Librairie
Rechercher
Accueil / Romance / My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis / 49. THE TRAP INSIDE THE WARNING

Partager

49. THE TRAP INSIDE THE WARNING

Auteur: Phil
last update Date de publication: 2026-07-02 23:10:33

ELARA’S POV

Julian called an hour after his message, and his voice carried something I had never heard in it before.

He told me everything Adrian had said, word for word, the way a man recounts something he has been replaying against his will.

The keys. The network. Victoria as fuel rather than architect. And the last thing, the worst thing, delivered like a gift on the way out.

That Celeste might have been Adrian's all along, and that the chessboard might not be an invitation but a lure, leadi
Continuez à lire ce livre gratuitement
Scanner le code pour télécharger l'application
Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Chapitre verrouillé

Dernier chapitre

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    164. THE STRENGTH OF THE LOWER BRIDGE

    ARIA'S POVThe morning sun had barely cleared the granite crags when Theo, Thomas, and David headed down the winding gravel track toward the lower gorge. The mountain air was cold and crisp, carrying the sharp scent of damp hemlock, crushed fern, and the icy spray of the creek where it narrowed into a churning white-water flume.Two hundred yards below the copper gate, where the road crossed the torrent before winding out into the wider world, sat the lower timber bridge. Built years ago from thick white oak stringers resting on dry stacked granite abutments, it had carried horses, loaded supply wagons, and countless travelers safely across the gorge. But after a spring of heavy snowmelt and the recent hauling of timber and stone, the northern approach had settled two inches into the gravel, causing the main deck timbers to creak ominously whenever the heavy work cart crossed over."If we leave that settlement until the autumn rains hit," Theo remarked as we reached the edge of the

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    163. THE HARVEST OF THE HEDGEROW

    ARIA'S POVThe morning dew had barely evaporated from the high stone walls when Elizabeth stepped out onto the sunlit terrace, a stack of woven split-oak baskets cradled in her arms.While the men spent the morning in the upper barn loft hoisting two hundred pounds of clean wheat into Kat’s iron-strapped cedar chests, the lower valley belonged to a quieter, sweeter rhythm. The long stretch of dry-stacked granite wall that marked the eastern boundary of the orchard was thick with tangled wild blackberry canes. Heavy, dark, and swollen with the summer's late heat, the clusters hung in heavy clusters over the grey stone, scenting the warm air with the perfume of ripe fruit and sun-warmed earth."If we don't pick them today, the autumn thrushes will harvest them for us by tomorrow night," Elizabeth remarked, setting three wide baskets down on the long oak table under the porch roof. She looked over at Maya and me with a knowing spark in her eyes behind her brass-rimmed spectacles. "A

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    162. THE SECURING OF THE GRAIN

    ARIA'S POVThe morning after the harvest loaf was broken, the valley woke to a sky crisp, pale, and cool as polished glass. A light frost had touched the high peaks during the night, painting the jagged granite crags in silver, though down on the terrace, the air quickly softened as the sun cleared the eastern ridge.In the upper courtyard, the six heavy cedar tubs of threshed, winnowed wheat sat in a neat row under the porch overhang, covered with clean canvas tarps held down by smooth river stones. Nearly two hundred pounds of golden grain rested there, the tangible proof of yesterday's labor. But grain left in tubs on a porch was vulnerable to damp air, field mice, and early autumn mountain storms. It needed a permanent, secure home.Down in the carpenter’s shop, Julian and Thomas had spent the previous afternoon framing three massive cedar grain chests along the northern wall of the dry barn loft. Built from thick, tongue-and-groove planks of aromatic red cedar, the bins were

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    161. THE FLOUR AND THE FLAME

    ARIA'S POVThe sky above the western ridge had shifted to a deep, velvety indigo, dotted with the first bright prickles of evening stars, by the time the heavy wooden hand mill was bolted securely to the end of the long oak board.The mill was a magnificent, ancient piece of equipment, two thick discs of dressed mountain granite enclosed in a polished beechwood casing, turned by a long iron crank handle with a smoothed hickory grip. Julian had oil-rubbed the iron gears after the winnowing was done, and now the mechanism sat ready on the porch, gleaming softly under the amber light of two hanging oil lamps."Fill the hopper half-full, Maya," Elizabeth instructed, her voice a calm, comforting anchor as the household gathered around the expanded board. "Not too high, or the stones will choke on the first pass. We want a fine, silk-soft flour for tonight's harvest loaf."Maya leaned over the wooden hopper, using a carved birch scoop to transfer two generous helpings of the clean, golden

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    160. THE WIND AND THE GRAIN

    ARIA'S POVBy four o'clock in the afternoon, the steady, rhythmic thud-thud-thud-thud of the four flails inside the stone barn had finally fallen silent.Across the high granite flagstones lay a deep, golden carpet of threshed wheat a rich, fragrant tangle of crushed stalks, papery husks, and hundreds of thousands of loose, plump golden kernels. The dark interior of the barn smelled intensely of dry summer straw, crushed grain, and the clean, lingering pine smoke that drifted up from Kat’s forge down by the creek.Thomas, David, Theo, and Silas stood along the edge of the threshing floor, wiping the sweat from their brows with damp linen rags. Their grey canvas trousers and work shirts were dusted with fine golden flour and dry chaff that caught the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the high double doors."That’s three solid bushels from the first four rows alone," Silas reported, using a broad wooden shovel to push the crushed straw into a neat pile against the timber wall.

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    159. TO THE THRESHING FLOOR

    ARIA'S POVBy two o'clock in the afternoon, the summer heat hung heavy over the valley floor, baking the cut stubble of the south field until the sweet, dry scent of harvested straw filled the air.Standing in three long, immaculate rows were forty eight golden wheat shocks, their bound heads drying rapidly under the brilliant sun. The hard work of the morning cut was done, but the second phase of the harvest was just beginning.Silas had brought the heavy wooden flatbed cart down from the barn, its large, iron-rimmed wheels rolling smoothly over the dry dirt path behind Barnaby and Clover. Thomas and David walked on either side of the cart, carrying four-tined wooden pitchforks that Silas had smoothed and oiled earlier that week."Stack them heads-inward, David," Thomas instructed as he lifted the first heavy sheaf off its shock. His raspy voice carried a calm, natural authority born of decades working the land. "If you lay the seed heads toward the center and the butt ends facin

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    4. THE MAN WHO WATCHES

    ELARA’S POV The next morning, I tried to act like everything was normal. I tied my apron and picked up my tray. I told myself I would not think about the note in my pocket and i would not think about the man who gave it to me, or the other man who should not have noticed me but did. The bell abo

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    3. THE GHOST FROM HER PAST

    ELARA’S POV The night after the gala, everything felt wrong. I went back to work like nothing had changed. It was as if I had not seen a world that was never meant for me, as if I had not stood in front of a man who looked at me like I truly mattered. But nothing felt the same. The diner smelle

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    15. THE NAME ON THE LIST

    ELARAI did not let my face change when Lydia said his name.I had spent years learning to hold still while the ground moved underneath me and this was simply the hardest test of that skill I had ever faced.“Silas Thorne helped Victoria make your sister disappear,” I said.“His name is on the list

  • My Billionaire Ex- Husband’s Nemesis    1. WHAT THE DIRT HIDES

    ELARA’S POV The first thing I heard when I stepped through the door of my own home was laughter, and it did not belong to anyone I loved. I stood in the doorway of the small apartment on Crest Lane with my work shoes still on and my uniform smelling. Looking closer, I watched three women I h

Plus de chapitres

Vous vous intéresseriez aussi à

Découvrez et lisez de bons romans gratuitement
Accédez gratuitement à un grand nombre de bons romans sur GoodNovel. Téléchargez les livres que vous aimez et lisez où et quand vous voulez.
Lisez des livres gratuitement sur l'APP
Scanner le code pour lire sur l'application
DMCA.com Protection Status