He Dumped Me For a Heiress, Unaware I Owned His Whole Legacy Chapter 05

He Dumped Me For a Heiress, Unaware I Owned His Whole Legacy Chapter 05

Ewan’s gaze stayed fixed on the black Rolls-Royce.

This was his critical chance to silence all the old board members.

If he secured the investment from the Hale Group, his position as heir would finally be unshakable.

But the second he spotted me stepping out of my brother’s car, all color drained from his face in an instant.

Liora was the first to cry out in shock.

“Elowen, how are you getting out of Mr. Hale’s car!”

“Where is Mr. Hale?!”

I watched the stunned expressions spread across their faces, but no flicker of satisfaction stirred inside me.

No matter how thoroughly I won today, my child would never come back.

Liora hiked up her gown and stormed over to me, seething with rage.

“It wasn’t enough for you to seduce Ewan, now you’ve resorted to manipulating Mr. Hale for status.”

She assumed my brother was still hidden inside the vehicle and shouted toward the open door. “Mr. Hale, don’t let Elowen fool you. She’s always traded her body for personal gain. At the end of the day, she’s nothing but a shameless wh—”

Her words were cut short as Ewan dragged her backward.

He’d planned to rush forward and beg my brother for forgiveness, only to find the car completely empty.

He turned to me, his face livid.

“Elowen, why did you arrive in Mr. Hale’s car? What exactly have you told him?”

“Why wouldn’t he show up for such an important day?”

Even now, all he cared about was that I’d badmouthed him to my brother and ruined their partnership.

When I stayed silent, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me aside, lowering his voice.

“Stop this tantrum, Elowen. I know you’ve suffered unfair treatment through all this.”

“But if you clear things up with Mr. Hale, I’ll appoint you general manager of one of our branch offices. I’ll even set you up with Silas. You’ll still be a Mrs. Knight in the end.”

I ripped my arm free from his grip.

His smug, self-assured look struck me as utterly ridiculous.

“Clear up what? The fact that the two of you framed me for plagiarizing my own project? Or that you drained the life from my unborn child just to save Liora?”

“Ewan, my last name is Hale. So is Rowan’s. Who do you think I am?”

The moment the words left my mouth, Ewan’s face blanched.

He stared at me in disbelief.

“What are you saying? Elowen, have you lost your mind? How dare you claim to be the Hale family’s heiress—are you throwing your life away?!”

I smiled, then raised my voice for the reporters rushing over nearby to hear.

“I suppose I should properly introduce myself. I’m Elowen Hale, younger sister to Rowan Hale, the head of Hale Pharmaceuticals. I’m the sole heiress of the Hale family.”

The reporters erupted into chaos, camera flashes firing nonstop in my face.

Ewan froze completely, his lips trembling.

“That can’t be true. You’re lying to me.”

“You were a penniless orphan with no one to rely on. You didn’t even have a hundred dollars to your name when you first arrived in Maplewood. There’s no way you’re the Hale family’s heiress!”

He was right. Five years prior, I’d run away from an arranged marriage and fled to Maplewood with nothing.

Cornered by a gang of thugs, I’d had no choice but to jump off a bridge to escape them.

If Ewan hadn’t pulled me out, I would have died that day.

That was why I’d fallen for him—the first person I laid eyes on after waking up.

I’d set out to win his heart.

To hide from the men my brother had sent to track me down, I joined the Knight Group as an ordinary new graduate and started dating Ewan.

We’d been together for a year when my brother finally tracked me down and demanded I return home.

He’d warned me the Knight family was tangled in messy power struggles, and Ewan was far more complicated than he appeared.

But I’d refused to listen.

To stay by Ewan’s side, I’d made a wager with my brother, testing whether Ewan truly loved me. If Ewan chose to marry me knowing I had no family or fortune to my name, I would get to decide my own marriage.

I’d stood beside Ewan every step of the way as he built up his status.

Yet he’d written me off as a girl with no connections, hurting me over and over without mercy.

Watching him crumble before my eyes, I let out a quiet laugh.

“Ewan, is it that you can’t believe it, or that you’re too afraid to?”

“After all, if I am the Hale family’s heiress, every single thing you’ve fought tooth and nail for becomes nothing more than a ridiculous joke.”