Page 90 of Fallen Heir

I froze.

My confusion must’ve been obvious, because something flickered behind his eyes. Recognition. Amusement.

He laughed, low and sharp, almost like he was enjoying the reveal. “Ahh,” he said, pacing now. “Even your new boyfriend keeps you in the dark. Hasn’t told you who he really is.”

My blood turned to ice. Bruce circled me slowly, the gun still loose in his hand like it was just an accessory—not the weapon it was.

“You really thought he just stumbled into all of this?” he asked. “Thought he was just some wealthy real estate mogul with a hero complex?” He scoffed. “You think it’s coincidence he found you when he did? That he just happened to show up right when things got messy?”

He shook his head, eyes locked on mine. “No, Savannah. Jaxson Westbrook had blood on his hands long before you ever met him. And trust me—some ofmine.

My breath caught.

He laughed—low, bitter. “He thought he was so careful. Covered his tracks like a good little soldier. But even shadows leave footprints, sweetheart. And when he comes for you—and he will—I’ll be ready. I can’t wait to look that bastard in the eye as I put a bullet between them.”

My heart pounded in my chest, but I held his gaze.

He wanted fear.

All I gave him was fire.

I swallowed hard, the metal of the gun cool on my skin, grounding me in this moment of absolute truth.

"Why?" I whispered.

"Because I deserved better," Bruce said, voice breaking into a near snarl. "Ibuiltthat empire. Not your father. Me. And when he tried to take it from me, when your mother tried to bury it with her damn connections and moral compass—they had to go."

"And the kids?" I asked, voice raw. "These children? Nia? Kai? All the others?"

He tilted his head, looked at the children, and shrugged. Amused.

"Collateral. Assets. Product. Don't look so shocked, Savannah. You were always too soft. It's why I could never bringyou in. You would've ruined it all. That was the mistake your father made."

He was wrong.

Because in that moment, I wasn’t soft.

I was steel.

The children were still in the van, huddled in a terrified silence, but somehow, Ifeltthem. Though I was outside now, standing in the open with Bruce and the sun casting long shadows on the gravel lot, they were still with me—tethered to me. Their presence pressed against my back like a thousand invisible hands, fragile but full of faith.

They were giving me strength. Their quiet breaths, their trembling fear—it filled the air like a charge. I hadn’t left them. I was still standing guard, still blocking the doors with my body, still shielding them from whatever horror Bruce had in store. I wasn’t just fighting for myself anymore.

I was fighting forthem.

Bruce’s voice was still rattling in my ears. His truths. His confessions. His venom. Each word had been designed to cut, but beneath the sting, something else had formed.

Clarity.

He may have said all the right things to shatter me. About my parents. About Jaxson. About blood and betrayal and empire. But if my mother had trusted Jaxson…trulytrusted him—then there was more to this than Bruce could ever understand. If Bruce had lost billions because of him, then Jaxson wasn’t the villain in this story.

Maybe he was the one trying to end it.

Maybe he always had been.

A flicker of movement caught my eye. Just a glint off the metal edge of something near the trees. Small. Subtle. But I knew it. That controlled stance. That deadly focus. He wanted me to see him.

He was here.