The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
Chapter 122

Flair POV

"I hear that I'm going to be an Uncle" lan's face was smooth and expressionless as he joined me in the living room, his hand reaching out to pat Roscoe on the head as he wagged his tail and nudged lan for more pats. "Are you happy for me?" I asked, turning to view him as he sat there nonchalantly.

"Are you?" he asked observing me "What I am is irrelevant, it's what you are that's important."

He always had to be so serious I thought as I nodded and smiled. Only then did he get up and hug me, awkwardly as though trying not to squish me.

"lan, you're not going to hurt me," I said rolling my eyes at his dramatics.

"I don't want to squish the baby," he said protesting as I looked at him in disbelief.

"It's the size of a jelly bean right now, you can hardly squish it" I giggled as he sat back down.

"Where's Knox?" he murmured.

"Taking a nap still, he was up for most of the night" I yawned "trying to find.."

"I already know," lan said grimly "I knew we should have held off having you come out as a Grant."

"Oh lan it's such a pleasure to see your solemn face" Knox quipped, coming into the room, carrying the world's largest soda in hand.

His hair was mussed, his eyes were puffy and he wore an exhausted look but he was awake. "Knox, you should go back to bed" I murmured looking at him pityingly.

"I just need caffeine" he insisted, before hugging me "I heard the news," he said shooting lan a look "and I will be the favorite uncle" he crowed.

lan glowered at him. Knox stuck his tongue out at him. I laughed enjoying the camaraderie between siblings. "What are you up to" grumbled lan "You didn't just get up for nothing."

Knox raised a brow "Well if you must know, I did hack into the coroner report before coming down" he said breezily as though he had done nothing but check the weather on the internet "and they came to the conclusion that poor Sam had a heart attack, brought on by" he held up a hand "the absorption of a random chemical that is untraceable and therefore his death has been ruled as suspicious,"

"Why were you able to find out what the toxin was and they weren't?" I asked confused.

"I had my team looking for every chemical and toxin known to man. By the time the coroner did their tests and thought to look, it no doubt probably wouldn't have shown up on their standard tests and they left it too late to show up on more advanced ones" he shrugged "That's the beauty of having expensive equipment."

"So what now? If they think the death is suspicious does that mean they think he was murdered?"

"Not necessarily" Knox answered "It just means they haven't ruled out the cause yet. It's okay Flair," he said plinking down on a seat and beginning to slurp his soda through the straw as lan winced from the sound "I'm still trying to investigate the sender of the flowers."

"For it to take you this long, I'm guessing they covered their tracks," lan said drily, crossing one ankle in front of another.

Knox looked exasperated "They did, but they haven't come across a man as brilliant as me before," he said puffing out his chest and regarding me with a wink.

"They probably paid cash and paid somebody to do the errand for them," lan said scornfully "They've been careful and you're wasting your time."

Knox promptly deflated. I patted him on the shoulder "Never mind Knox, thank you for trying" I said softly.

He shot lan a menacing look. "At least I'm trying," he said stiffly "What have you been doing all this time?" he added derisively.

lan smirked "Increasing security around Flair's home, Grayson's law firm, as well as placing GPS Trackers on all the vehicles they use."

Knox looked impressed "They already have plenty of security cameras set up around the perimeter but I drew the line at putting them inside" he admitted, grabbing the back of his neck and blushing slightly "It seemed an invasion of privacy" he muttered. "You could almost say that your house is like Fort Knox" Knox cracked making me giggle and lan shook his head in disgust.

"I appreciate it but don't you think it's overkill?" I asked a little tentatively.

"Somebody tried to kill you with flowers," Knox said staring at me as though I had just asked something extremely stupid "I think we went a little too easy on the security, to be honest. How do you feel about a brooch that also doubles as a flame thrower?" I stared at him wondering if he was serious. "I can't live my life wondering what's going to happen next," I said ignoring the suggestion "And besides maybe this person is going to make a mistake. They seem to be escalating, don't they? Which means they are losing control" I said doubtfully.

"Escalation means they lose control and they get more vicious and less controlled with their tricks or attempts" lan agreed carefully "but that's not necessarily a good thing. Yes, they could make a mistake and stuff up, but Flair it also means instead of trying to hurt you from afar, they go for you themselves because you haven't fallen for any of their attempts. That makes me worried"

"But at least then we would know who was behind this" I argued sensibly.

lan stared at me "You're pregnant" he pointed out archly "You have the wellbeing of your unborn child to worry about. I don't know about you, but I would like my niece or nephew to be born safely and to make it to their full gestation period."

I deflated. "I just want this to be over. I want to feel safe in my own home again."

"I could live with you for a while" Knox suggested.

"Don't let him. He'll drive you crazy. We've lost three maids because of him" lan deadpanned "They can't stand the mess he makes and the temper he has when they touch his high-tech equipment."

"Flair is different" Knox argued good-naturedly "I'm not going to yell at her for touching my stuff."

lan stared at him "But the maids are different?" he asked skeptically.

Knox opened his mouth and then shut it.

"Can it you two" I said good-naturedly "As much as I appreciate the gesture Knox" and I did "I think I can manage with Grayson and Roscoe."

I glanced at the dog lying between my two brothers with his head between his paws "And I think it's time I went home" I added smoothly "The longer I spend away from it, the harder it's going to be to go back."

"Come with me," Knox said quickly "Before you go back to that hellhole," he said teasingly as lan frowned at him "at least let me give you something for your own safety."

I debated telling him no but part of me was curious so I followed him up to his room, wrinkling my nose at the amount of clothes littering the floor and piled in one corner as he opened the door with a flourish. There was all sorts of high-quality computer equipment set up and boxes stacked on the floor. It was difficult to just walk in. lan looked around disgusted. "See," he said smugly "the maids won't step foot in here at all."

"Shush lan," Knox said irritably "I'll clean my room when I feel like it" he scowled.

He began to dig through a box. I looked around and tried not to shudder. It was like a teenage boys' room but not surprising. Knox was not the cleanliest man. I would say he never got lucky but the truth was he often just went to the women's house instead, no doubt because they would run screaming if the saw the inside of his room.

"Here," Knox said passing me something.

It was small, almost the size of a box of matches. I glanced down at it curiously. "What is it?"

It had one button on it and there were two metal prongs on the end, so fine you could barely see them. I could see a port to charge the item at the opposite end. I became suspicious. This was the smallest I had ever seen them but I was reasonably certain I knew what this item was.

"A tazer," Knox said calmly "a new one that hasn't reached the market yet. See how small it is? You can easily hide it in the palm of your hand and it will easily fit in your handbag. Don't let the size fool you, it's extremely powerful and it doesn't take long to charge. All you do is press it against the perpetrator and press that button" he beamed "Easy see?"

lan's expression was inscrutable "Do you think it's wise to give Flair such an item?" he asked. "What happens if she accidentally hurts herself instead?"

Knox looked at him "Why not? She needs something in case the bodyguards don't get to her in time" he argued "It's meant for defense and self-protection." "Thank you, Knox," I said hugging him with one arm "I appreciate it," I said sincerely.

I knew I probably wouldn't use it but I could put it in my handbag and forget about it, which would appease Knox. Ian just sighed and shook his head.

"Can you get the limo ready lan?" I asked, trying to distract him before he said anything that made Knox angry or got them both arguing again "I want to say goodbye to Father and then go home with Roscoe."

"Sure" he murmured "I've already taken the liberty of replacing Sam" he winced slightly "so you still have the same amount of bodyguards. One will escort you home" he advised me stiffly as we left the room. "Whatever you do, try not to kill anyone with that thing," he said grimly, nodding at the tazer. "Knowing Knox it's probably lethal."

I gave him a brilliant grin "I promise."

But if somebody came after me or Grayson, I wasn't about to make a promise I wouldn't use it. Knox had given me something useful, a means to protect myself and part of me found myself thanking him silently in my mind. With this, I was no longer defenseless and it might prove useful in the future. I would do anything to protect myself and my unborn baby, even if it went against the very thing I had always strived to be. In this situation, preserving life was not my priority when it came to the perpetrator.