The Billionaire and the Scandalous Heiress Elisa, heiress to an empire built by her father, Alexander Dorne, a formidable tycoon with powerful and dangerous alliances, has grown up in a world governed by luxury, expectations and appearances. Her adopted brother, Nathan, once an adored model and now head of an influential agency, is her mentor, her refuge, and perhaps her only ally in a stifling life. But an unexpected tension arises between them. What was once a family bond turns into a forbidden, electric attraction that threatens to shatter the rigid codes of their family. Elisa finds herself trapped between the weight of duty, her unspoken desires, and Nathan's dark secrets, which he jealously keeps hidden. As scandalous rumors begin to circulate, enemies of the Dorne empire seek to exploit this fragility to destroy their dynasty. Why does Nathan avoid some of their powerful associates? What is he hiding in his mysterious movements? Should Elisa sacrifice her own happiness to protect the family legacy or defy her father, ready to do anything to bury the slightest scandal? The truth she will discover could well shake everything she thought she knew about her family... and about herself.
Chapter 1 Chapitre 1
Chapter 1
She hadn't planned on coming back. At least not in this way. The private jet that had brought her back from Europe had landed on the tarmac in the late afternoon mist, like an old memory that we didn't really want to see again. The pale lights of the airport reminded him of a scene from a film noir, cold and devoid of any hope. But none of this frightened him. She was used to returning to this lost corner of the world, this nerve center of her father's empire.
In the living room of the family home, the atmosphere was heavy. As always. Alexander Dorne, the patriarch, the man she had never really known, looked like a lion in a crystal cage. Still still, still relentless. She knew him by his gestures, his orders, his unspoken rules. But, as every time he appeared, the emotion of his return was diluted in an ocean of calculated coldness.
He got up when he saw her. A slight smile had touched his lips, but nothing in his eyes betrayed affection. No more than any burst of benevolence. Only this sharp look, like a well-sharpened blade.
"Elisa, you're finally back," he said in a calm, almost neutral voice, as if it were a formality. Then he added, "It's time for you to take your place. »
She suppressed a shudder. There had never been a question about his place. The Dorne Empire had always waited for it, as an accomplished deed. She was just one piece in a big chessboard, and her return was nothing personal. It was all a question of duty, of survival. The succession of the Dorne was not decided on sentimental choices, but on facts and strategies. And she knew her place well. In a corner in the shadow of his father, where no one asked questions.
"I'm tired," she replied, pretending not to understand. But she knew that fatigue was no excuse. Never. He expected immediate commitment from her. She knew it, and he knew it too. She had prepared for this. Yet something in his tone had slipped, like an unwanted message.
Alexandre had stared at her for a moment, his piercing gaze scrutinizing every micro-detail of her face. Then he sighed, as if he had just made a decision. "Your role hasn't changed, Elisa. You have to be part of this family and assume what your name represents. You don't have time for distractions. »
She would have liked to reply, to tell him that perhaps, in fact, she needed distractions. But she was silent. She knew that no words would matter, that no rebellion would find echo here.
The moment was solemn. It wasn't a family dinner where the kids sat around the table discussing their lives. No. Tonight it was all about business. From the future. Of the empire. Alexandre had told her about a dinner, a dinner that was being prepared, where she would have to shine, prove herself worthy of her name, and face important associates. She knew these men, but from afar. All sharks, all predators who had survived thanks to their ability to manipulate others, to erase their tracks.
She nodded, and in the silence that followed, a photo on the coffee table caught her eye. A recent photo of Nathan, his adopted brother, a young man always impeccable in his posture, surrounded by models with eyes heavy with desire. He wore a charming smile, but a smile of a man who never let himself be captured by the cameras. His eyes, hidden behind black sunglasses, gave him the impression of another person, of another world.
"You know what I mean, right? » asked Alexandre, breaking the silence. "Nathan, you need to understand that he is far from the family. He's too... he's too busy chasing his image, being what he's not. Which it will never be. »
Élisa, almost imperceptibly, clenched her fists. Nathan. She knew him. Better than anyone. Or, at least, she thought she knew him. The man behind the mannequin, the one who lived in the shadow of his own name, the one she had always wanted to understand but who remained like a broken mirror that she could never rebuild. Nathan. He was her refuge, her silent accomplice in this world of manipulation and pretense. But today he was absent. He was elsewhere. She felt it.
"I don't know where he is," she had blurted out, without even thinking about it. "I haven't heard from you in a long time. »
Alexandre had observed her, but his face remained frozen, closed. "That's not surprising," he had said coldly. "He has his own interests, and they are not ours. »
She looked at the photo for a moment longer, before putting it down. Nathan was no longer a lost child, a brother she could protect. No, he had become another version of his father. Maybe even worse. This distance he had put between them, this indifference... it disturbed her. But all that was nothing compared to what was to come.
Dinner was approaching. Alexandre gave him some instructions, polite but authoritative words. She would have to ask questions about investments, discuss expansion, convince already convinced men. It wasn't for her, that. She wasn't there for politics. But she knew: in this family, it wasn't the choice that mattered. What mattered was control, image, place. Dinner was just dinner in the Dorne Empire. It was a test. A trap. A trap where dreams were shattered in the silence of perfection.
Once alone, Élisa sat down on a black leather sofa. The sounds of the house seemed distant, muffled. She wanted to throw everything away. To burn everything. But she knew that freedom would never come from her. She never had this chance. Not here.
The dinner began with the opulence expected of them. Élisa had put on her black dress, impeccable, simple but refined. No extravagance. No eccentricity. Only a perfect mask, an expression of calculated coldness. She sat down at the table, in front of the men who devoured her with their eyes, but whom she knew how to manipulate perfectly. She knew their game. She mastered it. But Nathan wasn't there to help him. And somewhere, something deep inside her was starting to crack.
"Welcome, Elisa," said one of Alexandre's associates, a man of around fifty, with receding hair and thin glasses, a hypocritical smile on his lips. "It's always a pleasure to see the heiress in person. »
She responded with a cold smile. Hands placed on the table, palms open as if to better string together the words. She knew that this dinner was just a game, a game where the masks had to be removed. But Nathan wasn't there. And somewhere, in this luxurious room, she felt a void.
The dinner continued, long and heavy, like a wait. A wait that she could no longer bear. The men talked business. Exchanges of figures, projects, ambitions. But nothing interested him. It was all a lifeless echo. Until a familiar voice was heard.
"Elisa, I didn't know you were interested in these financial details," Alexandre had said, his authoritative voice breaking the silence.
She looked at him, without reacting. He was right. None of this interested him. Not until there was Nathan.
Chapter 1 Chapitre 1
05/12/2024
Chapter 2 Chapitre 2
05/12/2024
Chapter 3 Chapitre 3
05/12/2024
Chapter 4 Chapitre 4
05/12/2024
Chapter 5 Chapitre 5
05/12/2024
Chapter 6 Chapitre 6
05/12/2024
Chapter 7 Chapitre 7
05/12/2024
Chapter 8 Chapitre 8
05/12/2024
Chapter 9 Chapitre 9
05/12/2024
Chapter 10 Chapitre 10
05/12/2024
Chapter 11 Chapitre 11
05/12/2024
Chapter 12 Chapitre 12
05/12/2024
Chapter 13 Chapitre 13
05/12/2024
Chapter 14 Chapitre 14
05/12/2024
Chapter 15 Chapitre 15
05/12/2024
Chapter 16 Chapitre 16
05/12/2024
Chapter 17 Chapitre 17
05/12/2024
Chapter 18 Chapitre 18
05/12/2024
Chapter 19 Chapitre 19
05/12/2024
Chapter 20 Chapitre 20
05/12/2024
Chapter 21 Chapitre 21
06/12/2024
Chapter 22 Chapitre 22
06/12/2024
Chapter 23 Chapitre 23
06/12/2024
Chapter 24 Chapitre 24
06/12/2024
Chapter 25 Chapitre 25
06/12/2024
Chapter 26 Chapitre 26
06/12/2024
Chapter 27 Chapitre 27
06/12/2024
Chapter 28 Chapitre 28
06/12/2024
Chapter 29 Chapitre 29
06/12/2024
Chapter 30 Chapitre 30
06/12/2024
Chapter 31 Chapitre 31
06/12/2024
Chapter 32 Chapitre 32
06/12/2024
Chapter 33 Chapitre 33
06/12/2024
Chapter 34 Chapitre 34
06/12/2024
Chapter 35 Chapitre 35
06/12/2024
Chapter 36 Chapitre 36
06/12/2024
Chapter 37 Chapitre 37
06/12/2024
Chapter 38 Chapitre 38
06/12/2024
Chapter 39 Chapitre 39
06/12/2024
Chapter 40 Chapitre 40
06/12/2024
Other books by vino htn
More