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Chapter 24: The Unmasking of a Pawn
Last Updated:
2025-06-10 16:59:18
Latest chapter
Once my Wife Chapter 127: Elena’s Warning and Lila’s Choice
The café was quiet enough to hear the spoon clink against the edge of a coffee cup. Outside, the low hum of city traffic mixed with the rustle of leaves from Central Park. Bella sat near the back corner, hidden from the crowd. The smell of roasted beans filled the air, but she barely tasted her drink. She’d been waiting—heart tight, mind racing—when Elena finally slid into the seat across from her.Elena didn’t waste time. Her sharp eyes darted once toward the window before she reached into her leather bag and pulled out a thick, sealed folder. She set it down gently, like a bomb waiting to go off.Elena (quietly): “You were right to ask about Bannon. I’ve been digging into his periphery—every hidden record, every sealed settlement. The man’s not just powerful, Bella. He’s engineered that way. Legally bulletproof. Financially sterile. A fortress in a suit.”She pushed the file across the table.Bella (hesitant): “And you found a crack?”Elena leaned back, folding her arms.Elena: “Twe
Once my Wife Chapter 126: Intimacy and Infiltration
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Jason said—half joke, half warning—before the door clicked shut behind them.“Don’t say that like it’s a consolation prize,” Bella murmured, sliding her hand into the small of his back. The War Room’s glass still blurred in her mind like a bad dream; monitors wiped clean, red lines that looked like bleeding. “Quiet can be a trap.”“Then we’ll make noise when we need to.” He breathed against her hair. “Right now? I want to be loud in a different way.”She laughed, the sound fragile and defiant. “You and your metaphors.”“Not a metaphor.” He kissed the side of her neck. “A promise.”They had left the War Room with strategy notes folded into their pockets and the weight of the night in their shoulders. They had also left, deliberately, the armor they showed the world—the tailored suits, the polished words, the public faces that smiled for cameras and shook hands with people who liked to pretend loyalty was purchasable.The bedroom lights were low. The city o
Once my Wife Chapter 125: The Sanctioned Bait
The handshake looked warm from a distance — practiced, polite, even friendly. But up close, it was anything but.Robert Bannon’s grip was firm and deliberate, the kind of handshake meant to send a message: I’m in control. His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and the calm in his tone was the kind that made Jason Reed’s instincts flare red.The room itself mirrored that tension — polished marble floors, golden chandeliers, champagne glasses glinting beneath soft jazz. Every conversation felt rehearsed, every laugh a performance. The launch event for the Bannon Foundation’s “New Cities Initiative” wasn’t about charity or progress. It was about power — and tonight, Jason and Bella had walked right into its nest.Robert turned slightly, the movement smooth, almost predatory. “A genuine pleasure, Jason,” he said, his voice carrying that rich, velvety authority of a man who owned every room he entered. “Lila is a remarkable young woman. Ethan speaks highly of her vision. We believe strongly in f
Once my Wife Chapter 124: The Uncomfortable Double Date
The invitation arrived in a thick white envelope with gold trim and Jason Reed’s name embossed in bold letters. Inside, the words shimmered like a performance:The Bannon Foundation cordially invites you to the Young Leaders in Sustainable Design Gala.Jason turned the card slowly between his fingers before setting it on the table.He looked across at his daughter, Lila, who was busy scrolling through her phone, and then at Ethan—her boyfriend, the one Jason had avoided acknowledging for months. Ethan sat stiffly, trying to act casual in the presence of a man who clearly didn’t want him there.Jason’s tone was smooth, practiced—the kind that made boardrooms listen but families flinch.“Lila,” he began, “I’ve decided I want to get to know Ethan better.”Lila’s head shot up, her eyes wide. “You… do?”Jason smiled the kind of smile that looked generous but wasn’t. “This gala is the perfect place. It’ll showcase the Foundation’s next generation. You and Ethan will attend with us.”Ethan b
Once my Wife Chapter 123: Elena’s Pragmatism
They met Elena in a glass tower that pretended not to stare at the river. Her office smelled of polished wood and iced water. She never smiled unless a plan needed polishing.“Elena,” Bella said, sliding into the chair opposite the lawyer. “We have a problem that’s legal on the face of it, and lethal behind the curtains.”“Talk,” Elena said, putting down her glass. She didn’t have the theatricality of shock; she had the efficiency of judgment.“Cerberus,” Bella said. “And Bannon.”“Elena’s eyebrows didn’t move. She had read richer crime novels for relaxation. “Cerberus is a ghost, Bella. It’s a web of shell companies, trusts, and private foundations. It looks like a fortress because its couriers are invisible.”“How do you attack that?” Bella asked. “We can’t sue a phantom.”“You embarrass it.” Elena said the word like it was a surgical tool. “Every ghost has a face when it wants to show off. They throw parties. They like to vet people. They need theatre.”“You mean a black-tie event?
Once my Wife Chapter 122: The Bannon Dossier
The War Room smelled faintly of coffee and old paper. The lights were low. Maps and corporate charts lay like a city under glass. It was supposed to be where they planned a campaign — but tonight it was where they kept their marriage alive.“Listen to me,” Bella said, leaning over the table, her hand sliding up the back of Jason’s neck so she could feel him breathe. “Ethan is bait. Sixteen. Works in a bookstore. He doesn’t know anything he can’t forget.”“He’s not the player,” Jason replied, tracing a thin red line from a holding company to a trust account on the tablet. “His father is. Robert Bannon controls a third of the Cerberus Group. That’s not a hobby, Bella. That’s a pillar.”“You keep saying ‘Cerberus’ like it’s a monster you can name and kill.” Bella’s voice was quiet but sharp. “Is it a company, or is it a legal fiction stitched together by lawyers in Bermuda?”“It’s both.” Jason tapped a node until it blinked. “Cerberus, Hydra, Scylla — three holding networks feeding one a
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