Chapter: Chapter 155Amelia’s POV (Third Person) "I think we need to talk about us, Amelia. Really talk." Lucas's calm, steady voice broke the evening silence. They stood on the private balcony of Amelia's secure coastal apartment, watching the city lights shine across the dark ocean. A cool breeze blew in from the water, carrying the salty scent of the sea. Behind them, the sheer white curtains moved gently in the wind. Inside, Zane was fast asleep after his happy first day at his new school. For once, the apartment was completely peaceful. Amelia turned to look at Lucas, her dark eyes reflecting the city lights. He leaned casually against the polished wooden railing, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms. The warm light from the living room highlighted his handsome features. "What's on your mind, Lucas?" Amelia spoke softly, holding her warm mug of tea between both hands to keep them warm in the cool evening air. Lucas turned to face her, his dark eyes filled with emotion. His gaze made her heart
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-10-23
Chapter: Chapter 154Amelia's POV (Third person )"Sign here, Miss Reynolds, and collect your personal belongings from the bin on your left," the corrections officer grunted, sliding a metal clipboard across the cold intake counter.Olivia's hands shook as she signed the papers. She was no longer wearing the gray prison jumpsuit. Instead, she wore the simple linen blouse and trousers she had on the day she was arrested. After signing her name, she collected her leather handbag and rings from the plastic tray.The heavy security gates of the Central Women's Detention Center groaned open, revealing the bright morning sky.Olivia stepped into the courtyard and squinted against the sunlight. She was finally free. With the help of the legal clearance provided by Amelia's lawyers, the state prosecutor had reduced her charges to three years of supervised probation, community service, and the surrender of all her assets.At the bottom of the concrete steps, a simple silver sedan waited with its engine running. Th
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-10-22
Chapter: Chapter 153Amelia's POV ( Third person)"Are you sure you want the stars on the side, or right on the front, Zane?"Amelia knelt beside the velvet bench in the hallway and adjusted the straps of Zane’s new navy-blue backpack. Morning sunlight streamed through the tall windows, highlighting the school crest embroidered on his uniform. It belonged to St. Jude’s Preparatory Academy, a quiet, highly secure private school on the coast.Zane patted the side pocket of his bag with a proud, beaming smile. "On the side, Mommy! So everybody can see them when I walk!"Amelia laughed softly, genuinely happy. She leaned forward and smoothed Zane’s messy dark curls, then checked his grey trousers and clean white polo shirt one last time.Across the entrance hall, Lucas waited by the open front door, holding a small leather folder containing Zane’s medical records, custody papers, and school enrollment documents. He looked calm and alert, ready to protect them without getting in their way."The administrative
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-10-22
Chapter: Chapter 152Amelia’s POV (Third Person)Silence filled the entrance hall. Outside, the autumn wind battered the high-rise windows, but inside, everything remained still.Lucas instinctively stepped forward, placing himself between Amelia and Marcus to protect her. "Explain yourself, Marcus. And choose your next words very carefully."Marcus didn't move. He stood in his dark wool overcoat, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Amelia. He paid no attention to Lucas standing between them.Unlike the usual arrogance of the Cole family, Marcus seemed haunted and completely exhausted."You knew?" Amelia asked, her voice dangerously quiet, cutting through the silence like a sharp blade. "You sat at our dinner table during those holiday galas at Elmwood. You watched me drink that tea. You saw me wither away while Nathan paraded his secret family in front of the board, and you said nothing?""I couldn't," Marcus spoke in a low whisper, his rough voice breakin
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-10-21
Chapter: Chapter 151Amelia's POV"He isn't coming back, Zane," Amelia said softly, her voice remarkably calm and gentle despite the sharp, painful sting in her chest.She wrapped her arms around the trembling four-year-old and held him close as they sat together on the soft living room rug.Across the room, Lucas stood quietly, his expression serious and thoughtful. He didn't interrupt them. He understood that this was a moment between Amelia and her son. She needed to help Zane understand the truth in a way his young heart could handle.Zane pulled back a little, his large, tear-filled eyes searching Amelia's face for an answer he could understand."Why?" Zane sniffled, wiping his nose with the cuff of his star-patterned pajamas. "Was I bad, Mommy? Did I make him mad at the big house?""Oh, no, my darling. No, never," Amelia whispered fiercely, cupping his warm, rosy cheeks in her hands and looking straight into his eyes. "You were never bad. You are the sweetest, best boy in the whole world, and nothin
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-10-20
Chapter: Chapter 150"Are we going anywhere today, Mommy? Can we stay here?"Zane looked up from the living room rug, holding a wooden block in his small hand. The coastal apartment was filled with warm morning sunlight. For the first time in four years, the home felt peaceful, free from the pain and fear of Elmwood.Amelia knelt beside him with a gentle smile and straightened the collar of his blue pajamas, which were covered in little stars."We can stay right here for as long as we want, sweetheart," Amelia answered softly, her voice steady and warm. "No one is taking us anywhere. This is our home now."Zane gave her a wide, gap-toothed smile before returning to his block fortress, unaware of the legal battles that had changed their lives.Across the room, Lucas left the floor-to-ceiling window and walked over to the mahogany console table. He rested his fingers beside a thick envelope containing certified copies of the estate deeds and the final legal pap
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-10-20
Chapter: CHAPTER 47 — THE APPEALWhitlock's office looked different than Sophie remembered — more files, more coffee cups, the particular chaos of someone working against a clock."Sit down," Whitlock said, gesturing to the chairs across from her desk. "This is going to take some explaining.""Just tell us," Adrian said. "Is she getting out?""No," Whitlock said firmly. "Not immediately, and probably not at all. But I want you to understand the situation fully, because it's going to get uncomfortable before it resolves."She slid a document across the desk."Eleanor's new legal team filed a motion citing juror misconduct," Whitlock said. "Specifically, they claim one juror — Juror Number Seven — failed to disclose a personal connection to the case during jury selection.""What connection?" Sophie asked, scanning the document."The juror's cousin," Whitlock said, "was a former employee at Cross Industries, terminated eleven years ago during a round of layoffs Charles Cross ordered before
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-18
Chapter: CHAPTER 46 — VERIFICATIONWhitlock called four days later, her voice carrying the particular weariness of someone who'd spent those four days buried in bank statements."His story checks out," she said. "Every part of it."Sophie let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "You're certain?""The loan was disbursed eight years ago, exactly as he described," Whitlock said. "Small, initially, then larger as his financial situation worsened. Repaid in full, two years ago, with interest he insisted on paying despite Eleanor's lawyers offering to waive it.""Why would he insist on paying interest?" Adrian asked, listening on speaker."According to the correspondence we recovered," Whitlock said, "he wrote a note with the final payment. I'll read it to you."She paused, then read carefully."I don't want to owe you anything, Eleanor. Not money, not gratitude, not silence. Consider this debt closed, in every sense of the word."Sophie felt something loosen in her chest. "
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-17
Chapter: CHAPTER 45 — SIMON'S TRUTHSimon looked older when he opened the door, though only a week had passed since his last visit to the penthouse."You called ahead," he said, stepping aside to let them into the small back room of his bookshop. "That's not like either of you.""We need to ask you something," Adrian said, no preamble. "And I need you to tell me the truth, whatever it is."Simon's expression shifted, wariness replacing warmth. "What's this about?""A payment," Sophie said. "Three years ago. Before you ever came to us. Before any of this started."Simon went very still."Whitlock's team found it," Adrian said. "Tied to Eleanor's network. Your name, three years back, long before we ever knew you existed."Simon sat down slowly in the chair behind his counter, the color draining from his face."I was wondering when this would surface," he said quietly."So it's real," Sophie said, her stomach dropping despite having half-expected the answer."It's real," Simon conf
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-16
Chapter: CHAPTER 44 — GRACE'S DECISION"Absolutely not," Grace said, setting down her coffee cup so firmly it rattled against the saucer. "I won't take a cent of that money.""Mom—""No, Sophie." Grace's voice was sharp in a way Sophie rarely heard from her. "You don't understand what you're asking.""Then explain it to me," Sophie said. "Because from where I'm sitting, this is the one piece of Eleanor's fortune that could actually do some good.""That's exactly the problem," Grace said. "You want it to mean something. I understand that. But I spent thirteen years hiding because of that woman. I don't want her money anywhere near the thing I built to undo what she did to people like me."Adrian, sitting quietly at the end of the table, finally spoke. "What if it wasn't framed as her money?"Grace looked at him. "What do you mean?""The trust wasn't created by Eleanor alone," Adrian said. "It was created by my grandfather too. If we take a portion and use it, we could frame it as restitution fr
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 43 — THE CHILD SHE NEVER HADSophie found Margaret asleep in her crib that night, one small fist curled against her cheek, breathing slow and even in the soft glow of the nightlight.She stood in the doorway for a long time, simply watching."You're doing the thing again," Adrian said quietly, joining her."What thing?""The staring thing. Like you're afraid she'll disappear if you look away too long."Sophie smiled faintly. "Maybe I am."Adrian wrapped an arm around her, and they stood together in the doorway, the trust paperwork still sitting untouched on the kitchen table behind them."Can I tell you something strange?" Sophie asked."Always.""In my first life," she said, "I never let myself think about having a child with you. Not once, in three years of marriage.""Why not?""Because it felt impossible," Sophie said. "You were so distant. I told myself a man who couldn't even explain a bad mood to me certainly wasn't going to want a family. So I just... never th
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-14
Chapter: CHAPTER 42 — THE TRUST"So it's real," Sophie said, staring at the document in Whitfield's hands. "An actual trust. Not a trap.""As far as I can tell," Whitfield said. "But I want a second legal team to review it independently. I don't trust anything connected to Eleanor at face value anymore, even something that looks legitimate.""How much money are we talking about?" Adrian asked.Whitfield checked the figure again. "Just under twelve million dollars."Sophie let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Twelve million dollars. Sitting there this whole time.""Waiting for a qualifying heir," Whitfield said. "Which, according to this document, means a direct descendant of either Eleanor or Charles Cross, born after the original agreement was signed.""Margaret," Sophie said."Margaret," Whitfield confirmed.Adrian shifted Margaret higher on his hip, frowning. "I don't want her touching a single dollar connected to that woman.""That's your right to decide," Whitfield said ca
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-09-13
Masuk
