The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress

lan POV

I'll never forget the helpless feeling I experienced as the man tried to take Dawn forcibly while I was unable to do anything but watch as Karen held a gun on me. I had felt so violent and so angry, that my stomach had churned and I had felt like I was going to vomit profusely all over the floor. The look on Karen's face had been triumphant. She had not been expecting Dawn to fight back as she had and I admired my fiancee's courage as she not only shot the man trying to r**e her but attempted to shoot the second one holding a gun on us, while Karen made a run for it. She had given us the chance we needed and we took advantage. Something reckless had come over me, and I had snapped, lunging out of the wheelchair without even thinking about it and pressing my body on top of Dawn's, to protect her from the bullets coming from Karen's gun.

I could move. I was so shocked that it seemed unreal. I had been making slight improvements but this, this was more than I had ever been able to accomplish. I didn't know if it was borne out of my desire to protect Dawn, my sudden thirst for vengeance, or the sheer adrenaline pulsing through my body, but my limbs were cooperating for the first time in months and I was not about to question something that was tantamount to a miracle. As Karen continued to shoot, slowly backing away in the cemetery, Knox ducked and weaved, attempting to catch up to her and I wriggled forward, my hand on the handle of the gun that Dawn had given me, my focus entirely on the woman who had wreaked such havoc on our lives. She couldn't get away. Not again. I could see her as she began to make her way towards the trees and the other exit out of the cemetery that backed into a forest and a lone trail leading out onto the deserted property. I could see her mind as she crossed into the shadows. Communication was suddenly restored as the signal was brought back.

"Stand down" I ordered the men, my body shaking with the strain of using my body in such a way for the first time in a long time, "every one of you is to stand down and disengage from the target. This one is ours. Your job is to surveil and nothing else" I ordered through the earpiece as I panted.

"She's making her way towards the trail leading to the property line" came a voice.

As I'd suspected. Knox took off into the trees and I followed, my limbs shaky, sweat beading off my forehead, I just hoped I could last long enough to take Karen out before my body chose to give up on me. If I could just hold out for a little longer. I suddenly realized I had no idea where Dawn was. I frowned, feeling slightly panicked.

"Has anyone got eyes on Dawn?"

I was met with radio silence. I swore out loud. I should have known she wouldn't just stay where I had told her to. Dawn wasn't that kind of woman. She was angry at what Karen had done to her and was going after her on her own terms. Damnit.

I could hear the sounds of shouting. Karen had stopped, in the middle of a clearing and was now facing Knox down. He had a bullet in his shoulder, his hand clutching the wound. s**t. I thought he was going to be careful. I sank down and peered around the tree, my eyes narrowing on the woman who looked gleeful. There was no gun in Knox's hand. Either he had lost it or Karen had forced him to give it up. Damnit.

"If I can at least kill one of you, I'll be satisfied" Karen was saying as Knox looked at her grimly "Aren't you going to plead for your life Knox?" she teased. "Go to hell" he growled, refusing to give her the satisfaction.

"Oh I will be, but not before you do," she said agreeably "You and your brother. You've messed my plans up for the last time" she snapped.

I saw her raise the gun as though in slow motion. Knox didn't move, didn't even blink. I couldn't get a decent shot. Not at the angle I was at. I picked up a rock from the ground but it turned out I didn't even need it. A shot rang out and I flinched, expecting to see that Knox was dead. Instead, Karen's eyes widened in surprise as a red stain appeared on her dress, her hand reaching up to clutch her upper shoulder, dropping the gun to the ground as she let out a screech of agony. Who had shot her?

Dawn walked out from behind her. Knox nodded to my fiancee whose face was hard as stone. She kept her gun trained on Karen as Karen turned to her. Dawn kicked the gun away. "You" Karen hissed.

I used my upper strength to pull myself back up to my feet and walked out, Karen's eyes widening. "I thought you were trapped in a wheelchair" she choked out.

"It would seem that way," I said with a heavy dose of sarcasm as Knox eyed me carefully "but I guess my body had other plans. Dawn, you can drop the gun" I said, raising my own and leveling it at Karen.

"No" Dawn scowled "not after everything she's done."

She clenched her jaw. "Dawn, I love you, I'm not about to make you a killer," I told her quietly as her hand shook, the gun trembling in her hand while Knox gently began to walk towards her, holding his hand out for the gun "give the gun to Knox" I directed her. She bit her lip and then passed the gun to Knox who turned and raised it at Karen. Dawn's eyes shimmered with tears.

"Dawn, I need you to look away," I said hoarsely, my fiancee turning pale "You don't need to see this sweetheart. Look away, or walk away, please" I said quietly.

"I can't" she whispered, and I saw Knox look at her.

"Close your eyes and cover your ears" he instructed her.

Dawn did as he said. Karen's lower lip began to tremble. She raised her hands up "Well you have me" she said, loudly "so you can just take me in or whatever" she said.

I shook my head "No."

She paled even further "No?" she repeated "What do you mean no?"

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mean," I said stepping closer and raising my voice "you were right when you wrote that message Karen. Do you remember what you said? You said it ends tonight" I said dangerously as she stared at the two of us wide-eyed, a look of disbelief appearing on her face. "You wouldn't" she began to protest.

Dawn was slowly turning her back, her eyes still closed. I shot a glance at my fiancee feeling pained. What kind of emotional trauma would she have to deal with when this was all said and done? I couldn't even begin to imagine what she had gone through or what damage had been done to her psyche.

"Once upon a time I would have been more forgiving," I said evenly "I would have sent you somewhere far away and considered the problem to be taken care of, but you made a big mistake Karen. You started going after people we loved, you changed the game and I don't like that."

"Me neither" Knox interjected, a cold smile on his face "I have a wife and a son to think about now. I can't have you running around, free to continue this charade and putting their lives in danger again." "You would be nothing more than murderers" she protested thinly.

"I prefer to think of it as taking care of a problem in a mutually beneficial way," I told her calmly as she stood there, her body stiff, looking trapped, her hand still clutching at the wound in her shoulder.

It was a shame that it had missed something vital, but part of me was glad that Dawn didn't have to deal with the fact she had killed Karen on top of everything else she'd been forced to do. "You were always the cold-blooded one, weren't you lan" she said cunningly "Does Dawn know just how ruthless and ambitious you are?"

I chuckled. Dawn still had her back resolutely turned towards us, Knox now moved in between her and Karen. "Ruthless and ambitious is nothing to take lightly. Dawn sees me for who I am and she's not afraid. I have changed because of her. Because of the love she has given me and asked nothing for in return. You could have had so much more Karen" I said, as she looked at me in pure disgust, her lower lip curling back "You could have had a life worth living, done something worthwhile, even found somebody of your own to care for."

"I had someone" she spat out "Or have you forgotten all about Charlotte?" she asked, her eyes shimmering with tears "I had somebody that was the center of my world and you destroyed them. Do you think that I could just move on after that? That my heart could just become whole again after such a tragedy? You are all murderers" she whispered, lifting her chin "Your whole family is cursed. Your whole damn bloodline" she added bitterly "I hope that you all go to hell and that you all face ruination. I hope the Grant family line dies out as it deserves to."

I c****d my head "I'm afraid that our line will continue, perhaps indefinitely. If anything the Deluca line is close to ending which is a shame but I won't be crying about it" I told her tightly.

"I will haunt you for the rest of your lives," she said, her nostrils flaring "I will make your lives a misery until the day you die. You and your children's children" she spat out attempting to look courageous in spite of what was about to happen.

I raised a brow, my legs beginning to quiver and shake "I'm impressed. But your threats mean nothing anymore" I said "You've finally reached the end of your chapter Karen and there's nowhere else to go but down now."

"I curse you all" she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Dawn to turn slightly towards us from the sudden ear-piercing sound "I hate you, you murdering son of a bitch..."

The bullet hit her right in the middle of the eyes, dead center in the middle of her forehead. I watched in silence as her body toppled to the ground, blood trickling down her forehead, her eyes staring blankly up at the sky. It was finally over. Karen Deluca would never speak again, let alone walk another step. She was gone and so was her legacy. Knox and I glanced at each other, and then at the body, even as Dawn began to slowly pull her hands from her ears. Karen Deluca would never bother my family or my loved ones again. Not in this lifetime or the next. She would be joining her daughter in the afterlife.