From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 306: The Game for Power

She never admitted it outright, but her words were as good as a confession.

A sharp, throbbing pain blossomed behind Lucas' eyes. He pressed his fingers hard against his temples. "How could you be so stupid?"

He watched Sophia, her face streaked with tears like a storm-drenched blossom. Anger and pity twisted together in his chest, finally unraveling into a heavy sigh. "I told you to wait until I secured my position as heir. You never listen! Now you've gone behind my back and sent Grandpa to the hospital with this stunt!

"Do you have any idea that this alone is enough for him to bar you from the Ashford family forever if he decides to pursue it?"

Sophia could hold back no longer. A raw, wrenching sob escaped her.

She cried, her voice thick with years of pent-up frustration, "Wait, wait, wait! That's all you ever say! How many years have I waited already? I've been with you since I was twenty, and my youth is slipping through my fingers!"

Her accusing gaze locked onto him. "I'm your wife! Jeremy is your son! Yet we live like some dirty secret, a hidden mistress and her bastard child. Why does Riley get to parade around as Mrs. Ashford while I'm condemned to the shadows?

"How much longer must this go on? A year? Five? Ten? You don't know, and neither do I! Am I supposed to just sit here, swallowing every ounce of humiliation, doing nothing?"

Lucas' irritation mounted at her weeping, yet he found no defense.

Deep down, he knew her grievances were justified.

The weight of his neglect pressed down on him—the years of keeping her and Jeremy in the dark, the promises with no concrete end in sight.

His anger slowly dissolved in the flood of her tears, his tone softening into weary resignation. "Even so, you shouldn't have acted so recklessly on your own. If Grandpa decides to make an example of you, even I might not be able to shield you."

But Sophia's tears began to subside. A strange calm settled over her tear-streaked face.

"No," she raised her head, her gaze burning intently at Lucas. "I think this situation... might just work in our favor."

Lucas stared, confused. "What are you talking about?"

A cold, calculated smile touched her lips. "Isn't Alexander riding high right now? Doesn't he feel Grandpa's favor shining on him, ready to snatch your place?"

Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "But I happen to know... he used to host parties at a private villa out in the suburbs. The kind with... very loose morals. And... I had someone take photos and videos. Enough evidence to prove his little gatherings involved illegal substances."

Lucas' eyes widened, shock hitting him like a physical blow.

How... The seemingly fragile, harmless woman before him had been plotting in the shadows, gathering a weapon of mass destruction. The sheer audacity left him reeling.

The initial shock gave way to a chilling understanding.

If Alexander's involvement with drugs came to light, it would be a scandal capable of destroying his life.

Not only would his inheritance claims evaporate, but he'd likely face prison. The Ashford family, to protect its name, would cast him out without a second thought.

Slowly, deliberately, Lucas nodded.

The air in the study turned dense and suffocating, thick with the unspoken weight of their newly formed, shadowy alliance.

Lucas lit another cigarette, drawing the acrid smoke deep into his lungs. The nicotine offered a fleeting numbness, but it couldn't dispel the gloom gathering in his eyes.

The game for power, once begun, had no exit.

He either climbed over the fallen or was crushed beneath them.

Watching the conflict play out on his face, Sophia pressed her advantage. She moved around the desk to stand beside him. "Lucas, at a time like this, if you show weakness, you'll watch that throne be handed to someone else on a silver platter.

"Think about it. Why did the news about Grandpa's collapse leak right at this moment? What if it wasn't Riley at all? What if it was one of your rivals? They want to plant doubt in Grandpa's mind about you, to scratch your name from the list of heirs for good!"

A flicker of realization ignited in Lucas' eyes.

She was right.

Alexander wasn't the only one circling. Uncles, cousins from the side branches—they all watched with hungry eyes.

Every single one had a motive.

Seeing his expression harden into cold resolve, Sophia knew she had him.

"So, whether it's Alexander or anyone else, if they threaten you, we remove them. One by one. Once you are the confirmed heir, I will have my future. Jeremy can finally call you 'Dad' in the open. Our family... we can finally be together," she concluded, her tone now steel-edged.

Lucas looked into her eyes, saw the desperate, all-or-nothing determination there, and felt the last of his resistance crumble.

Yet, just as he was about to commit to this treacherous path, a more pressing, practical concern surfaced.