THE LOST HEIRESS RETURNS AFTER DIVORCE
Chapter 132: When The Light Turns Green

Chapter 132: When The Light Turns Green

Heather’s phone buzzed inside her coat pocket.

She pulled it out with fingers that still shook from the aftermath of tonight. Her eyes landed on the screen.

Caius.

Just seeing his name made her angry, but her thumb swiped across the screen before she could talk herself out of it.

His voice came through low. "Heather, are you hurt? I’m almost there. Where are you now? Adams told me you’re leaving with Jake."

She exhaled, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose, trying to calm the sting in her chest. She had planned to leave quietly, but she forgot Adams was a parrot when it came to Caius.

"I’m with Jake already. I feel safer with him."

There was a pause on the other end. When he spoke again, his tone was lower. "Get out of his car. I’m almost there, we’ll leave the country together."

What right did he have to tell her what to do? After she fought for her life? Alone? Worse of all, he’s telling her to go with him. His presence alone was danger to her life and Alex’s.

"No," she said quietly.

"You’re not staying with him," Caius snapped.

"I already told you." Her voice cracked a little, but she pushed through it, refusing to let him hear the fear clawing at her. "I feel safer with him."

She swallowed hard, her eyes drifted toward the house behind them. Her mind kept circling the same thought.

Whoever came after her tonight wasn’t done. She wasn’t safe in that house. She wasn’t safe with him.

"Whoever’s after you almost killed me tonight," she whispered. "You can’t keep me out of your mess. I don’t want to be around you. My life and Alex’s life is more important than any of this."

"I wasn’t even in the country, Heather," he argued, his voice strained like he was barely keeping his temper under control.

"I almost died, Caius." Her hand tightened around the phone. Her words came out loud, laced with every ounce of fear she had been holding in. "I’m not doing this with you right now. I have to go."

"I’m five minutes away."

She looked at Jake sitting behind the wheel, waiting on her word. The kids were strapped in the backseat, oblivious to the argument happening.

Her mind was already made up.

"I’m not coming with you," she said flatly.

There was silence on the line for a beat before Caius’s voice dropped lower, colder. "Heather, you’re my wife. We’re a family."

She closed her eyes briefly and sighed heavily.

"You should have been here," she shot back. "You shouldn’t have dragged me into whatever dangerous mess you’re in. You left us wide open, and now I’m paying for it. I almost died. My son almost died. Stay away from me."

Her thumb hovered over the end call button.

She heard him exhale sharply on the other end, like he was holding back everything boiling inside him.

"I’ll be there in three minutes," he growled. "Don’t leave."

She hung up.

Caius tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, his hand gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. He was angry; and the only outlet was taking it out on the wheel.

The tires screeched as he changed lanes, cutting across traffic without hesitation. Horns blared around him, but he didn’t care.

Fucking Jake. That smug, quiet little bastard had been circling, waiting for this moment. The minute Caius slipped up, the minute things got dangerous—he swooped in, playing the hero.

And Heather let him.

The woman he would tear the world apart for. The woman he married, fought for, kept close. Now she runs to another man the second shit gets real.

His hand slammed the steering wheel as the anger built inside him.

She was angry. She had every right to be. But she didn’t understand the game. She didn’t understand the kind of enemies they were dealing with now. And Caius couldn’t explain; he’s not even sure about what’s happening.

She leaked the information about VestorCorp. She thought it was revenge, payback for him locking her out, and everything.

But she didn’t understand the ripple effect. She didn’t understand that by doing that, she painted a target on herself.

Adonis probably told them it was her doing.

And they went after her, and now Heather blamed him for it all.

Caius laughed under his breath, the sound bitter as he sped down the street. Whoever thought they could break into his home and attack his wife was about to learn a painful lesson.

His eyes flicked to the intersection ahead; he was almost there.

The traffic light flipped red.

Caius slammed the brake, cursing under his breath as the car in front of him came to a stop. His eyes scanned the sidewalk—nothing.

He checked the opposite lane—nothing.

The traffic light finally turned green.

Caius let out a breath through gritted teeth and pressed his foot against the gas pedal. The car eased forward, but he couldn’t accelerate much—since the vehicle ahead of him was making a slow, wide turn at the intersection, forcing him to slow down.

He tapped the steering wheel, his patience wearing thin, and his chest still tight from that phone call with Heather.

Every word she said echoed in his head, tightening the knot in his gut. Her voice sounded hurt and laced with anger she didn’t bother to hide.

And fear.

She didn’t feel safe with him. His own wife—choosing Jake’s protection over his. That thought crawled under his skin, twisting like a knife.

His eyes drifted to the center console. The phone screen lit up where it was plugged into the charger.

Wifey.

The name tightened something in his chest.

Heather.

Despite the frustration still lingering inside him, he didn’t hesitate. His hand shot toward the phone, and he swiped to answer, lifting it toward his ear.

"Heather?" His voice was rough and already on edge.

But a flash of blinding headlights snapped his attention sideways.

His instincts took over.

He dropped the phone without thinking. It slipped from his hand, hitting the center console with a dull thud.

His foot slammed down on the brake, hard enough to jolt his body forward. The tires screeched to a halt, but the truck didn’t slow down.

The side of his car was crumpled inward as the truck plowed into him, shoving his car sideways like it weighed nothing.

Caius’s body lifted off the seat for a split second, only the seatbelt snapped him back in place, the force pressed him against the restraints.

Everything moved in slow, sickening motion as the car spun once. Then again. And again.

By the time the car skidded to a stop, it was crushed on its side, the engine hissed, and smoke curled from it.

The cracked phone screen still glowed faintly where it had landed beside the gear shift, Heather’s name was still lit up.

But everything else was still.

And for the first time tonight, the only sound left was his own ragged breathing.