Chapter 362 The Promise
"I-I..." Hera stammered, struggling to find the right words, but Gael’s intense gaze made her feel exposed, as if she’d been caught red-handed. The weight of his eyes on her was too much, and in a moment of vulnerability, she quickly shut her mouth and bit her lip, unable to handle the embarrassment.
She had gotten so caught up in her amusement that she hadn’t realized she was letting her mouth run unchecked. Normally, Hera wasn’t this careless, but seeing Gael’s genuine and selfless love for his mother—so pure that he didn’t even consider material gain—had caused her to lower her guard. It was in that moment of vulnerability that she let the slip happen.
Hera chuckled awkwardly, trying to brush off the slip. "Haha... Manager, I apologize for that. I got a little carried away and started talking nonsense. Please don’t take it seriously," she said, casting a pleading glance toward the manager, silently asking for backup. Picking up on her cue, the manager quickly jumped in, laughing alongside her.
"No worries, no worries," the manager said with a light-hearted laugh, waving his hands dismissively as if brushing away something invisible. "I often get carried away myself when emotions run high and end up saying embarrassing things. It’s all part of growing up, right?"
However, Gael, being sharp, wasn’t easily fooled. It dawned on him why the manager had been so respectful toward Hera and paid such close attention to her words. The more he thought about it, the clearer it became—there was only one known heiress to the Avery family. If Hera had indeed let something slip, then either she was an imposter, or someone else was standing in for her.
He began piecing things together in his mind, arriving at a theory: the publicly known Avery heiress studying at Princeton was merely a stand-in, created to conceal the true heiress’s identity. The reason behind this elaborate charade? To protect the real heiress from potential assassination attempts, meant to eliminate her before she could fully mature and inherit the family’s vast assets.
Many powerful figures coveted a piece of the Avery family’s wealth, and the only obstacles in their way were the Old Master and the young heiress. Once the heiress was eliminated, only the aging patriarch would remain to defend the legacy, leaving the vultures to slowly wear him down before ultimately devouring the entire Avery empire.
The evidence lay in the numerous reports of the Avery heiress being involved in multiple "accidents." While some incidents were covered up, rumors still made their way through the grapevine. Despite her immense wealth, her life was far from secure—constantly hanging by a thread.
If that were true, then the Hera standing before him must be the real heiress. Now that she had reached adulthood, she was beginning to spread her wings and reveal her presence. But before fully stepping into the spotlight, she seemed determined to build her own power, preparing to face the hungry wolves circling her family’s legacy.
As the realization dawned on him, Gael’s eyes widened in disbelief, locking onto Hera with an incredulous expression. Their gazes met, and in that brief moment, they both knew what the other was thinking. But Hera remained composed, unwilling to confirm his suspicions. She understood this wasn’t the right moment to reveal her true identity and held back, leaving Gael to wrestle with the unspoken truth.