The Heiress Spoiled by Four Brothers and One Devilish CEO-Chapter 256 He will never betray me

A private hospital.

Charles walked out from the radiology department, just finished his PET scan. He was straightening his shirt cuffs when his assistant rushed over.

"Sir, Tristan just held a press conference—he announced that Nathaniel is alive and even revealed your entire conversation with him."

Charles froze mid-motion, his eyes turning icy cold. "He really had the guts to call me out in public?"

Rage simmered in his chest. His jaw clenched as he growled, "Where’s Nathaniel? Did he go back?"

"No, sir," the assistant lowered his head.

Just then, a man in all black hurried over, giving Charles a deep bow. "Sir, Nathaniel’s been taken by Tristan. We lost him on the way."

"Useless," Charles spat the word through gritted teeth.

He took a deep breath and snapped at his assistant, "Call for a press conference immediately. We’ll clarify everything—make it clear that Tristan’s abusing his position, even torturing people. Let the public know he’s King, the top global arms dealer, and that he’s trying to trigger an A.I. warfare. Let’s see how he explains that. Wipe all those videos off the web."

"Understood." The assistant immediately went to put things in motion.

Charles stepped out of the hospital and climbed into his bulletproof car. As the first rays of dawn broke across the horizon, casting light through the window, he only felt the creeping chill digging deeper into his bones.

This... this was the worst political crisis he’d faced to date. He never imagined that crossing Tristan would cause such a massive blowback.

Tristan wasn’t just rich—he was practically a one-man army. If that guy ever decided to step into politics... Charles knew his reign would be finished.

Sure, he’d poked around before, tested Tristan’s ambitions, and the man hadn’t shown any political leanings. But people change. Charles wasn’t about to keep a ticking bomb so close.

What he hadn’t anticipated was that stirring up just this one man would shake all of Verduria like an earthquake.

From the passenger seat, the assistant turned back, looking anxious. "Sir, we can’t delete the footage online. The entire tech department’s systems are down—and there’s a tidal wave of online trolls smearing your record."

"Are they completely incompetent? What even is the point of that department?" Charles rubbed his temples hard. "Did we find where Karl is staying?"

"We did, but he’s long gone."

Charles’s clenched fists turned pale with pressure before he suddenly punched the car window beside him, the impact echoing dull and heavy.

"Take me back to the estate."

At the Lewis family’s old residence.

Samuel watched as Megan sat at her computer, expertly stacking firewall layers to fend off wave after wave of cyberattacks.

"Security Bureau’s been overhyped. These guys? Meh." Samuel let out a low whistle.

Megan shot him a grin. "They’re worse than you think. Now it’s your turn—24/7 monitoring. Any breaches, you patch them up fast."

She stood up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the pale light spreading across the sky. Her hand gently rested on her baby bump. The baby had been fussy all night—probably feeding off her anxiety.

What she needed now was sleep. A solid chunk of it. Because what came next was only going to be harder.

Just then, a vehicle rolled into the driveway and parked.

A soldier stepped out, carrying a woman in his arms. Megan squinted to see who it was—then her eyes widened.

"Nicole," she said under her breath and immediately turned to run downstairs.

Samuel stopped her midway. "Whoa, slow down, sis! Nothing’s more important than your own safety right now. What if you trip?"

"It’s Nicole."

Samuel’s face darkened, and his lips twitched in disdain. "That the woman trying to steal Tristan away?""That’s because she was on a mission—taking down Nathaniel and destroying his lab. Nicole deserves serious credit." As Megan finished, she was already heading downstairs.

Samuel frowned. "But why bring her to the Lewis house? Tristan’s idea? Don’t tell me he suddenly grew a soft heart?"

"Come on, seriously? Do you even hear yourself?" Megan looked annoyed. "Tristan’s not the kind of person to discard someone after using them, that’s all. Besides, right now, keeping Nicole here is the safest option. Tristan’s got a hold over Charles—he wouldn’t dare make a move."

She pulled her arm from Samuel’s grip and jogged down to open the front door.

The mercenary gave a respectful nod. "Ma’am, Mr. Reid told us to bring her here."

Megan glanced back at her brother. "Take her to the guest room on the third floor, please."

Samuel sighed, clearly not thrilled, but he didn’t argue. She was his only sister after all.

He picked up Nicole and carried her upstairs.

Meanwhile, Megan asked the mercenary about what had happened. He explained that Nicole’s entire family had been murdered by Nathaniel. After infection, they turned and had to be put down with headshots.

This latest mutation wasn’t like the last—these infected were stronger, and even after losing their heads, their bodies could still move.

After taking it in, Megan quietly followed him upstairs to check on Nicole.

She sat beside the bed and gently wiped Nicole’s face and hands. Suddenly, Nicole’s eyes sprang open and she gripped Megan’s wrist tightly, her eyes filled with fear and panic.

"Mrs. Reid?"

"It’s me. Just call me Megan," she said softly, "You’re at the Lewis house. You’re safe here, alright?"

Nicole nodded, tears glazing over her eyes. "In the end, I still couldn’t protect my family."

"I’m so sorry. None of us expected Charles would turn out to be the mastermind. He injected Nathaniel with the bioweapon—it made him practically immortal. We couldn’t predict that, and we failed to protect your family. I really am sorry."

Nicole shook her head. "Nathaniel’s a monster. He was never going to let them live. You don’t need to blame yourselves. If Mr. Reid hadn’t shown up when he did... I don’t even want to imagine."

Megan tucked the blanket around her. "We’ll take care of your family... their remains. Please, just rest now."

Leaning in, she whispered, "Michelle is also staying in a guest room here. Just... be cautious."

Nicole nodded. "Got it. You don’t have to worry about me."

Megan stood up and left the room, but as she was closing the door, she noticed Nicole clutching the blanket, quietly crying under it.

Outside, Samuel looked down at the blood on his sleeves with clear disgust. "What’s Tristan thinking, bringing a woman like her into the house? Come on, there’s no such thing as pure friendship between a man and a woman—it always ends up being about attraction. Megan, I’m telling you, keep your eyes open. Compassion easily turns into feelings."

Megan shot him a cold glare. "Tristan took the sorcery worm for me. He’d never betray me, not in this lifetime."

Samuel scoffed. "People change. If he’d die for you, he could die for someone else too."

"Samuel! Say one more word like that, and I swear I’m done talking to you!" Megan snapped and turned away, stomping back to her room.

She drew the curtains, tucked herself under the covers, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

As much as she tried to brush it off, Samuel’s words echoed in her mind. She was starting to question whether Nicole was really safe here—but she had Tristan’s back. Whatever decision he made, she would trust there was a reason behind it.