Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 979: He continued in a serious tone, "Promise me. From now on, don't recklessly put yourself in danger, and I'll increase your monthly allowance by ten thousand dollars." That finally earned a small smile from Marisa. "Deal! I'll be more careful from now on - no more close calls, I promise." Just as that rare moment of warmth settled between them, movement stirred in the distance. From the shadows, Tyrant suddenly pushed himself upright. He hadn't lost consciousness after all.

His glare burned with rage as he locked eyes on the path Chris had taken - and without warning, he sprinted after him. Maxwell's voice cracked with alarm. "Oh no - he's not finished!" There was no doubt about it. Tyrant was headed straight for Maia and Chris. Reacting on instinct, Maxwell spun around and bolted after him. "Have you lost your mind? Come back here!" Marisa's panicked voice chased after him. But her brother, who had no real combat skills to speak of, was already gone. And there was no pulling him back now.

Maxwell had already vanished down the shadowy corridor, swallowed by the dark. Eyes turned next - this time landing squarely on Baylor. "What?" Baylor blinked and scratched his head, clearly confused. "Why are you all staring at me?" That was enough to send Ethan over the edge. Even if his marriage to Maia was all for show, this wasn't the time to just stand around doing nothing. "You're not hurt, so why are you just standing there? Go outside and call the cops already! Can't you see what kind of shape my sister's in? Ugh - seriously!" Baylor's face twisted with surprise.

"What are you talking about? Your sister was here?" Stay connected at gⱯlnσνℯs․com He genuinely had no idea. By now, the underground ring was nearly deserted, with only four of them remaining as the chaos faded away. Melanie's brows drew together at his words. Something wasn't adding up. Baylor looked genuinely baffled. And yet, Maia had been right in front of him. There was no way he hadn't seen her. Melanie's expression suddenly shifted, her eyes going wide as a thought struck her like a jolt. "Hold on!" Melanie grabbed Baylor's arm without hesitation, brows drawn tight.

"Answer me this - what's your wife's name?" The strange question caught Ethan's attention, too. He turned toward them, eyebrows raised in confusion. Clearly thrown off, Baylor blinked rapidly, struggling to make sense of what was happening. The question rattled him more than he expected. "Destinee Watson. Why? What's this about?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze. His eyes grew wide. "Wait... don't tell me... you're not her family?" Ethan stared at him, stunned. Could they really have gotten it wrong this entire time?

Not trusting what he'd just heard, Ethan stepped forward and asked again, "You're saying your wife isn't Maia Watson - my sister?" "Of course not! Someone like Maia? No way I'd be married to her. I mean - look at me! I'm not even in her league." Baylor shook his head, still rambling. "Perfect. I wanted your help getting Destinee to divorce me. And now? That whole plan just fell apart." For a brief second, everything froze. A wave of dizziness washed over Melanie, and her knees nearly gave out beneath her. She never imagined they'd blunder this badly.

Worse yet, she'd thrown herself into danger for it. Trying to steady her breath, she turned to Ethan with visible discomfort. "I... I think... we went after the wrong guy." The entire mess traced back to one thing - the faulty intel from that private investigator. Melanie's jaw clenched with frustration. In her head, she cursed without holding back, "Cade, you better pray you've got a damn good excuse." That could wait. Right now, she had to track down her confiscated phone and get in touch with her father, Hurst. Elsewhere, the night wind screamed through the air, wild and sharp.

Moving quickly, Chris kept a firm grip on Maia, her body resting gently in his arms. Maia remained still, eyes shut tight. Her lashes gave the faintest twitch, and beads of sweat had already begun to form on her brow. They hadn't gotten far - only a short distance ahead - when a loud, heavy rhythm of footsteps echoed from behind. "Hold it right there!" Tyrant's voice slammed through the silence like a landslide. "I'm not finished. This fight isn't over." The shame of losing had cut deeper than any wound. He refused to let it end like this. Not without revenge. Chris froze in place. . . .