The Heiress's Comeback
Chapter 371: [ Volume 1] Chaper 371- Hunting the hunter.

Chapter 371: [ Volume 1] Chaper 371- Hunting the hunter.

A flicker of something dark passed through her gaze, as though recalling the moments of realization. "So, I tested it. I sent Helga and Aaron away to Paris. I needed a way to see if they would slip up, to see if they were really following her too. I called Helga on video, keeping up appearances, asking her what they were doing. But when I looked at the background... I saw them. Three of them, lurking at the edges of the frame. Watching. Following. And at that moment, I understood. They weren’t just tracking me. They were tracking her."

Esme’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if the words themselves were too heavy to speak aloud. "And that’s when I found out the truth. Summer was dead. They said it was an accident—a gas tank explosion at his house. But something about that didn’t sit right. Summer was sharp. Too sharp for that. He would’ve noticed the gas leak. He would’ve smelled it. But he didn’t. He couldn’t have."

Her eyes narrowed, the shadows deepening. "It wasn’t an accident. Someone made sure it happened. And now, the question remains: who was behind it? Why Summer? And why are they still watching me?"

Esme’s voice grew darker, tinged with something close to anger as she recounted the details. "From the information I gathered, Summer’s body... it was burned to ash. Completely unrecognizable. It was as if the person who killed him wanted to make absolutely sure no one would ever discover how he really died. Because, Summer... Summer wasn’t the type to just die without a fight. It didn’t make any sense. No, that wasn’t how it happened. I could feel it."

She let the silence hang for a moment, as though the weight of the memory crushed the air around them. "But because of the fire, the house was destroyed—completely. No one could say for sure what happened there. The scene was a mess. The police? They barely investigated. They took a cursory glance, shrugged it off, and then said it was a simple gas explosion. Just like that, the case was closed."

Her eyes narrowed, and her lips curled into a bitter smile. "Summer’s belongings... everything he had... were handed off to his parents. Those people. His parents didn’t even care about the house. No grief, no anger, no questions. They sold everything off and made a small cemetery in a forgotten city. A city so tucked away in the mountains, no one would bother with it. A place where land is worth less than half a dollar per square foot."

Esme exhaled sharply, as if the injustice of it all burned her from the inside out. "But I didn’t just leave it at that. I couldn’t. So, I sent people to Summer’s house. I made them wait—one whole month—before they entered. I needed to give things time, to make sure everything settled, and no one would be the wiser."

Esme leaned back, her expression darkening as she continued her tale. "I remember Summer telling me once, in passing, about his parents. He hated them. Said they were too much—abusive in ways that left scars deeper than anyone could see. And then, with the kind of work he did, collecting information, he was always paranoid. He hid his laptop, his secret files in a small, carefully dug out space in his house. Just big enough to fit a small suitcase. He made sure it was impenetrable. Bulletproof glass. The works. No one could ever find it, not even with the most advanced technology. Not even a nuclear bomb could touch it. He spent nearly half of his savings just to make it perfect."

Her voice grew softer, almost wistful. "That was the one thing I never doubted about him. His cleverness. His ability to protect the most important things. But then, right before I lost contact with him, he told me something... something about beast owners. A new discovery, something connected to them. He was so adamant, and yet, I couldn’t make out all of it because the network connection was poor. I should have pushed him to tell me more, but I didn’t. And now... well, now I know. If he died, it means he found something important. Something dangerous."

Esme’s lips curled into a thin, sharp smile. "So, I had my people search for the exact location. The place he mentioned. When they found it, the entire floor was charred black. The walls, ruined. But, thank God for the flooring. Tiles, marble. They survived. And under all that, buried deep within the chaos, they found the box. It took them three days to recover it without raising suspicion. Three days, and not a single soul suspected a thing."

Her voice grew cold, distant. "But getting that suitcase to me? That was a different matter. I couldn’t just walk up and take it. Not with all the security surrounding it. I couldn’t just send it in the mail either. No, it wasn’t that simple. So I had to wait. I had to come up with a plan. I needed something... something big to get it. Something to throw everyone off balance."

Esme paused, her gaze flickering to the corner of the room. "That’s when I found out. Cain... he’s the eldest son of the Florence family. The bastard had all the connections. All the power. And that was the key I needed. I just had to find the right target. Someone who could deal with Cain. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t dislike him, but he’s a problem. He’s too... much. Too eager. He thinks I’m just some naïve little girl to marry. But I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to marry someone who’s spying on me. He thinks I don’t see through him, but I do. I see everything."

Esme’s eyes gleamed with cold satisfaction as she leaned forward, her voice lowering to a whisper, yet laced with deadly intent. "And that’s when I found him. My so-called fiancé, Noah.