His Heir, Her Secret - Chapter 31: Chapter 31
You are reading His Heir, Her Secret, Chapter 31: Chapter 31. Read more chapters of His Heir, Her Secret.
Isla
There’s a particular kind of fear that doesn’t scream—it whispers. It doesn’t rush through you like a storm. No. It creeps. Crawls. It settles under your skin and stays there, coiling itself around your spine like a question you don’t want answered.
And that’s exactly how I felt the morning we opened the front door to find him standing on the steps.
Damon Connolly.
Leo was in the kitchen with Lucien’s housekeeper, munching on strawberries. The sun was slanting through the windows. Everything had felt normal. Safe.
Until I opened the door.
He looked different—leaner, more calculated. His suit was expensive, but it hung off his frame like he wasn’t used to wearing power anymore. His eyes were just the same, though. Cold. Possessive. Dangerous.
“Hello, Isla,” he said, as if we were old friends.
I didn’t reply. My heart had already slammed against my ribs. My body went still, but my mind raced. Why was he here? How did he find me? What did he want?
“You’re not going to invite me in?” he asked with a mocking smile.
I stepped out, shutting the door behind me so Leo wouldn’t hear anything. My voice came out low and firm. “You need to leave.”
“Now, now,” he murmured, leaning against the stone archway. “Is that any way to greet the father of your child?”
My stomach dropped.
“You don’t get to say that,” I hissed. “You gave up that right years ago.”
He clicked his tongue. “But I didn’t know, did I? I had no idea you ran off with my son. That changes things.”
I glanced behind me, making sure the door stayed shut.
“He’s not your son,” I said. “You lost that chance the moment you tried to break me. The moment you raised your hand to—”
He moved fast—stepping forward, grabbing my wrist with a bruising grip. “I made mistakes,” he said through clenched teeth. “But I never would’ve let you walk away with my blood. That boy is mine.”
I ripped my hand free. “He’s mine. And you’re never going near him.”
“You think Vale can keep you safe?” he sneered. “He’s nothing but a spoiled billionaire playing house. I have connections. Judges. People who owe me favors. You don’t think I’ve already filed the paperwork for joint custody?”
The world tilted slightly.
“You’re bluffing,” I whispered.
He smiled slowly. “Am I?”
I wanted to scream. To lunge at him. But I remembered Leo’s laughter drifting from the kitchen just moments before. I couldn’t let Damon see me break.
“I’ll fight you,” I said, voice like steel. “In court. With every last breath in my body.”
He leaned closer, breath icy against my skin. “And I’ll drag your name through every tabloid from here to Geneva. You think Vale’s world won’t crumble if the press finds out he has a secret heir born out of scandal and lies?”
I stared him down. “That child is loved. Protected. You’ll never get to him.”
He smirked. “We’ll see.”
A voice broke through the air like a gunshot. “Step away from her.”
Lucien.
He was standing at the end of the hallway now, eyes dark and shoulders squared, every inch the man I knew Damon couldn’t intimidate. Marco was a shadow behind him, already moving forward.
Damon turned slowly, expression smoothing into something smug. “Ah. The big man himself.”
Lucien didn’t blink. “You have three seconds to disappear before my lawyers make you a ghost.”
Damon’s lip curled, but he didn’t speak. He looked between us, lingering on me, and then turned on his heel with one final promise:
“This isn’t over.”
He walked away like he already had a victory in his pocket.
But he had no idea what Lucien and I were willing to do to keep Leo safe.
There’s a particular kind of fear that doesn’t scream—it whispers. It doesn’t rush through you like a storm. No. It creeps. Crawls. It settles under your skin and stays there, coiling itself around your spine like a question you don’t want answered.
And that’s exactly how I felt the morning we opened the front door to find him standing on the steps.
Damon Connolly.
Leo was in the kitchen with Lucien’s housekeeper, munching on strawberries. The sun was slanting through the windows. Everything had felt normal. Safe.
Until I opened the door.
He looked different—leaner, more calculated. His suit was expensive, but it hung off his frame like he wasn’t used to wearing power anymore. His eyes were just the same, though. Cold. Possessive. Dangerous.
“Hello, Isla,” he said, as if we were old friends.
I didn’t reply. My heart had already slammed against my ribs. My body went still, but my mind raced. Why was he here? How did he find me? What did he want?
“You’re not going to invite me in?” he asked with a mocking smile.
I stepped out, shutting the door behind me so Leo wouldn’t hear anything. My voice came out low and firm. “You need to leave.”
“Now, now,” he murmured, leaning against the stone archway. “Is that any way to greet the father of your child?”
My stomach dropped.
“You don’t get to say that,” I hissed. “You gave up that right years ago.”
He clicked his tongue. “But I didn’t know, did I? I had no idea you ran off with my son. That changes things.”
I glanced behind me, making sure the door stayed shut.
“He’s not your son,” I said. “You lost that chance the moment you tried to break me. The moment you raised your hand to—”
He moved fast—stepping forward, grabbing my wrist with a bruising grip. “I made mistakes,” he said through clenched teeth. “But I never would’ve let you walk away with my blood. That boy is mine.”
I ripped my hand free. “He’s mine. And you’re never going near him.”
“You think Vale can keep you safe?” he sneered. “He’s nothing but a spoiled billionaire playing house. I have connections. Judges. People who owe me favors. You don’t think I’ve already filed the paperwork for joint custody?”
The world tilted slightly.
“You’re bluffing,” I whispered.
He smiled slowly. “Am I?”
I wanted to scream. To lunge at him. But I remembered Leo’s laughter drifting from the kitchen just moments before. I couldn’t let Damon see me break.
“I’ll fight you,” I said, voice like steel. “In court. With every last breath in my body.”
He leaned closer, breath icy against my skin. “And I’ll drag your name through every tabloid from here to Geneva. You think Vale’s world won’t crumble if the press finds out he has a secret heir born out of scandal and lies?”
I stared him down. “That child is loved. Protected. You’ll never get to him.”
He smirked. “We’ll see.”
A voice broke through the air like a gunshot. “Step away from her.”
Lucien.
He was standing at the end of the hallway now, eyes dark and shoulders squared, every inch the man I knew Damon couldn’t intimidate. Marco was a shadow behind him, already moving forward.
Damon turned slowly, expression smoothing into something smug. “Ah. The big man himself.”
Lucien didn’t blink. “You have three seconds to disappear before my lawyers make you a ghost.”
Damon’s lip curled, but he didn’t speak. He looked between us, lingering on me, and then turned on his heel with one final promise:
“This isn’t over.”
He walked away like he already had a victory in his pocket.
But he had no idea what Lucien and I were willing to do to keep Leo safe.
End of His Heir, Her Secret Chapter 31. Continue reading Chapter 32 or return to His Heir, Her Secret book page.