Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 428:

Still, Chris had no clue what Kolton had traded in return for that world-class tech.

It left him with no choice but to mask his abilities, to live as a shadow of himself just to keep from tipping his hand.

ST wasn’t built to take on Kolton. It was built for whoever was behind him.

The image of Laurence’s pleading eyes surged into Chris’ thoughts, and with it came a wave of fury so fierce that it nearly drowned him. He’d only escaped Kolton’s grasp as a child because Laurence had intervened.noveldrama

Laurence had sacrificed his position as Cooper Group’s patriarch to buy Chris one slim chance at survival.

“I’ve made up my mind, Maxwell. This time, I’m all in.”

Snapping back from the tide of memory, Chris looked at Maxwell and said, “Even if I can’t bring down the whole Cooper Group, I’ll make Kolton bleed. And if I can draw out the person shielding him, even better. Besides, this is also for Maia.”

“For Maia?” Maxwell blinked, thinking that he’d misheard. “What’s going on with her? She’s already a powerhouse. Does she still need backup?”

Every year, per Chris’ orders, Maxwell planted people at the Cooper Group’s annual cocktail event to sniff out business trends and strategic shifts. So last night’s news had traveled fast — Maia had dominated the scene and even won over the Aurora Apparel Company from the Cooper Group.

Maxwell hadn’t expected Chris to show up at all. He usually stayed far from events like that. So, was his presence tied to Maia?

It struck Maxwell then that he’d never seen Chris so invested in any woman.

At first, Chris’ decision to marry someone with a prison record had baffled him. But once he uncovered Maia’s capabilities — her sharp mind, her hidden roles — he’d figured that maybe Chris had seen her potential from the start. Maybe it was all part of a grander plan to use her as a weapon against Kolton.

A powerful alliance, maybe? But now, hearing the shift in Chris’ tone, Maxwell sensed that there might be real emotion behind his words for Maia. Could it be real?

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗀ⱥ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀꞉ⅽ𝗈𝗆

Chris had always worn the image of a womanizer like armor, but most of those flings were shallow — mutual arrangements, nothing more. Plenty had tried to blur the lines between pretend and real, but Chris had perfected the skill of staying detached. Whether faced with a sultry temptress or a wide-eyed ingenue, no matter their tactics — or how far they pushed — he never wavered. He was like a fortress that no one could breach.

Maxwell had always respected that.

But with Maia, Chris had changed.

They hadn’t even known each other that long. Maxwell couldn’t quite wrap his head around how someone as hardened as Chris was suddenly beginning to shift.

Chris said, “Last night, Maia humiliated Kolton in front of Wront’s top business players. She cornered him into making a public pledge that the Cooper Group wouldn’t retaliate — but I know Kolton. He’s crafty, the kind who plays ten moves ahead. I’m afraid he’ll send those covert operatives — the ones he borrowed from the person secretly supporting him — to go after Maia. If anything happens, the trail will be invisible. No ties to him. No ties to the Cooper Group.”

Maxwell’s face hardened as realization dawned. Yeah, that sounded like Kolton.

Those operatives worked like ghosts under his command. Even with an investigation, there’d be no way to link those operatives back to the Cooper Group.

“So, your plan is to stir things up for Kolton, force him to focus on us instead, and keep him too busy to go after Maia. Basically, we’re the bait — pulling the spotlight away from her,” Maxwell said, catching on quickly.

Lately, all that gaming with Marisa had sharpened his strategic thinking.

Chris let out a low chuckle. “Getting smarter, are you?”

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