Biblioteca
Buscar
Início / Beyond Our Broken Dreams / Chapter 9

Compartilhar

Chapter 9

Autor: Hera Hazel
It was a text from Preston.

'Tanya, something urgent came up at work, and I have to leave town for a week. Stay home and rest, and make sure you take your medication on time. I'll have a surprise for you when I get back. Don't forget to miss me.'

Tanya stared at the message as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

But something inside her had gone completely cold.

I have a surprise for you too, Preston.

One you'll never see coming.

Her hands trembling, she wiped away her tears and was about to call her attorney when her phone rang first.

'Mr. Leedon' flashed across the screen.

Tanya's heart jolted.

She drew a deep breath and answered.

“Your thirty-day waiting period officially ended at midnight last night. The divorce has been finalized. I just picked up the certified decree from the courthouse. Are you free now? I can bring it to you, or you can come by the office.”

The divorce was final?

It was finally over.

“I'll come get it.”

Her voice was hoarse but eerily calm.

“Right now.”

“All right. I'll be waiting.”

An hour later, Tanya walked out of the law office with the certified divorce papers in her hand.

“Ms. Spencer.”

Mr. Leedon followed her outside, sympathy and concern written across his face.

“What are you planning to do now? As for Mr. Hayes...”

“Mr. Leedon.”

Tanya interrupted him and looked up.

Her eyes were almost frighteningly empty.

“I need two more favors from you.”

He hesitated.

“Tell me.”

“First, I want Tanya Spencer legally declared dead. I don't want this identity anymore.”

Mr. Leedon's eyes widened.

“Declared dead? Tanya, that requires documentation, a legitimate cause, and a complicated legal process.”

“Then the cause will be an accidental death.”

Her voice didn't waver.

“Today.”

She looked directly at him.

“You know how to make it happen, don't you? Money isn't an issue. I have enough personal assets to cover whatever it costs, with plenty left over to compensate you for the trouble.”

Mr. Leedon studied the determination in her eyes.

He could tell there was no changing her mind.

Finally, he gave a heavy nod.

“I understand.”

Then he asked quietly, “What's the second favor?”

Tanya slowly turned her head toward the direction of the house she'd once shared with Preston.

Something destructive flickered deep in her eyes.

“Burn the house.”

Mr. Leedon froze.

“It doesn't have to be a huge fire. Just enough to make it look accidental.”

She paused.

“And make it look like Tanya Spencer never made it out.”

Mr. Leedon understood immediately.

She wanted Tanya Spencer to die in that fire.

To disappear completely from everyone's lives.

No trail.

No explanation.

Nothing left behind.

He stared at her for a long moment.

“You've really thought this through?”

His voice was rough.

“Once you do this, Tanya Spencer will be gone. There'll be no going back.”

“She should've died a long time ago.”

Tanya's voice was barely more than a whisper.

“The day she started believing in fairy-tale love.”

Silence stretched between them.

Finally, Mr. Leedon let out a long, heavy sigh.

“All right.”

He sounded as though the words had taken everything out of him.

“I'll help you. But you have to promise me something.”

Tanya looked at him.

“Once you leave, never come back to Harbor City. Don't let anyone find out who you become or where you go.”

His expression turned grave.

“Tanya Spencer has to disappear completely.”

“I promise.”

Tanya nodded.

“Thank you, Mr. Leedon.”

“Take care of yourself.”

He shook her hand, his expression complicated.

Tanya didn't linger after leaving the law office.

She went straight to the airport and bought a ticket on the earliest flight she could get.

Once everything was arranged, she sat in the crowded terminal, watching planes take off and land beyond the massive glass windows.

Inside, she felt strangely empty.

Strangely calm.

Her phone vibrated.

A message from Mr. Leedon.

Just one word.

'OK.'

Everything was ready.

Tanya powered off her phone.

Then she removed the SIM card, snapped it in half, and dropped it into the nearest trash can.

A boarding announcement sounded overhead.

Tanya rose from her seat and headed for the gate.

She crossed the jet bridge, entered the plane, and took a window seat.

The aircraft began to taxi.

Then it accelerated, lifted from the runway, and climbed into the sky.

Below her, Harbor City grew smaller and smaller until the clouds swallowed it completely.

Goodbye.

No.

Farewell.

Preston Hayes.

Liam Hunter.

May we never meet again in this lifetime.

May the two of you get everything you ever wanted in the world you've built out of lies, schemes, and cruelty.

Tanya rested her head against the window and looked out at the endless sea of clouds, the stars gradually emerging above them.

Then she closed her eyes.

A tear slipped silently down her cheek.

But this time, it wasn't for everything she'd lost.

It was for the life she was about to begin.

Continue a ler este livro gratuitamente
Escaneie o código para baixar o App
Capítulo anterior Próximo capítulo

Último capítulo

  • Beyond Our Broken Dreams   Chapter 38

    That day marked the ceremony for the Golden Compass Award, the highest honor in the international design world.With the social impact and artistic merit of her Rebirth collection, Summer took home the top prize.She stood onstage in a simple white gown, her short hair sleek and neat, her smile poised.The spotlight shone down on her.Every eye in the room was fixed on her.She accepted the heavy trophy and faced an audience filled with the world's leading designers, critics, and media.Then she began to speak.Her voice carried through every corner of the auditorium and, through the livestream, across the world.“Thank you to the judges, and thank you to everyone who has supported Reborn.“This award doesn't belong to me alone. It belongs to every person who has struggled through darkness but never stopped searching for the light.”She paused.Her calm gaze swept across the audience, as though looking past everyone in the room toward something far away.“I've lived through

  • Beyond Our Broken Dreams   Chapter 37

    Meanwhile, Summer's Nirvana jewelry exhibition opened in Paris as scheduled.None of the surrounding scandals hurt it.If anything, the successive controversies involving the Hayes and Hunter families only drew more attention to Summer's story as both a survivor and a woman who had rebuilt her life.Global interest surged.So did the praise.The exhibition was an unprecedented success.On the night it closed, Summer held a press conference that was livestreamed worldwide.For the first time, she publicly addressed all the rumors surrounding her.No tears.No emotional performance.She stood beneath the lights in a simple black dress and calmly, clearly, and firmly stated the facts.She confirmed that she had once been Tanya Spencer.She confirmed that the abuse had really happened.Then, in front of the cameras, she removed the signature *Scars* bracelet from her wrist.The faint, winding burn scar beneath it was exposed to the entire world.A wave of shocked gasps swept

  • Beyond Our Broken Dreams   Chapter 36

    The color rapidly drained from Preston's face.His consciousness began to fade.But he still forced himself to turn his head toward Summer.Her bodyguards had already freed her and ripped the tape from her mouth.Preston opened his mouth, trying to say something.Instead, blood spilled from his lips.Summer stood several feet away, surrounded by her security team.She watched him lying in a pool of blood.Watched him struggle to keep his eyes on her.There was no panic on her face.No sadness.Not even much surprise.Only a deep, complicated calm.As though she'd expected this to happen all along.Or perhaps she simply didn't care.Her bodyguards urged her to leave immediately.Summer gave Preston one last look.It was brief.Almost weightless.There was no emotion in it.She looked at him the way she might look at a dying stranger on the side of the road.Then she turned away.Surrounded by her guards, she walked quickly to the car waiting in the shadows and got

  • Beyond Our Broken Dreams   Chapter 35

    The crisis at Hayes Corporation spread across the globe like an avalanche overnight.The stock price collapsed.Tens of billions in market value vanished.Banks demanded repayment.Business partners began questioning their commitments.Panic spread internally.Preston rushed back from Paris and took command at headquarters.He spent day and night in meetings, negotiating, containing the fallout, and trying to keep the company from unraveling.Through it all, he remained frighteningly calm.He stabilized the core businesses, launched an aggressive crisis-management campaign, and threw every resource he had into tracing the anonymous email and limiting the damage.But visible threats were easier to guard against than hidden ones.While Preston was buried in the crisis, an old rival who had remained quiet for years seized the opportunity.They secretly planned to kidnap him and force him to hand over key technology and market share.Somehow, they obtained Summer's Paris addre

  • Beyond Our Broken Dreams   Chapter 34

    “Your idea of loving me was helping your best friend spend five years pretending to be him so you could sleep with his wife?”Summer didn't raise her voice.She didn't need to.Every word cut straight through Liam.“Your idea of loving me was joining in when I was drugged, humiliated, and treated like a toy?”Her gaze was cold.“You didn't just participate. You enjoyed it.”Liam went rigid.All the color drained from his face.Summer looked away.She opened the small purse she was carrying and took out a tiny, unlabeled box of pills.Then she casually tossed it at his feet.The box landed on the pavement with a faint tap.“These are for sex addiction.”Her tone was flat, as though she were recommending something completely ordinary.“I think you need them.”Liam stared down at the little box by his shoes.Cold spread through his entire body.It felt as though he'd been stripped naked and thrown out into the snow.Shame and pain nearly swallowed him whole.Summer lif

  • Beyond Our Broken Dreams   Chapter 33

    Liam used some less-than-conventional means to track down Summer's address in Paris.She lived in a high-rise apartment building with extremely tight security.He knew she traveled with bodyguards and kept an unpredictable schedule.His only chance was to wait outside her building and catch her when she came home.So he waited in his car for two days and two nights.On the evening of the third day, just as daylight was beginning to fade, the familiar black Bentley slowly approached the entrance to the underground garage.Liam immediately shoved open the car door and rushed over.The Bentley stopped.The driver and the bodyguard in the front passenger seat got out first, watching the unexpected visitor warily.Then the rear door opened.Summer stepped out.She wore a camel-colored coat over a light knit dress.Compared with the last time he'd seen her, she looked less sharp today.Softer.More relaxed.The moment she saw Liam blocking the car, her steps paused.Her brows

Mais capítulos

Você também pode gostar

Explore e leia bons romances gratuitamente
Acesso gratuito a um vasto número de bons romances no app GoodNovel. Baixe os livros que você gosta e leia em qualquer lugar e a qualquer hora.
Leia livros gratuitamente no app
ESCANEIE O CÓDIGO PARA LER NO APP
DMCA.com Protection Status