Share

Chapter 149: The Bedtime Story

Author: Evve
last update publish date: 2026-01-27 16:37:57

The penthouse was quiet, bathed in the warm, ambient glow of the city lights filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The chaotic, high-stakes rhythm of the day—the meetings, the press, the business of being Cross and Vale—had finally wound down.

Ethan had been bathed, his small body smelling of lavender and clean cotton. He was wearing his dinosaur pajamas, the cape from his superhero costume draped over the foot of his bed like a sentinel.

It was 8 PM. Bedtime.

Usually, this was Au
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   CHAPTER 446: THE CABIN

    The GPS voice was calm, robotic, and utterly indifferent to the fact that it was guiding Aurora Vale-Cross toward a murderer."In two miles, turn left onto County Route 42."Aurora’s hands gripped the leather steering wheel of the black SUV. Her knuckles were white, the skin stretched tight over the bone. She wasn't wearing gloves, despite the biting February cold that seeped through the glass. She needed to feel the road. She needed to feel the vibration of the tires on the asphalt, the friction, the resistance.She was driving alone.It was a condition Isabella had set, and a condition Aurora had accepted, but with an asterisk.Isabella had said alone. She hadn't said unmonitored."Signal check," Liam’s voice crackled through the car's speakers. He wasn't in the passenger seat. He was sixty miles away, in the FBI mobile command unit parked on the shoulder of the highway, just out of visual range."I can hear you," Aurora said. Her voice sounded strange in the enclosed space of the c

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   CHAPTER 445: THE VIDEO

    The penthouse was quiet, but it wasn't peaceful. It was the hush of a sickroom, filled with the scent of lilies (which Aurora hated, but people kept sending) and the low hum of the humidifier Liam had insisted on.Aurora sat in the wingback chair by the window. She was dressed in soft gray cashmere, a blanket tucked around her legs. Her incision ached—a dull, rhythmic throb that reminded her with every heartbeat that she was mortal.She was home. Discharged yesterday. The doctors had signed off, provided she adhere to strict bedrest and low stress.Low stress, she thought, looking at the city skyline. In this family, that’s a fairy tale.Liam was in the kitchen, making lunch for the kids. She could hear the clatter of plates, the murmur of Ethan explaining something to River. It sounded normal. It sounded safe.But safety was an illusion.Her phone sat on the small table next to her water glass. It buzzed.Not a text. Not an email. A notification from a secure messaging app she hadn't

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   CHAPTER 444: REFRAMING

    The hospital room at night was a study in shadows.Aurora lay in bed, propped up by pillows, the IV line still taped to her hand like a lifeline to the world of the living. Liam sat in the chair beside her, his face illuminated by the soft glow of the monitor.It was 10:00 PM. The kids were gone—taken home by Marcus and Sophia, fed, bathed, and put to bed in a penthouse that was no longer under siege, but still felt like a battleground."She's dying," Aurora said into the silence.It wasn't a question. It was a fact she was turning over in her hands, examining its weight and texture."Yes," Liam said. "Stage four. Unresectable. The oncologist in Zurich gave her six months. That was eight months ago.""So she's on borrowed time.""She's on stolen time," Liam corrected, his voice hard. "Just like everything else in her life."Aurora looked at him. She saw the anger in his jaw, the protective fury that had driven him for the last year. He wanted Isabella to be a monster. Monsters were ea

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   CHAPTER 443: THE DIAGNOSIS

    The security office was cold. It always was. Marcus Cross sat at the console, surrounded by the blue light of monitors, but today, the chill seemed to come from inside his own chest.He wasn't looking at a website or a bank transfer. He was looking at a video file.It was footage from an interrogation room at the 19th Precinct. Sarah Jenkins, the nurse who had sold access to Grace’s medical records for ten thousand dollars, was sitting at a metal table. She wasn't crying. She looked resigned."I didn't know she was going to hurt anyone," the nurse said on the screen. "She just wanted to see the pictures. She said... she said she wanted to see what life looked like before she left.""Left?" the detective asked. "Left the country?""No," the nurse said. She looked at her hands. "Left the world."Marcus paused the video.He picked up the file folder sitting on the desk. It had been delivered an hour ago by a courier from the DA's office—part of the discovery process for the upcoming char

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   CHAPTER 442: GRACE KICKS

    The hospital recovery room was quiet, suspended in the gentle hum of the afternoon.Aurora sat in the reclining chair by the window. She was no longer in the ICU, but she was still tethered—IV lines, drains, the heavy bandage across her abdomen where they had gone in twice to save her life.Two weeks.Fourteen days of pain, of slow shuffling walks down the corridor, of Liam sleeping in the cot next to her every single night.She was alive. She knew that. The doctors had said she was "miraculously stable."But she felt... distant. Like she was watching her life through a pane of frosted glass."Knock knock," a voice said softly.Aurora turned her head.Emma stood in the doorway. She was visibly pregnant now—twenty-six weeks. Her belly was a round, perfect curve under her maternity dress.Behind her stood a security guard—a reminder that the world outside was still dangerous."Emma," Aurora whispered. Her voice was stronger than it had been, but still raspy."Can I come in?""Of course.

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   CHAPTER 441: THE RETURN

    The first thing she knew was sound.It wasn't a word. It wasn't music. It was a rhythm.Beep. Hiss. Click. Beep. Hiss. Click.It was annoying. Relentless. A mechanical metronome counting time she didn't want to keep.Then, a voice.It was deep. Rough. Like rocks grinding together underwater."...just one more day," the voice whispered. "One more day and you'll be okay. I promise. Just hold on until Tuesday. Or Wednesday. I don't care. Just hold on."Aurora knew that voice. It was the voice that had read her contracts. It was the voice that had argued about sandwiches. It was the voice that had said I vow to be your fortress.Liam.She wanted to answer him. She wanted to say I'm here.But she couldn't find her mouth. She couldn't find her lungs. Her body felt like it was made of lead, sunk deep into a mattress of mud.She drifted.The next time she came back, there was light.It was red. Behind her eyelids. A warm, blood-colored glow.And pain.A dull, throbbing ache in her abdomen. A

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 73: Vanessa's Observation

    The gala had been a disaster for Aurora, but for Vanessa Leigh, it was a resurrection.She stood in the humid, earth-scented shadows of the conservatory, concealed behind a dense wall of weeping figs. The air here was heavy, cloying with the smell of damp soil and expensive orchids, a stark contras

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-22
  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 59: Vanessa's Jealousy

    The corridors of Cross Empire had a rhythm. It was usually the steady, confident hum of a machine operating at peak efficiency.But today, the rhythm was broken.It was a frantic, whispered cadence of fear.Liam Cross had been locked in his office for six hours. He was not taking calls. He was not

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-21
  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 67: The Charity Gala

    The invitation had been sitting on Aurora’s desk for a week.The Annual Children's Hope Gala.It was a different kind of event than the Met or the Arts Foundation. It wasn't about fashion or art. It was about "family." It was about "community." It was a soft-focus, philanthropic trap designed to ma

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-21
  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 58: Liam's Frustration

    The glass kingdom of the Cross Empire was not silent. It was vibrating with the low, angry hum of a machine that had just lost a vital gear.Liam stood by the window of his office, his back to the room. The city below was a gray, rain-swept grid, a maze he usually controlled with a flick of his wri

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-21
More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status