industries.That name by itself could buy and sell her entire life ten times over.She evened out her blazer for the fifth time, the leather folder containing six months' worth of unpaid rent, three rejected proposals, and one remaining hope held tight within it. Her marketing firm would live if Damian Vale said yes. Otherwise. she'd be freelancing again, just scraping together enough money to buy groceries.The elevator beeped.She stepped into the thirty-seventh floor — a steel and glass cathedral that carried the faint perfume of power and money. Receptionists glided on autopilot; assistants in impeccably pressed suits murmured into discreet earpieces. Aria picked up on the building's beat before she spotted him.Damian Vale.He stood at the doorway as if the room its

The email arrived at 6:07 a.m.Aria had barely slept last night – her mind racing with every word, every glance Damian Vale gave her in dinner conversation. The subject line was simple:VALE INDUSTRIES – PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE & CONTRACT ENCLOSEDHer breath caught in surprise. She clicked before thinking.The words were brief—this was the kind of exactness she was beginning to link with Damian.> *Miss Morgan,*Vale IndustriesFormally accepting: Your proposal on the Global Branding InitiativeA contract has been attached to this e-mail.Please sign it and return it in twenty-four hours.Welcome to the Future> — D. ValeThere was no “Congratulations.” No nice business small talk. Only “Welcome to the future.”The words sent a chill right through her.She scanned it page after page, her eyes darting over the words, slowing only with the numbers:Five million dollars.“An initial investment that would be worth more than every single client she'd ever landed combined.” Her company would be

The morning after, Vale Tower rose before him like a fortress of glass and ambition.She was standing on the pavement, coffee in one hand and the other full of courage, to go to this new “workspace” in the company headquarters that she was invited to, or rather, ordered to go to. None of it was in the contract, but most things that Damian Vale decided were not in contracts either.She stepped through the revolving doors and was met with the scent of cedar and power in the lobby. The receptionists' bodies seemed to move in perfect sync, the very air thick with efficiency. Meanwhile, the receptionist smiled with the demeanor of one who knew where power was and who was fortunate enough to be around it.“Miss Morgan,” the woman said, “Mr. Vale asked me to show you to your office.”*My office.*“That phrase still felt unreal."They took her to the thirty-sixth floor, one floor below Damian’s, to a modern suite with glass walls and subtle illumination. Minimalist decor. Views of the city. A

The invitation showed up at 6:17 p.m.Not via email.Not through an assistant.Not even on the company website.It arrived as a text message.Damian Vale: Dinner tonight. No press. No board members. Just us.Damian Vale: I think it’s time you understood what you’re working with… and who you’re working against.Aria gazed at her phone even after the display dimmed.For several weeks, something had felt wrong at Vale Industries. Too many delays within the company. Too many hush-hush meetings that stopped when she walked in. Too many glances exchanged behind glass partitions.Enemies, he had mentioned.She typed at a slow pace.Aria: Is this business?Three dots appeared. Then vanished. Then—Damian: It begins as business. What it turns into depends on how much you’re prepared to see.Her heart raced.She ought to have turned it down.She should have requested a conference room, a notepad, witnesses.Instead, she typed back:Aria: Where?---The private dining area provided a view of the

The sirens outside continued to blare.They screamed from a distance beyond the glass confines of Vale Industries, persistent but far away, filling the atmosphere with a sense of tension that refused to dissipate. Aria positioned herself by the window, arms tightly crossed over her body, observing the flickering red and blue lights against the dark cityscape.“Are they on their way here?” she inquired.Damian concluded his phone call and slipped it into his pocket. His expression was calm, but she had gained enough insight in the past hours to see through the facade.“No,” he replied. “Not yet.”That yet hung in the air.“Then what has changed?” she urged.Damian approached her slowly, thoughtfully—as if each step was chosen with precision. “One of our offshore accounts was accessed,” he stated. “It was not breached. It was accessed.”Her heart raced. “That’s not possible. Those credentials belong to—”“—three individuals only,” he interrupted. “And one of them has been deceased for t