Bye Loser! Love, Daddy's Heiress - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

LOTHARIO'S POV
"Nothing."
I clenched my jaw and slammed the folder onto my desk. I'd spent all night combing through every database, every record—nothing. Cressida Lancaster didn't exist before last year. How the hell was that possible? A new CEO taking over one of Anderson Corporation's biggest subsidiaries should've left some kind of paper trail. But there was nothing—no interviews, no background, no history. It was like she'd materialized out of thin air.
I let out a sharp exhale, rubbing my temple. Last night played on a loop in my head—Pearl—no, Cressida—standing on that stage, poised and untouchable, looking straight through me like I was nothing. It was her. I knew it. The same woman who'd once cried for me, bled for me, now acting like she owned the damn world. How? How the fuck had she pulled this off?
A loud crash yanked me from my thoughts. I turned just in time to see a wine glass explode against the floor. Alessia stood in the middle of the living room, fury twisting her face.
I sighed. Here we go.
"You're just going to sit there?" she spat, her voice shrill. "They're calling me a liar!"
I leaned back, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Alessia, calm down—"
"Don't tell me to calm down, Lothario!" she shrieked. "This is your fault!"
I arched a brow. "My fault?"
"Yes! If you'd just made a statement already, this wouldn't be happening!"
I exhaled slowly, my patience fraying. "I'll handle it."
Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, really? Because all I see is you obsessing over her."
I went still. She'd noticed. The distraction. The way my focus kept circling back to Pearl—no, Cressida.
I gritted my teeth. "That has nothing to do with this."
Alessia let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, please. You looked like you'd seen a ghost when Sullivan called her name."
My fingers twitched. I remembered that moment too well—the split second of pure shock when Taurus Sullivan turned to her and said, "Cressida Lancaster, a pleasure to finally meet you." I'd frozen. And Alessia had seen it.
She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "You knew it was her, didn't you?"
I stayed silent.
Her lips curled into a sneer. "She played you." She tilted her head mockingly. "Oh, how does it feel, Lothario? To be discarded?"
I shot up from my chair so fast she flinched. Her smugness flickered. Good.
I took a step forward, my voice dangerously low. "Watch yourself, Alessia."
She swallowed but quickly masked it with a scoff. "You're pathetic. Chasing after a woman who hates you while I'm the one standing beside you."
I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. "I don't have time for this."
She laughed bitterly. "Of course you don't."
I turned away, done with the argument. My mind had bigger problems—like figuring out what Pearl—no, Cressida—was planning next. Because one thing was certain. She wasn't finished with me yet.
The door burst open.
Before I could snap, my secretary spoke. "Sir, there's a problem."
I lifted my head slowly. "I am not in the mood. What problem?"
She hesitated, then slid a file onto my desk. "The stock market… it's bad."
I exhaled through my nose, already irritated. "How bad?"
She swallowed. "We've dropped nearly 15% in a single day. And…" She hesitated. "It looks like Cressida Lancaster's company is directly benefiting from it."
A sharp silence stretched between us.
I leaned forward, picking up the papers. My grip tightened. She was strangling me—suffocating my company in broad daylight, and no one even saw it coming. Smart.
I tossed the papers aside, jaw locked. "Get me a meeting with Alexander Anderson."
My secretary stiffened. "Sir, that might be—"
"I don't care." My tone left no room for argument. "Do it."
Before she could leave, Alessia cut in smoothly. "No need."
She smiled, tilting her head in that way she always did when she wanted to remind me of her importance. "I'll call him myself."
Some of the tension eased. Alessia was Alexander Anderson's daughter—the only reason I'd secured this engagement in the first place. If anyone could get him on my side, it was her.
She pulled out her phone, stepping away like she was about to make the call.
I sighed, rubbing my temple, exhaustion settling deep in my bones.
This wasn't supposed to happen. I'd built everything from the ground up. Fought for my place at the top. I should've been untouchable.
And yet—Cressida Lancaster.
No—Pearl.
She was everywhere. In my business, in my head, in my goddamn veins like a poison I couldn't purge.
I leaned back in my chair, shutting my eyes for just a second. But the moment I did, she was there.
Pearl.
That quiet woman who'd stood by my side for six years. The one I'd never really seen. The woman who'd once carried my child.
I tried to remember the details—tried to think of something, anything, about her that wasn't just convenient.
What was her favorite flower? Her favorite food? Her birthday?
My stomach twisted when I came up blank.
I knew Alessia like the back of my hand—every designer brand she worshipped, every spoiled habit, every craving for overpriced wine.
But Pearl? Nothing. Because I'd never needed to know.
She wasn't demanding. She never asked for a thing. She'd worked herself raw for me, stayed beside me when I was nothing, and I'd taken it all without a second thought.
And now? She'd become something beyond my reach. A woman I didn't even recognize.
Alessia's voice pulled me back. She turned, slipping her phone into her bag. "He'll consider it."
I exhaled slowly. "Good."
She smiled, stepping closer, draping her arms over my shoulders. "See? You don't have to worry. I'll always take care of you, amore mio."
I didn't respond.
Because for the first time in years, I wasn't sure she could.