Chapter 7: The Heir They Never Knew

The woman in the white suit walked straight toward us.

Her heels struck the marble floor with slow, deliberate clicks.

No one dared to speak.

Even Dad lowered the whip.

Simon stared at her with a confused expression before his face suddenly changed.

He clearly recognized her.

I looked at him, then at the woman.

She stopped a few steps away from me and calmly asked, "Are you Daniel Quinlan?"

"Yes."

She smiled faintly.

"Then I believe I arrived just in time."

Simon stepped forward. "Who the hell are you? This is a private matter concerning the Fullerton family."

The woman did not even look at him.

Instead, she turned to one of her bodyguards and said, "Show them."

The bodyguard opened a black folder and handed several documents to Dad.

Dad glanced at the first page.

His expression changed instantly.

"What is this?"

"A legal notice," the woman replied.

"From Q Holdings."

The room erupted into whispers.

Simon snatched the documents from Dad's hands and quickly scanned them.

His face became pale.

"This is impossible."

I remained silent.

The woman finally looked at me.

"Mr. Daniel, your three-day deadline is no longer relevant."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because Q Holdings has decided to withdraw its cooperation with Fullerton Group."

Simon clenched the papers in his hand.

"You can't do that!"

She smiled.

"We already did."

Dad's expression darkened.

"What does Q Holdings want?"

"They want to work with the person who originally negotiated the project."

Everyone slowly turned toward me.

Simon stared at me as though he had suddenly realized something terrifying.

"You..."

I met his gaze calmly.

"Did you finally figure it out?"

"The signature on the contract wasn't Simon's."

"It was mine."

The room fell completely silent.

Stella's lips parted in disbelief.

"But... you were only handling the proposal."

"No," I said.

"I was handling the entire negotiation."

Simon took a step toward me.

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

I looked at him with a faint smile.

"Because you told me I was nothing without the Fullerton family."

"I wanted to see how far you could go without me."

His face twisted with anger.

"You sabotaged my project!"

"I didn't sabotage anything."

I pointed toward the documents in his hand.

"You're the one who signed a proposal you never read."

"You never checked the clauses."

"You never spoke to Q Holdings."

"And you never realized that the entire deal depended on one person."

The woman in white stepped forward.

"Mr. Daniel has been the principal negotiator for Q Holdings for the past eighteen months."

A stunned gasp spread through the room.

Dad stared at me.

"That's not possible."

"It is," she replied.

"His company was never built with Fullerton money."

"His overseas expansion was financed independently."

"And Q Holdings has been watching his performance for years."

Simon looked at me with disbelief.

"Then why did you stay here?"

I was quiet for several seconds.

Then I answered honestly.

"Because I thought this was my home."

Stella lowered her head.

For the first time, she didn't have anything cruel to say.

Dad's expression remained cold, but his hands had begun to tremble.

"Daniel, whatever happened today can still be fixed."

I almost laughed.

"Fixed?"

"You beat me, humiliated me, and ordered me to be thrown into the black market."

"And now that you realize I still have value, you want to fix things?"

Dad's face hardened.

"You are still a member of this family."

"No."

I shook my head.

"That ended the moment you chose Simon."

Simon suddenly rushed toward me.

One of the bodyguards stepped forward and blocked him instantly.

Simon stumbled backward.

"Get out of my way!"

The bodyguard didn't move.

I looked at Simon calmly.

"You wanted me to stay by your side and do as I was told."

"Now you can experience what the Fullerton family looks like without me."

The woman in white handed me another document.

"Mr. Quinlan, everything is ready."

I took it without hesitation.

It was the ownership transfer for my company.

Every share was under my name.

Every overseas asset was protected.

Nothing belonged to the Fullerton family.

Simon saw the document and froze.

"You planned this from the beginning."

"No," I replied.

"I prepared for the possibility that one day I would finally understand where I stood."

I turned toward the exit.

As I walked away, Dad's voice came from behind me.

"Daniel! If you walk out of this house, don't ever come back!"

I stopped for a moment.

Then I looked over my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Dad."

"This is the first time you've given me something I actually wanted."

I walked through the doors without looking back.

Outside, a black Maybach was waiting for me.

The woman in white opened the rear door.

Before getting inside, I glanced once at the Fullerton residence.

Twenty-six years of memories ended with a single step.

But as the car pulled away, my phone suddenly rang.

I answered the call.

The voice on the other end was urgent.

"Mr. Quinlan, there's a problem."

"What happened?"

"Someone has just acquired a controlling interest in one of Fullerton Group's most important subsidiaries."

I frowned.

"Who?"

There was a brief silence.

Then the man whispered, "You."