She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 317

Someone like Lucian—born into wealth, reinforced by rank, backed by real authority—was rare enough to count on one hand.

But he understood exactly what Loyce was getting at. “Then we wait,” he said. “And let the one hiding in the dark show their face.”

It would still take several days for the warship to return to Metropia. Once satellite signal was fully restored, Lucian made a private call and received an unexpected piece of news.

Gavin—and every asset under his family’s name—had been emptied out. The bank’s answer was blunt: the transfers had been authorized using Gavin’s own biometric credentials.

What remained of the Quinn family was a slice of trust money—nowhere near enough to support everyone who depended on the estate.

In other words, Gavin had been the engine holding them all together. With him dead and the money stripped away through “special means,” the family was effectively bankrupt overnight.

Lucian ended the call and looked across the room.

Loyce was speaking with the ship’s technicians about artillery systems and weapons research, calm and focused. Lucian’s expression turned complicated—hard to read, but not hard to guess.

It wasn’t exactly a mystery where that money had gone.

Loyce noticed his stare and turned. “What is it?”

Lucian considered for a moment, then pulled a little citrus hard candy a corporal had given him from his pocket and offered it to her. He didn’t explain—just commented, “You’re something else. A little rich girl.”

Loyce arched a brow. “Your people just asked if I wanted to go to the range and try your weapons. They want to compete.”

Lucian glanced at the soldiers around her—one after another, tall, broad, built like freight trains. “Why do they want to compete with you?”

One stepped forward and reported stiffly, “Because she said she could take on ten of us by herself.”

“We don’t think that’s possible,” another added quickly.

A third said, “She knows weapons on paper. But real combat is different.”

Loyce nodded once. “But I was telling the truth.”

Lucian watched his men get riled up, and he was curious too. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Loyce fire a handgun—though he’d sensed she knew how during the beach incident, and the bodies recovered from Gavin’s cargo ship didn’t exactly lie.

The ship’s forensic examiner had already reported it: multiple victims killed cleanly with blades and bullets, consistent technique, the kind of precision that only came from experience. The wounds suggested ambush and assassination—not the loud, messy style of pirates. Even the times of death didn’t line up in a way that matched a chaotic firefight.

When the examiner laid it out for him, Lucian’s mind had immediately supplied one image: a beautiful face, perfectly composed.

He couldn’t think of anyone else who would bring the plan forward, infiltrate a ship for children, and execute an assassination strategy with that kind of discipline.

So Lucian said, “Fine. Let’s do it.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify