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Chapter 36: Five Years Later

ผู้เขียน: Evve
last update ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-12-24 21:47:26

Aurora Vale was a ghost. "Ariane Rousseau" was a myth.

The woman standing in the center of the vast, sun-drenched hôtel particulier that now served as the Maison AVA headquarters was, to the world, simply "Madame."

Five years.

Five years had passed since she had made the deal with the New York investors. Five years since she had, with Elias as her shield, begun to build her fortress.

The attic was a distant, feverish memory. The "unwell" woman, the one with the black, jagged, hacked-off hair, was gone.

In her place was this new creature, carved from ice and ambition.

Her chestnut hair, her own, was back. It was no longer the soft, hopeful style of the Vale heiress, but a severe, jaw-length, architectural bob that was as sharp as the seams on her designs.

She wore her own armor. A floor-length, black, minimalist tunic of her own design. It had no waist, no softness. It was a column of pure, defiant power.

She was in a fitting. The air in the grand, white, minimalist room was silent, br
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  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 96: AVA's Victory

    The car ride home was silent.But it wasn't the heavy, suffocating silence of the past. It was a silence born of exhaustion and a strange, humming sense of peace.Aurora sat in the back of the black SUV, her head resting against the cool leather. Her eyes were closed, but she could still see the lights of the gala. She could still hear the roar of the applause.And she could still feel the phantom pressure of Liam’s arm around her waist as he walked her through the vultures.Just save me a dance at the wedding.His words echoed in the quiet car. A sad, hopeful joke. Or maybe not a joke at all.She opened her eyes. The city lights streaked past, a blur of gold and red.She had won.She had the award. The crystal trophy was in a box on the seat next to her, heavy and real.She had the truth. The world knew who she was. "Ariane Rousseau" was dead, and Aurora Vale had risen from the grave, not as a victim, but as a victor.And she had... Liam.Not as a husband. Not as a lover. But as a pr

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 95: The Awards Ceremony

    The Intrepid was a floating palace, a contradiction of steel and silk, of warfare and artistry. The main tent on the flight deck was a glowing, transparent bubble against the New York night, filled with a thousand people who had come to witness a coronation.Aurora sat at Table One, her back rigid, her hands folded in her lap. She wore the "Reconciliation" gown, the midnight-blue velvet storm cloud that had almost been destroyed by turpentine and hate.Beside her, Elias Ward sat like a king in exile, his silver-topped cane resting against the table. On her other side was her father, Henry Vale.Three generations of secrets, sitting in a row.The awards ceremony was a marathon of speeches, clips, and polite applause. Aurora watched, but she didn't see. Her mind was a split screen.On one side, the stage. The lights. The prize she had fought for.On the other, the image of Liam Cross, sitting at Table Two, just ten feet away.He wasn't looking at the stage either. He was looking at her.

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 94: Almost a Confession

    The Intrepid Awards Gala was not a party. It was a ceasefire held on neutral ground.The massive aircraft carrier, docked on the Hudson, was transformed into a floating palace of light and steel. A transparent tent covered the flight deck, protecting the thousand guests—designers, models, celebrities, and the nervous investors of AVA and Cross Empire—from the wind off the river.Inside, the air was electric.The rumor of the "attempted arson" had spread, as all rumors did in New York, mutating into a dozen different stories. Some said it was a fan. Some said it was a rival brand. No one said "Vanessa Leigh." Liam had kept his word. The threat was neutralized, the secret buried.But the tension remained.Aurora stood near the bar, sipping a glass of water. She wore the "Reconciliation" gown.The midnight blue velvet storm cloud.It was even more breathtaking on her than it had been on the dress form. The bodice, structured and severe, held her like armor, while the skirt, layers of dee

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 93: The Apology

    The morning after Vanessa’s arrest, the sky over New York was a bruised, delicate purple. The storm had broken, leaving the air sharp and clean, but the city still felt like it was recovering from a fever.Aurora stood in the center of her atelier.It was 7 AM. The doors were locked. The staff hadn't arrived yet.The space was silent, but it wasn't empty.The midnight-blue velvet gown—the "Reconciliation"—stood on its form in the center of the room. It was untouched. Perfect. A storm cloud captured in silk and tulle.Aurora walked around it, her fingers trailing in the air, not quite touching the fabric.She had saved it. But she felt... heavy.The adrenaline of the chase, the terror of the sabotage, the rage at Vanessa... it had all burned off, leaving behind a cold, hollow ache.She had won the battle. But the war inside her was still raging.He didn't do it.The realization was a stone in her shoe. Liam hadn't sent Sophie. He hadn't tried to destroy her work. He had hunted Vanessa

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 92: Vanessa's Firing

    The lights of the Cross Empire tower blazed through the rain, but inside, the atmosphere was cold enough to crack stone.It was 3 AM. The building was on lockdown. The only sound was the hum of the servers being methodically scrubbed by the forensic IT team.Liam Cross sat behind his massive mahogany desk. He was still wearing the clothes he had worn to hunt Vanessa—dark jeans, a t-shirt, a jacket damp with the river fog. He hadn't changed. He hadn't slept.He was waiting.The door opened.Graves walked in. He was holding a tablet."We found the rest," Graves said, his voice low. "The backups she hid on the legacy server. The 'insurance' files.""Show me," Liam said.Graves placed the tablet on the desk.Liam swiped through the files. It was a catalogue of petty treasons. Stolen client lists. Leaked designs. Drafts of emails to gossip columnists detailing his "coldness," his "cruelty."And then, there was a folder labeled simply: AURORA.He opened it.It was worse than the map.It was

  • Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride   Chapter 91: The Culprit

    The rain had stopped, but the air in the small apartment in Queens was heavy with the smell of damp plaster and impending disaster.Liam Cross stood in the center of the room, the laptop open on the table, the map of his son's life taped to the wall. The word BURN was scrawled in red marker next to the location of the IFA Awards.He had found the ghost. He had found the proof.But he hadn't found Vanessa."Mr. Cross," Graves said, stepping into the room, his face grim. "We have a trace on her phone. It just pinged.""Where?" Liam demanded."She's moving," Graves said. "Fast. She's heading toward the West Side Highway.""The Intrepid," Liam realized. The venue for the awards was an aircraft carrier docked on the Hudson. "She's going there now.""The event isn't until tomorrow," Graves said."She's planting something," Liam said, the cold certainty settling in his gut. "Or she's casing it. Either way, we have to stop her."He walked out of the apartment, leaving the map, the laptop, the

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