The Heir's Vow

of the

e long, gravel driveway. Tony Anderson stared ahead, his eyes cold and unreadable behind dark sungla

lace reeked of privileg

coon- exiled him from the family after a scandal Tony didn't commit. One whisper of embezzlement,

gotten. And he sure as

the mansion, stepping out with the poise of a man who didn't fear ghos

arly startled. "Mr. Anderson.

one ever expects a storm u

ission, he walked past t

iskey. The grand chandelier glimmered above him, casting fractured light across the

oice that made

lly crawled out of whateve

at the base of the staircase in a tailored navy s

y's favorite, I see

bitter, Tony? I thought you were off trying

lowering. "I didn't come back t

s head. "Answer

"The file. The setup. Why I was thrown o

er. Otherwise, you're just the disgraced hei

ond, a familiar voice

on

fro

storm, across any distance. It

y, her lips slightly parted in surprise,

slo

n soft waves, her fitted cream dress clinging to her figure like it was made for her alone. B

's fi

ormer

ly, her voice barely a w

isted. "You're

en the two men. "I... I didn

bitterness sharpening his tone. "

e. "You left her, remember?

f Sandy. "I never left her.

s. Sandy looked like she wanted to say something-anything

"Tough luck. But hey-if you're staying, you'll have a f

t burned. "Don't get too comfortable, Jason. I'm n

s smil

y walke

that

nge. Dust clung to the edges, but everything else remained unto

the old silver key taped beneath

it into h

out truth. He would uncover every rotten secret t

led him ba

ep down, even he couldn't deny the truth: He hadn't just come back to d

rn, the estate settled into an uneasy calm- like a house that knew a storm had ju

ame layout he remembered- roses his mother once cared for blooming under the moonlight, untouched by time. But that w

ck broke h

pen, revealing Sandy, standin

ou'd want to see me

the railing. "I didn't

the door behind her. "

still there, glinting under the chandelier's d

aze and sighed. "I

laugh. "So was us. But we didn't get to

r a year. You disappeared. No calls. No letters. You

was set up, and my father made it very clear I was no longer w

uld have

d to pro

he whispered, "y

arpened the distance into something razor-thin and d

wering his voice. "Are

rs brimming but not falli

ked at that. "

over her chest. "Jason was there when everything fell

ndy. Not the way I did.

years vanished. The fire between them f

," she whispered, ba

now, it would be more than a reunion-it would be betray

pped out, she turn

ut if you really were set up...

Anderson

y stil

ng the door behind him. The room smelled of cedar, scotch, and secret

ar the left bookshelf. He pried it up with a p

marked Anderson Holdin

verything

eipts, emails, a list of offshore transfer

aw cl

t him up. Taken his name, his po

footsteps outside the

in the doorway, older

you'd find that

own. "You knew. Y

what I had to. The board was circling like

s you

"And you loved Sandy more than the

a fist. "You exiled me t

ink this is about you? This is

is is about corruption. And I'm going

u expose this, you don't just rui

ve wavered f

har

et it a