Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Vincent’s Empire
Aria’s POV
I’d barely stepped through my apartment door when my phone buzzed.
Lucas’s message lit up the screen: [Nine o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ll pick you up. Time to show you what Vincent actually left you.]
I stared at those words for a long moment before typing back: [Okay.]
Honestly, I hadn’t fully processed any of this. Inheritance rights, estates, stock shares—these words felt like they’d jumped out of someone else’s life story, completely foreign to mine.
But whether I was ready or not, tomorrow was coming.
---
The next morning, Lucas showed up at my door right on time.
He wore a perfectly tailored charcoal suit, a warm smile on his face. "Ready?"
"Honestly? Not even close." I grabbed my bag and followed him out. "But I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?"
He chuckled softly. "You’ll adapt. Trust me, you’re stronger than you think."
Our first stop was a commercial property on the outskirts of the city—a twenty-story office building with a dark glass facade that gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
"This is one of Vincent’s largest properties," Lucas explained as we walked. "Tenants include several multinational corporations and the business divisions of two Packs. Annual rental income... well, let’s just say it’s enough to keep you very comfortable."
I stood in front of the building, craning my neck to look up at those reflective windows.
I’m actually a billionaire.
The thought crashed into my consciousness with a surreal absurdity.
Just weeks ago, I’d been washing dishes in the Silver Creek Pack kitchen, taking turns being humiliated by Margaret and Sophia.
Now here I stood, the ground beneath my feet and the tower above my head—all of it mine.
"Aria?" Lucas’s voice pulled me back to reality.
"Sorry." I took a deep breath. "It’s just... a lot to take in."
"I understand." His tone was gentle. "But you’ll need to get used to it. Because what comes next is going to feel even more surreal."
He wasn’t wrong.
Next we visited two more properties, a logistics company, and several joint ventures Vincent had stake in. At each location, the managers reported to me with careful deference, their eyes full of assessment and testing.
I could feel them evaluating me—this heir who’d appeared out of nowhere. Did she actually have what it took to control all this?
The weight of their scrutiny pressed down on my shoulders. Every handshake, every polite smile felt like an examination I hadn’t studied for.
By the time we’d finished the tour, my head was spinning with numbers, contracts, and names I’d need to remember.
The scope of Vincent’s empire was staggering.
Every building we’d visited, every business we’d walked through—it all represented power, influence, connections that stretched across Pack territories and human society alike.
And somehow, impossibly, it was all mine now.
---
When we finally got back to Lucas’s car, I practically collapsed into the passenger seat.
"That was..." I trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence.
"Overwhelming?" Lucas suggested with a slight smile.
"That’s putting it mildly." I rubbed my temples. "How did Vincent manage all of this?"
"Very carefully. And with a lot of help." He started the engine. "Which brings me to something important."
The seriousness in his tone made me sit up straighter.
"There’s a board meeting next week," Lucas said. "V&A International Group. You’ll be attending as Vincent’s heir and primary shareholder."
My stomach dropped. "Next week? That’s so soon."
"I know. But the board won’t wait, and neither will Nathan and Sylvia." His hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
"They’re going to fight you, Aria. They’ll question your qualifications, your experience, your right to be there. They’ll try to make you feel small."
I thought of Sylvia’s cold stare at the pack house, Nathan’s dismissive glance. Yeah, I could picture exactly how that meeting would go.
"What do I need to do?"
"Prepare. Study everything I’m sending you—financial reports, operational summaries, strategic plans. Know the numbers better than they do. And don’t let them see you doubt yourself." He glanced over at me. "Even if you’re terrified inside, don’t let them see it."
I nodded slowly, my mind already racing. A board meeting. With Nathan and Sylvia and probably a dozen other people who thought I had no business being there.
"Lucas?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." I meant it. "For helping me with all this. You didn’t have to."
His expression softened. "My father asked me to look out for you. But honestly? I’d be doing it anyway. You deserve this, Aria. All of it."
Something warm bloomed in my chest. After years of being told I deserved nothing—not respect, not acknowledgment, not even basic human decency—hearing those words hit me differently.
---
Lucas dropped me off at my apartment with a promise to send over the materials I’d need to review.
The moment I got inside, I kicked off my heels and sank onto the couch. My phone showed three missed calls—two from unknown numbers and one from Damian.
I didn’t call Damian back. Instead, I opened my laptop. Time to get to work.
Lucas had already sent over the files—dozens of them, organized by company and fiscal year. Financial statements, audit reports, market analyses, strategic plans. The sheer volume was intimidating.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and opened the first file.
The numbers swam before my eyes at first, dense columns of figures and projections. But as I started reading, patterns emerged.
Vincent had been brilliant—ruthless sometimes, but brilliant.
He’d built partnerships across Pack territories that most humans wouldn’t even know existed, leveraging his outsider status into a unique advantage.
And now that advantage was mine.
I worked through dinner, barely noticing when darkness fell outside my windows. My notebook filled with observations, questions, things I’d need clarification on before the board meeting.
Nathan and Sylvia thought I’d be an easy target. They were counting on me being overwhelmed, unprepared, intimidated.
They were wrong.
---
Around nine PM, my phone buzzed again.
A group message from my college class president: [Hey everyone! Long time no see! Reunion next Saturday night, seven PM, same old place. Hope you all can make it!]
Before I could respond, another text came through. This one from Rachel, my best friend from university.We’d barely talked since she left the country.
[I’m back. Please tell me you’re coming to this thing. I cannot face all those people alone.]
I couldn’t help but smile. She was still the same dramatic Rachel.
[You want me to go with you?]
[YES. Please. I’ll owe you forever.]
I paused for just a second, then typed: [Okay. I’m in.]
[You’re a lifesaver! I’ll pick you up at 6:30?]
[See you then.]
I put my phone down. The doorbell rang.
I glanced at the clock—nearly ten PM. Who would be visiting this late?
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