Chasing The Vengeful Villainous Heiress-Chapter 138: Because you were cowards

The man sitting comfortably in the living room was none other than, Chris Romaine, the owner and current Chairman of the Romaine empire. He was also one of the people topping the world’s richest men’s charts.

This man... What was he doing in their vacation villa?

Mariam and Tiana sat opposite him and watched him as he sipped his tea. They looked uncomfortable.

Jeremy stood behind them and watched from the side. He was just about to call them to let them know the situation before stepping in but the gaze from the numerous guards in front of him and the sheer presence of Chris rendered him useless.

"I’m glad to see you look nothing like that good for nothing, at least." The guest said and grinned. "Well, won’t you come and greet this uncle of yours, Niece?"

"What?!" Max and Valerie exclaimed and she clicked her tongue, irritated.

"Don’t mind my guards. I’m a public figure so I can’t go around without them. For safety purposes, if you know what I mean."

He was acting so friendly on their first meeting that it made her feel even more irritated.

"What the hell?" Valerie spoke up, walking ahead of Max. "Are you joking right now?"

"Well, although it was never approved, you are still my foolish brother’s daughter so that makes you my niece." He said, and he smoked through the pipe he took from the guard standing behind him.

Valerie was silent. She took a moment to process what was going on and once she realized it, she shoved her hands through her hair and started laughing like a maniac.

"So, what?" She asked, her laughter turning into a glare. "What do I owe to this visit from the most exalted Chris Romaine?" She asked in the most sarcastic tone. "If I remember correctly, my ’foolish’ father was ousted from the family because he decided to marry my ’lowly’ mother. So, to what do I, who is of lowly blood, owe the pleasure of gracing the presence of such a prestigious being?"

She looked down on him. She looked down on his very existence and the disdain she felt, just staring at him, was so evident in her expression.

"Hahaha, not like my foolish brother indeed. You have guts, my dear niece." Chris said. "But don’t be so hostile." He suddenly smiled. "I come bearing gifts."

The guards proceeded to show the large number of boxes to her.

She stood in place for a while.

’I must look like a joke to him.’ she thought, clenching her fists.

Max stepped up, placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her down, and smiled to assure her.

Then, he raised his gaze to speak to Chris.

"Pardon me but I believe it’s basic courtesy to give a heads-up before barging into a person’s home." He said. "I don’t appreciate having to attend to ’strangers’ the first thing I do after returning home from a tiring day."

Chris glanced at Max and then scoffed.

"Tiring, you say." He hit the edge of his pipe on the table and handed it back to the guard, probably asking for it to be lit up a second time. "Well, I guess even having a fun lovers day out could be tiring. Did you enjoy the movie you watched at the cinema?"

Hearing that, their eyes widened. He... Was he tailing them the whole time?

"You don’t have to be so surprised." He said. "It’s only right that I keep an eye on my niece, don’t you think?"

"You were stalking." Valerie said. "Ha, has Romaine been reduced to that level already?"

"Oh, no, no. I wouldn’t go through such unnecessary stress such as ’stalking’." He said. "It’s easier to just get the city’s cameras connected to my personal laptop." He grinned. "Believe me, it saves a lot of manpower."

They went silent.

They couldn’t tell if this man was actually showing off or if he was giving them a warning. The city’s security cameras? That meant he knew every freaking place they went to. And not only that, he would actually go so far just to keep an eye on Valerie?

"You’re crazy." The words left Valerie’s lips like a whisper. "Ha, what do you want?" Her red eyes went cold. "Do you plan to kill me here? Finish off what you started a long time ago?"

Chris didn’t respond. Rather, he got up and approached Valerie.

"Though I agree my brother made so many foolish mistakes, I didn’t hate him to the extent that I wanted to get rid of him. In the first place, he stood no chance at getting the inheritance so he was basically just a wallflower." Chris explained and stopped in front of Valerie. "And so, the person responsible for your father’s death could not have been me. So ease down your glare, my dear Niece."

He reached out to touch her face but she slapped it away before Max could even react.

He looked at his hand and shook it a bit.

"Quite hard for your soft skin. Is your hand okay?" He asked but it felt more like a taunt to Valerie. She gritted her teeth.

"Whether or not you’re the one responsible for my parents death, it’s still the scheme of you all who didn’t approve of his marriage." She said and raised her head. "You made a deal with him but you went back on it and killed him when there were still two years left."

"And why would you think we would do such a thing?"

"Because you were cowards." Valerie blurted out in rage. "You knew very well that my father would build an empire of his own. You knew he would make a name big enough to rival Romaine once he succeeded, so to make sure that never happened, you decided to kill him, like cowards."

"Haha, it seems the blood of Romaine does indeed flow through your veins." He said and then his eyes glowed dark. "You’re very correct. The family heads wanted nothing that would stand in the path of the family becoming number one and staying number one. They all underestimated your father, and that was why they made that stupid deal with him. So, when they saw he indeed had capabilities and that he could pose a threat, they decided to get rid of him and leave no evidence or trace that could lead back to them in any way. Thus, they used your mother’s brother as a shield." He explained and laughed like a maniac. "Does that align with what you deduced, huh, my dear niece?"

Valerie was silent. It was exactly what she thought of. But to think it was all true. The Romaine bastards had a lot to pay for. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Well, so to say, they wanted to get rid of everything and take the company your father had built up with his capabilities. But who knew my brother left a will like that?" He laughed once more. "He was more cunning than he was foolish. If not for that will, Romaine would’ve had it all."

He looked at Valerie who was shaking in fury.

"Well, since they could not harm the little girl, they decided to just let that rising Empire fall on its own. Your uncle was going to be so much help, but alas, he couldn’t beat someone with Romaine’s blood flowing through their veins." He grinned. "Obviously."

"You’re crazy." Valerie blurted out in spite. "You and all the Romaine bastards are crazy."

"And so are you, my dear." He said and then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, don’t you want to know why I came here and went through the trouble of telling you all this?" He asked. l and Valerie clenched her fists.

"You just want to bare your teeth." She said but he laughed.

His laugh became more irritating the more she heard it.

"Don’t worry, I’m not the one after your life." He said. "I’m actually here to help you."

"Bullshit!"

"Wow, what a foul tongue. I like it." He said and cleared his throat. "Anyway, believe it or not, Romaine was going to leave your fate to your useless Uncle. But now that you’ve gotten rid of him, they see you as a threat once more and will try to get rid of you for good."

"You’re one of them so stop acting friendly." Valerie said, slapping his hand off her shoulder. "Don’t try to cozy up and feed me with lies. I know you’re all in it together. You’re powerful enough to get all the security camera footage in a day just to know my whereabouts, so what’s stopping me from seeing you as a threat as well?"

"But I’m not, though." Chris said. "Every time I look at you, I see my younger brother and it hurts my heart that..."

"Cut the bullshit and tell me why you’re really here." She snapped at him.

"Gosh, I guess I can’t fool you one bit." Chris said. "Your tongue is still foul. No one ever dares to treat me like this but since it’s our first meeting, I’ll spoil you a bit."

His words only irritated Valerie more and she glared at him. What did he think he was doing?

"Okay, the real reason why I came here." He said, finally sounding serious. "Is to bring you back with me." He said. "You’re a Romaine, so you should live like a Romaine. Discard the name Ross and take Romaine as your last name."

He sounded so serious and grand that it actually made the atmosphere feel heavy. But then, Valerie stifled a laugh.

"Haha, I was wondering what you were going to blurt out." She said. "But what to do, you’re very wrong there."

"What do you mean?"

"I don’t bear the name Ross anymore." She said and hopped her arm in Max’s. "I go by the name Valerie Stewart now. I already took my husband’s last name and so where he belongs is where I belong. You have no right to tell me where to go."