Oops! Keep the Fiancé… I’m Taking the Fake Heiress Chapter 09

Oops! Keep the Fiancé… I’m Taking the Fake Heiress Chapter 09

The Shaws moved faster than I expected.

The next morning, my phone was flooded with financial-news alerts.

[FORD GROUP DEFAULTS ON MAJOR CREDIT FACILITIES; BANKS FREEZE ACCOUNTS.]

[FORD DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS SUSPENDED; SUPPLIERS DEMAND IMMEDIATE PAYMENT.]

[ETHAN FORD AND ROBERT FORD NAMED IN MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR CREDITOR ACTION.]

I scrolled through the reports and found Ethan’s photograph splashed across one of the lead stories.

He was wearing the same dark blue suit from the gala.

The camera had caught him at an unflattering angle, making his face look slightly distorted.

The headline beneath it read:

[FORD HEIR FACES MILLIONS IN DEBT AS COURT RESTRICTS ACCESS TO ASSETS.]

I almost laughed.

lan was always meticulous.

He had reviewed the Ford family’s books and discovered that Ethan’s father had spent years using company

funds to cover losses from reckless private investments.

The business looked prosperous from the outside.

In reality, it had been bleeding cash for years.

Shaw Industries had only needed to withdraw its supplier guarantees and cut off the company’s most critical

upstream support.

It was like severing the thickest root of an already dying tree.

After that, all we had to do was watch it fall.

Ethan’s father suffered a stroke from the stress that afternoon and was rushed into intensive care.

Ethan spent the entire night crouched in the hospital corridor.

When reporters photographed him the following day, his hair was a tangled mess.

Deep shadows hung beneath his eyes.

His designer shirt was wrinkled and stained.

The Grants were doing better than the Fords, but not by much.

Grant Holdings and Ford Group had partnered on two real-estate developments.

When Ford financing collapsed, both projects stalled.

Banks demanded additional collateral.

Partners, afraid of being trapped in the fallout, withdrew their investments.

Grant Holdings recorded an immediate loss of nearly forty million dollars.

Its cash flow had already been tight.

Now the company’s weakness was fully exposed.

Mr. Grant came to the Shaw estate on a cloudy afternoon.

He wore an old charcoal suit and carried two bottles of twenty-year-old single-malt Scotch.

He told the house manager he was there to see his biological daughter.

When the message reached me, I was sunbathing on the balcony with Vera.

She sat curled in a wicker chair, studying a book on fashion design.

Sunlight rested on her lashes, making her look as soft as a watercolor painting.

I glanced at her and told the house manager to let him in.

lan was the only one of my brothers at home.

He sat on the living-room sofa reviewing documents and didn’t even lift his head when Mr. Grant entered.

Mr. Grant gave an awkward smile and placed the Scotch on the coffee table.

“Mr. Shaw.”

lan turned a page and ignored him.

Mr. Grant’s embarrassment was written across his face.

He cleared his throat and turned to me, forcing a smile.

“Tessa, I came today because I wanted to discuss something important.”

He removed a stack of documents from his briefcase and spread them across the coffee table.

There was a copy of the DNA report and a set of Grant Holdings’ financial statements.

He arranged everything carefully, as though we were negotiating a legitimate business deal.

“Tessa, you are still the Grant family’s biological daughter.”

“Whatever has happened between us, that blood connection is real.”

“You can see that Grant Holdings is facing a difficult period.”

“I’m not asking you to forgive everything that happened.”

“I’m asking for a little help.”

“If you’re willing to have Shaw Industries invest in Grant Holdings, or transfer two projects to us, I’ll give you thirty percent of my shares.”

“You’ll have a formal voice in the company’s decisions.”

His gaze was earnest.

He looked like a desperate gambler pushing forward his final chips.

I listened quietly until he finished.

Then I spoke.

“The Ford family collapsed because of its own misconduct.”

“That had nothing to do with me.”

“As for Grant Holdings, I already showed restraint.”

I paused.

Hope flashed through Mr. Grant’s eyes.

Then I extinguished it.

“I asked my brothers to suspend two of your most profitable partnerships.”

“I did not ask every company connected to Shaw Industries to terminate its relationship with you.”

“Consider this a warning, not a catastrophe.”

“Do not set your sights on Vera again.”

“Do not use her name, her past, or her future in another one of your business calculations.”

“If I discover that you have, the next response won’t stop at two projects.”

The smile on Mr. Grant’s face slowly collapsed.

He looked at me.

His lips parted as though he wanted to speak, but in the end, he swallowed the words.

He gathered the financial statements from the table and picked up the Scotch.

At the door, he paused.

His shoulders seemed slightly hunched.

Then he turned his head partway.

“Tessa, whether you believe me or not, I held you when you were born.”

I said nothing.

He left.

After the door closed, lan set down his documents and looked at me.

“Did that soften you?”

“No.”

lan didn’t press.

He simply pushed a glass of warm milk toward me.

I went upstairs carrying a new folder.

Inside were Vera’s certified birth records, state identification, new passport, updated banking documents, and the signed family settlement confirming that the Grants had no authority over her residence, finances, career, or personal decisions.

Her legal mailing address was now the Shaw estate.

I opened the door to Vera’s room.

She was still on the balcony, studying her design book.

She turned when she heard me.

Sunlight traced a soft golden edge around her silhouette.

“Vera.”

I handed her the folder.

“Everything belongs to you now.”

“Your identification.”

“Your passport.”

“Your accounts.”

“Your address.”

“No one can lock away your documents or control where you go ever again.”

Vera took the folder and opened it.

Her finger moved lightly over her name on the passport.

Her lashes trembled.

Then, without warning, tears fell.

One drop landed on the clear document sleeve and left a bright trail.

“Tessa…”

She looked up at me, her voice shaking.

I walked over and crouched in front of her.

Then I wiped her tears away.

“Don’t cry.”

“This is a good thing.”

“What are you crying for?”

She laughed through her tears.

The drops still clung to her face, making her look like a flower covered in morning dew.

She gripped my hand and nodded hard.

That evening, Mom made a full table of food.

During dinner, she kept piling food onto Vera’s plate.

“Eat more.”

“You need some color in your cheeks.”

“And look at those hands.”

“You were born to be a designer.”

At the word designer, Vera’s fork paused halfway to her mouth.

She lowered her head, took several bites, and said nothing.

After dinner, I went to the kitchen to help with the dishes.

Through the partially closed door, I heard Mom talking to Vera in the living room.

I leaned closer.

Mom’s voice was gentle.

“Vera, sweetheart, I wanted to mention something.”

“lan is only two years older than you.”

“He’s steady.”

“He knows how to care for people.”

“If the two of you get along and become interested in each other, perhaps you could give it a chance.”

I’m only mentioning the possibility.”

‘Don’t take it as pressure.”

“The decision would be entirely yours.”

I was about to open the door and rescue the conversation when Vera’s voice suddenly rose.

It was the first time I’d ever heard her lose control in front of Mom.

I don’t want another marriage arranged for me!”

A cup struck the coffee table.

Then Vera immediately began apologizing.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to speak to you like that.”

“I just…”

“I don’t want to be passed between families like a business asset ever again.”

Mom quickly took her hand.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

“I would never trade you for anything.”

“I only thought your personalities might suit each other.”

“Your life is your own.”

“You decide what you want to do.”

“The Shaw family will always support you.”

“Don’t panic.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I should have chosen my words more carefully.”