Return of The Alpha Heiress-Chapter 42: Clarissa – Edwin’s and Tessa’s Past Conflict

Adrian, a few other students we met along the way, and I walked together toward the teachers’ area.

As we passed through the forest path, especially with the light growing dim, my foot caught on tree roots several times. My mind wasn’t fully present. Adrian’s words earlier had left me too anxious to focus.

"Careful, Clar!" Adrian said when I stumbled again.

His firm hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me upright with a quick, steady motion. His other hand brushed my lower back, supporting me until my footing was stable again.

"Thanks," I said absentmindedly.

What Adrian had told me weighed heavily on my mind.

It turned out Tessa wasn’t just anyone. She was Edwin’s cousin, which meant she was my cousin too.

My mother’s wealthy mother from another pack was the sister of Tessa’s grandfather. Basically, my maternal grandmother came from the Grey Pack.

Even AeRey, the company now led by Darren, was located in Grey Pack territory. And the conflict between Tessa and Edwin was connected to AeRey.

When Edwin was ten years old, AeRey held a competition to solve problems in several of their ae-devices. Only participants who had never registered an ae-device patent were allowed to join.

The prize was tempting. The winner’s name would be listed as a co-owner of the patent alongside the ae-engineers who developed the device.

Edwin was extremely excited. He trusted his own abilities, so he joined without hesitation.

The competition lasted a full day. Several devices were presented, along with their problems. Each participant chose one device to work on. Whoever solved the problem most effectively and quickly would win.

Once a participant finished, the judges immediately evaluated their solution. If it wasn’t effective, they were declared failed on the spot.

When Edwin finished and submitted his solution, he wasn’t declared a failure. But he wasn’t announced as the winner either.

Edwin felt confident he would win. As he left the room, he saw Tessa finishing as well. She greeted the judges familiarly and only then did Edwin realize one of the judges was her uncle.

At the time, AeRey was officially led by Alpha Will. But because Alpha Will was busy with his duties as the Alpha, the company was still fully controlled by the Grey family.

Outside the room, Edwin met several participants who had worked on other devices. They chatted while waiting for the results.

When the winners were finally announced, each device had its own winner. As Edwin heard that the winners of other devices were people he had talked to earlier, his confidence grew even stronger.

Those people had been the first in their rooms not to be declared failures. And in Edwin’s room, he was the first participant who wasn’t failed. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

But when the winner for his device was announced, Edwin was crushed.

The winner wasn’t him. It was Tessa Grey.

...

I glanced at Adrian, who had slowed his pace to walk beside me. My feet hurt from stumbling so many times. The other students had already gone ahead because we were too slow.

That was when I realized Adrian was still holding my arm to help me walk.

I quickly pulled my arm away. "I’m fine."

He nodded with a calm smile.

Not wanting things to feel awkward after that moment, I continued our conversation.

"So Edwin’s loss to Tessa made him resent her all this time?"

Adrian looked straight ahead. From the side, he resembled Richard so much that I found myself staring.

Unbothered, he answered calmly, "That’s not what made Edwin truly angry."

"Then what?" I asked, confused and impatient. Was there more to this?

He smiled but didn’t answer right away, clearly testing my patience.

After he was satisfied with the annoyed look I gave him, he finally said,

"You should know that Tessa, Kellan, Mira, and Rylas have been friends since childhood. They were inseparable. And... in that competition, Kellan, Myra, and Rylas each won in their respective devices."

"All four of them are that brilliant?" I asked without thinking. Compared to how lazy they were now, it was hard to believe.

Adrian seemed to read my thoughts.

"It does sound unbelievable. Edwin thought so too. It was strange that all four close friends won their devices. Still, he tried to think positively. After all, AeRey was his family’s company. Surely he wouldn’t be cheated, right?"

I nodded. "That makes sense. But at that time, the Grey family was the one in control of AeRey, wasn’t it?"

"Exactly," Adrian said. "After the competition, Edwin went to the Alpha’s office to get something. He saw Tessa and her three friends entering another room with a judge, who happened to be Tessa’s uncle. Edwin followed them and overheard them thanking her uncle for all the help he had given."

I gasped. "So Edwin was really cheated?!"

Adrian nodded. "Edwin lost control right then. But they acted innocent and claimed he misunderstood. Even after Edwin reported it to Alpha Will, Alpha Will said the Grey family’s influence over AeRey was too strong. He couldn’t do anything."

"Alpha Will is really useless—"

I immediately covered my mouth, realizing my mistake. Adrian only knew Alpha Will from the outside. He might see me as an ungrateful adopted daughter insulting the man who took me in.

Adrian didn’t react and continued,

"Last year, after Darren took control of AeRey, he fired almost all Grey family members who were proven to have committed corruption over the years, including Tessa’s uncle."

Darren was far more ruthless than I expected. I knew he was clever and sly, but I hadn’t imagined he would be this decisive.

"Did the cheating in that old competition come to light too?" I asked.

Adrian shook his head. "It happened too long ago. It was hard to investigate. But at least Darren avenged Edwin."

I nodded slowly. "Darren really is more reliable than Alpha—"

Once again, I shut my mouth. When it came to criticizing the Alpha, my mouth truly had no filter.

Thankfully, Adrian pretended not to hear.

Before long, we arrived and immediately looked for the other best-class students.

Shannon rushed toward us with a worried expression. "I’ve been looking for you everywhere."

"Sorry, I kept tripping earlier," I said guiltily.

The moment she heard that, Shannon started fussing, telling me to sit down and going to get an ice pack. Adrian went with her.

I had no choice but to obey and wait.

That was when I noticed several students glancing my way, openly whispering about me.

"Her ambition is huge. Is she trying to steal Adrian too?"

...