All Chapters of The Heirs She Denied: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Everyone was staring at me.The scandal had cut clean through the weight of the funeral.Damon Price stood pressed against Vanessa Carlisle's arm, the two of them arranged like husband and wife, and he put on his most considerate voice."Julian, why don't you go home and rest? Everyone's watching you. That can't feel good. There's no reason to give people a show on a day this important."Vanessa reached over, unpinned the black family ribbon from my lapel, and took the white rose out of my breast pocket."Damon's looking out for you. Staying here only embarrasses you."He brought Dad's granddaughter with him. He belongs up front more than you do."Her voice stayed quiet, but there was no room in it to argue.Five years of silence between us, and this was the most she'd said to me in all of it.We'd become strangers who knew exactly where to cut.In the beginning her affairs left me frantic, sleepless, hollowed out, barely able to function. Now I could look at her and feel not

Chapter 2

Vanessa's face darkened. I'd refused to cover for her in public.Damon laid a sudden, careful hand on her stomach."Honey, don't work yourself up. Think about the baby."At the word baby, Vanessa clapped a hand over her mouth."Ugh."The dry heave was unmistakable.Evelyn caught it instantly and hurried over to steady her."You're pregnant?"Vanessa nodded, still looking green."I was going to wait until after Dad's service to tell you. I didn't think carrying a boy would make me this sick."I was never this bad with Lily."At the word boy, the grief went out of Evelyn's face and something like joy took its place."Why didn't you say something sooner? This is the most important thing that's happened to this family in years."Damon made a show of respecting the occasion."Today's about Harold. We can talk about it later." He glanced at me like a wounded man."I really should go."Vanessa wouldn't have it. "Go? You gave this family a granddaughter, and now you're giving u

Chapter 3

Claire had been gone five years, and hearing her brought up still closed my throat.I was about to tell Vanessa exactly what she'd done when Marcus came up beside her with a grim look."Ms. Carlisle. Crownridge University Medical Center says Mr. Cross's sister died five years ago."Shock hit her eyes.Then the disbelief curdled into a bitter laugh."So that's why you're so calm. She was already gone."Evelyn pushed forward impatiently and cut her off."Why are you still wasting breath on him?"You've lived apart for five years. There's nothing left of this marriage. If your father hadn't kept stopping me, I'd have pushed you into divorce court years ago."She paused and looked me over with disgust. "He's been an embarrassment to this family long enough. We're done tolerating him."A man with that little shame should be out on the street today."She turned to the Carlisle household manager."Walter, get him off every property we own and put his things on the curb."And call

Chapter 4

My attorney, who also runs my office, came up the aisle with one of my sons in each hand. Lena Bishop.Both boys wore small black suits with the family ribbon pinned to the lapel.Every guest in the room turned to look.Vanessa was the most stunned of anyone, as though the ground had reversed under her, and she searched my face for an answer.Evelyn got past her shock and straight into fury, jabbing a finger between me and the boys."You piece of garbage. You didn't just cheat on Vanessa. You went out and made two bastards."You have no respect for this family at all. Watch what I do to you and those children."Damon fed the fire. "Julian, I never took you for this. Humiliate yourself if you want, but why drag kids into it?"You're not planning to pass these two off as Vanessa's, are you? You've lived apart for five years, and those boys don't look a day under five."She hasn't laid eyes on you in all that time, let alone been in a bed with you. Drop it before you make this wo

Chapter 5

He'd finally asked the right question.So I told him."I'm here for Harold's will. It leaves forty percent of the estate to his grandson."Two grandsons, eighty percent. He left my boys a fortune. The least we can do is stand up front and see him off."Damon's jaw locked hard enough to distort his face."You're forgetting Vanessa and I have children. She's carrying a Carlisle grandson right now."You don't get this family's money just because you want it."Remarkable, getting lectured about entitlement by the man she'd been cheating with."You're the one who wants it. Harold's will says his daughter's children, born in her marriage. Not children from an affair."You could give her a hundred more and you still wouldn't see a dollar of it."It landed. Damon's face went gray and he turned to Vanessa in a hurry.He was still holding on to the fantasy that if she loved him enough, all of it would somehow end up his.Vanessa hadn't moved.She was looking at the boys' faces, and

Chapter 6

"For their sake. Can we sit down and talk?"After all these years, she'd finally learned to ask instead of order.I didn't need it anymore.I glanced over at Lena getting out of her car."I don't have time. Talk to my attorney. She handles everything for me."Vanessa followed my eyes to Lena, and her expression went sour on the spot.Lena handed her a card, all business."I represent Jules. Anything you need, you bring it to me."Vanessa's brows drew together. "Jules?"She let out a short, humorless sound.She minded that name coming out of Lena's mouth, and it showed. She looked at the card the way you'd look at something picked up off the ground."My marriage isn't your business, Ms. Bishop."Lena's mouth curved."At the funeral you threatened to cut off his sister's medication and ship him to a detention compound overseas. Is that what a marriage looks like now?"Vanessa's face darkened. She had an answer half formed when her phone rang.One word on the screen. Husban

Chapter 7

She came after me anyway."Julian Cross! Why do you always decide I'm guilty before you hear me out? Why can't we just talk?"The door answered her.She hit it once, hard, and in the end Damon's phone call pulled her away.Lena arrived just after I'd gotten the boys down.She was serious about it. "Aaron and Lucas will take under Harold's will without any trouble. The paperwork's clean."I let out a breath and nodded. "Thank you."She started to say something, stopped, started again, and finally got it out."Are you really going to live like this? With that hanging around your neck? I could try to get her to agree to a divorce."I smiled a little, because I didn't accept the premise."Why would you call my life unbearable? I've got two smart, sweet boys, a career, and ninety percent of the Carlisle estate."It suits me fine."As for Vanessa, she isn't in my heart and she isn't in my life. There's nothing she can do to me now."And I know her better than you do. She'll neve

Chapter 8

"There was no young actor. You think a dead man makes it unprovable? It was Damon."Panic went through her eyes, and she kept lying anyway."He had nothing to do with it. I know it bothers you that he exists. I'll send him overseas. He won't come back."I've thought about us constantly. I do have feelings for you. I was angry, that's all. Five years, and you wouldn't bend an inch. You blocked every number I had."I didn't understand how big this had gotten, or why you hated me. That's on me."I want to make it up to you and the boys. We don't have to be what we were. Please."I looked at that nervous, humbled face and felt nothing at all. I told her calmly."No. The boys and I have done very well without you."I don't care how many men you have. I don't care how many children you have with them."I want things exactly as they are. Live however you want. Just stay away from my sons and me, and I won't interfere with you."That's all I've got. Do us both a favor and keep some d

Chapter 9

I put my people on every movement Damon Price had made.He was the only name that made sense.Three hours later one of the watches came back online and put my sons on an empty stretch of coast called Driftwood Point.My people also confirmed that Damon had vanished completely.That settled it. I went for the coast with police and my own security behind me.We found him lowering each of my boys into a heavy plastic drum with concrete blocks wired to the outside.He was going to roll them into the water and let them drown."Damon!"My heart came up into my throat. The shout stopped his hands.He lost his grip and the drum went over. Aaron rolled out onto the wet sand and didn't move.A wave broke over him.Police weapons came up on Damon's chest and his head."Damon Price, you're surrounded. Step away from the children."He panicked. He knew he was finished, and he started laughing, wild, and pointed at me."Don't think you've won, Julian."You'll never win. You made her c

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