Chapter 9
716words
He waved dismissively, and guards dragged Ethan's body away.
"You're smarter than he was," he finally said, voice rough.
"Thanks for the compliment," I replied emotionlessly. "Now, about my money and new identity?"
"Yes," he nodded. "But the child stays."
I laughed.
"Mr. Grant, I think you misunderstand the situation." I stared directly into his eyes without flinching. "I'm dictating terms now, not you."
"On what grounds?"
"Because I know something you don't." I enunciated each word carefully. "A secret about your precious grandson."
William's brows furrowed deeply.
"He isn't Benjamin's child."
My words hit him like a thunderbolt.
The color drained from his face.
"You're… lying!"
"Am I?" I asked coldly. "Was it really Benjamin's sperm used for my insemination? Or did you use a… healthier donor to ensure success?"
William's body began to tremble slightly.
I'd discovered this secret by chance, overhearing nurses gossiping in the medical villa.
Victoria had secretly used sperm from a healthy donor with genetics similar to Benjamin's—ensuring the pregnancy would succeed.
That donor was Ethan.
My child wasn't truly the Grant heir.
He was Ethan's son.
In William's eyes, the child of a bastard.
"How could you possibly know this?" William's voice shook with disbelief.
"I know far more than you imagine," I said with a cold smile. "So tell me, do you still want this child? This bastard carrying the bloodline you despise most?"
William's face flushed dark with rage.
He stared at my baby, his eyes warring between disgust, conflict, and unmistakable longing.
He hated Ethan. He hated Victoria.
But this child still carried Grant blood, however tainted the connection.
He was old.
He needed an heir for his empire.
"You win."
After a long silence, he slumped back in his wheelchair like a deflated balloon.
He motioned, and someone tossed a black briefcase and document folder at my feet.
"Two hundred million and Canadian identities. Enough for you and that bastard to disappear forever." His voice dripped with exhaustion and disgust. "Now get out and never show your face again."
I opened the case, verifying the neatly stacked bills.
Then I picked up the document folder.
But I didn't leave.
Instead, I tore the identity papers and passport to shreds before his eyes.
William Grant stared in shock.
"What are you doing?"
"I told you—I set the terms now." I scattered the shreds and ground them under my heel.
"I don't want your money or your charity."
"I want twenty percent of Grant Group shares."
"In exchange for this child."
Deathly silence fell over the dock.
Everyone stared at me like I was insane.
William trembled with rage, pointing a shaking finger but unable to speak.
"You—you're completely delusional!"
"That's not for you to decide." I stepped toward him slowly, cradling my child.
"You have no choice, William. You're old, Benjamin is ruined, and the Grant line ends with you. Without my son, your life's work falls to outsiders like Wilson Group."
"Give me the shares, and I promise he'll bear the Grant name and become your perfect heir. I'll raise him to be fiercer and stronger than you ever were."
"And I'll become your largest shareholder, ruling from behind the throne, protecting your legacy."
"Or refuse—and I'll jump into the harbor with him right now. We'll both die, and you can watch your empire crumble to dust with no heir to inherit it."
I stood at the dock's edge, black waves churning below.
Wind whipped my hair wildly around my face.
Holding my child, I stood like some dark goddess of fate.
William stared with such intensity it felt like he was trying to burn holes through me.
We locked eyes like two predators in a death struggle.
Whoever blinked first would lose.
In the end, he broke first.
He closed his eyes in defeat.
"…Fine."
The word squeezed through his clenched teeth.
I smiled.
Tears of triumph streamed down my face.
Do you see this, Ethan?
This is true victory.
Not running. Not hiding.
But crushing those who tried to crush me.
Taking what they valued most and making it mine.
I, Olivia Lane, am no longer a disposable vessel.
From today, I am queen.
The only queen of this dark empire.
