The Heiress Gambit-Chapter 79- Payton and Denki

AUTHOR

The study, once a symbol of cool power, now felt like a cage with a wild animal trapped inside. Shunsuke Rimestone was coming undone.

The news of the Okubo’s failure had been the final, crushing blow. His empire was collapsing, and the architects of its destruction were flying home, untouched.

He paced like a madman, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His eyes, usually so cold and calculating, were wide and wild with a desperate, cornered fury. Suddenly, he stopped at his heavy oak desk. With a violent jerk, he yanked open a drawer and pulled out a sleek, black pistol.

The cold, heavy weight of the gun in his hand seemed to both calm him and fuel his madness.

Barbara, who had been watching him deteriorate with growing dread, felt her blood run cold. "Shunsuke, no!" she cried out, her voice sharp with fear. This was beyond business, beyond revenge. This was madness. "Put that down! Don’t do anything rash!"

Denki, standing stiffly near the window, saw his own life flashing before his eyes. The gun wasn’t just a threat; it was a symbol of how disposable he had always been. He took a cautious step forward, his hands held up in a placating gesture. "Uncle, please. Listen to her. This isn’t the way. There has to be another—"

"ANOTHER WHAT?!" Shunsuke roared, whirling around to face him. All the frustration of the last few months, the humiliation, the financial ruin, was directed at the young man before him. "Another plan? Like the ones you botched? You had one task! One! To stay close to Daki and control my daughter. You were useless! A complete and utter failure!"

Spittle flew from his lips as he screamed. His finger tightened on the grip of the gun. In a swift, terrifying motion, he raised his arm and pointed the barrel directly at Denki’s chest.

Denki froze, his blood turning to ice. He took an involuntary step back, his heart hammering against his ribs. This was it. This was his reward for a lifetime of loyalty, for selling his own soul to this family. He was about to be executed like a faulty piece of equipment.

Payton let out a shrill, terrified scream. "Daddy, stop! Please, calm down!" She rushed forward, her hands fluttering uselessly in the air.

"SHUT UP!" Shunsuke bellowed at her without even looking, his gaze locked on Denki. The gun didn’t waver.

Barbara tried a different approach, her voice trembling as she took a slow, careful step closer. "Shunsuke, my love, please. Relax. Put the gun down. Let’s talk about this."

But he was beyond listening. He was lost in a storm of his own rage and failure. "Maybe I should start with you," he sneered at Denki, his voice dropping to a deadly, low whisper. "Clean out the useless adopted rat. Rid the world of your pathetic existence. A final, useful act from a worthless boy."

Denki’s face, which had been pale with fear, suddenly darkened with a deep, resentful fury. His hands, still in the air, clenched into fists. The word "adopted" was a knife to the heart. This is what I am to him, he thought, a bitter poison flooding his veins. A tool to be used and then thrown away. A rat to be exterminated.

He was done. The fear was burned away by a lifetime of swallowed insults and hidden rage.

Seeing the murderous intent solidify in her father’s eyes, Payton did something no one expected. She moved, placing her body directly between the gun and Denki. "No, Father! Stop it!"

"Payton, don’t," Denki said, his voice flat and exhausted. He tried to push her gently aside, but she stood her ground. "It’s not worth it. He’s not going to listen."

Barbara watched this exchange, her mind reeling. Her daughter, her vain, self-centered Payton, was physically shielding Denki. She was risking her father’s wrath for him. The pieces of a puzzle she never knew existed suddenly clicked together in her mind. The secret glances, the strange defensiveness... it wasn’t just family loyalty.

Oh, my God, Barbara thought, her hand flying to her mouth. It’s them. Payton and Denki. That’s the secret.

The scene before her was no longer just a man having a breakdown. It was a twisted family drama, a web of betrayal and secret alliances that went deeper than she ever imagined. And in the center of it all, her husband held a gun, ready to burn it all down.

Payton didn’t move. A strange, stubborn courage, fueled by sheer panic, kept her rooted to the spot, a human shield between the gun and Denki. "Daddy, just listen! Please!" she begged, her voice cracking.

Denki’s eyes were wide with a new, different kind of fear. It wasn’t for himself anymore. It was for her. "Payton, move!" he hissed, his voice tight with desperation. He tried to gently pull her arm, to shuffle her behind him, but she shook him off violently. "There could be an accident! The gun could go off!" He could picture it, a horrible, blurry moment where a twitch of a finger would take her from him forever.

"Fuck no!" Payton screamed, the words torn from her. She was crying now, hot, messy tears streaming down her face, ruining her perfect makeup. She looked from her enraged father back to Denki. "You can’t die! I won’t let him!"

The raw, desperate declaration hung in the air. It wasn’t about business or family strategy. It was personal. It was visceral.

Denki ran two frustrated hands through his hair, gripping the strands so tightly his scalp burned. He paced two steps away, his mind screaming. Shit, shit, shit! What the fuck is she doing?! he screamed inside his head. She’s going to get us both killed! She’s telling him everything without saying a word!

Shunsuke’s brow furrowed, the pure rage in his eyes momentarily clouded by confusion. He watched the scene—his daughter’s hysterical protection, his nephew’s frantic, personal concern.

This wasn’t just Payton being dramatic. This was something else. The pieces, ugly and impossible, began to click into place in his mind.

Across the room, Barbara ran a hand over her own perfectly styled hair, a gesture of utter frustration and denial. Her stomach churned. Her gut, that cold, socialite instinct, was screaming the truth at her, but her mind was trying desperately not to hear it. The way Payton stood in front of Denki wasn’t how a cousin protected a cousin. It was how a woman protected her lover. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Please, Daddy, just calm the fuck down!" Payton sobbed, her body trembling. She shook her head, the words tumbling out in a broken rush. "That... Denki is... he’s..."

She couldn’t say it. But she didn’t have to.

Shunsuke got the message. The final, horrifying piece of the puzzle slammed into place. His company was ashes, his enemies were triumphant, and now this? This ultimate betrayal, this filth in his own house?

A fury colder and more violent than any he had felt before exploded within him. It was a pure, incandescent rage. He shifted his aim. The barrel of the gun, which had been pointed at Denki’s chest, now rose steadily, aiming directly at Denki’s forehead, just over Payton’s shoulder.

"You stupid boy," Shunsuke whispered, his voice trembling with a hatred so deep it was poisonous. "You took matters into your own fucking hands? You thought you could soil what is mine?"

He needed to hear it. He needed the confirmation to make the act of pulling the trigger feel justified.

His icy gaze locked on Denki. The study was silent except for Payton’s ragged sobs.

"Have you," Shunsuke asked, each word a shard of glass, "been fucking my daughter?"