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Chapter 83: The Lie
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-01-08 04:12:50
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Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride CHAPTER 322: THE PLEA OFFER
The office of the District Attorney smelled of cheap coffee and expensive decisions.Aurora sat in a leather chair that had seen better decades. The stuffing was coming out of the armrest, a tuft of white foam that she picked at unconsciously. It was a stark contrast to the gleaming mahogany of Arthur Vance’s firm, or the glass-and-steel precision of Cross Industries.This was the machinery of the state. Gritty. Overworked. Unsentimental."Here it is," District Attorney Marcus Sterling (no relation, just a cosmic joke of nomenclature) said, sliding a thin file across the scarred desk.Aurora looked at it. It wasn't thick like the deposition transcripts. It was three pages."The defense approached us this morning," the DA said. He looked tired. He had bags under his eyes that rivaled Liam’s. "Elena Kostas knows the depositions went badly for them. You didn't break, Mrs. Cross. And Mr. Cross didn't take the bait on the family history. They're worried about the jury.""Good," Aurora said
Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride CHAPTER 321: LIAM'S DEPOSITION
The leather chair at the head of the conference table was still warm.Or maybe that was just Liam’s imagination. Aurora had sat here yesterday, armored in white silk, and she had gone to war. Today, it was his turn.Liam adjusted his cuffs. He wore navy today. The color of authority. The color of the ocean his mother-in-law had walked into.Across the table, Elena Kostas was arranging her files with the precision of a surgeon laying out scalpels. She looked fresh, rested, and hungry. She hadn't broken Aurora yesterday—Vance had told him it was a draw, maybe even a win for their side—but Kostas was the kind of lawyer who fed on resistance."Mr. Cross," Kostas said, not looking up. "Let's begin."The videographer recited the preamble. The red light blinked on."Liam Henry Cross," Liam stated for the record."Mr. Cross," Kostas began, leaning back in her chair. "You are the CEO of Cross Industries.""I am.""And you are the son of Henry Cross.""I am.""It's quite a legacy," Kostas noted
Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride CHAPTER 320: DEPOSITION
The conference room at Sterling, Vance & Associates was designed to intimidate.Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the harbor. A table made of mahogany so dark it looked like black water. Chairs that cost more than most people’s cars.But to Aurora Vale-Cross, it just looked like another room with walls. And she knew how to handle walls.She sat at the center of the long side of the table. She wore a suit of armor disguised as fashion: a sharp white blazer, black trousers, and stilettos that clicked with authority on the hardwood. Her hair was pulled back in a severe, perfect chignon. On her finger, the iron ring sat heavy and cool.Across from her sat Elena Kostas.Isabella’s lawyer was exactly as Harper had described: beautiful, predatory, and impeccably groomed. She wore a red suit—a deliberate choice, a splash of blood in the sterile room. She had a stack of files in front of her that was six inches high.To Aurora’s right sat Arthur Vance and Harper. To her left, a court report
Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride CHAPTER 319: HOPE AT THREE MONTHS
The nursery was filled with the soft, ticking sound of the mobile spinning.Aurora sat in the glider, her bare feet resting on the ottoman. It was 10:00 AM on a Tuesday. The city outside was loud—sirens, traffic, the endless grind of commerce—but inside this room, the air was still.Hope was awake.She lay on the changing table, kicking her legs with the vigorous, determined energy of a three-month-old who had discovered she had limbs. She was wearing a white onesie printed with tiny gray clouds.Aurora watched her.Three months. Twelve weeks. Eighty-four days since the emergency C-section. Eighty-four days since the darkness had tried to swallow them both."You're getting big," Aurora whispered.Hope turned her head. Her neck control was excellent now. She locked eyes with Aurora.Her face broke into a smile. It wasn't the tentative, fleeting smile of a month ago. It was a full-body event. Her eyes crinkled. Her arms waved. She let out a sound—a high-pitched squeal of delight.Eeeee!
Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride CHAPTER 318: MARCUS AND SOPHIA
The kitchen of the penthouse was designed for a chef who didn't exist.It had two sub-zero fridges, a range that cost more than Marcus’s truck, and an island made of a single, seamless slab of Calacatta marble that was currently buried under a blizzard of legal paperwork.It was 1:00 AM. The rest of the apartment was silent. Liam and Aurora were finally asleep in the master bedroom—a tentative, exhausted peace that Marcus dared not disturb. Hope was with Mrs. Higgins. Ethan was dreaming of Death Stars.Marcus sat on a barstool, his elbows resting on the cool marble. He was rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, trying to scrub away the grit of a eighteen-hour day."You are smudging the witness list," a voice said.Marcus looked up.Sophia Laurent stood on the other side of the island. She looked... impeccable. That was the only word for it. It was one in the morning, she had been managing the logistics of a high-profile trial prep all day, and yet not a single hair of her blond
Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride CHAPTER 317: THE INTERVIEW
The makeup chair was high, placing Aurora at eye level with the bright, unforgiving lights of the studio vanity.A woman with a brush was dusting powder over Aurora’s nose. "Just a little matte," the makeup artist murmured. "The HD cameras pick up everything."Aurora looked at her reflection.She didn't look like the CEO of AVA. She wasn't wearing a power suit. She was wearing a soft cream cashmere sweater and dark trousers. Her hair was down, loose waves framing a face that was thinner than the public remembered, but no longer gaunt.She looked... human."You look beautiful," Liam said.He was standing in the doorway of the green room, leaning against the frame. He was wearing jeans and a blazer—the "supportive husband" uniform. He had insisted on coming, on driving her, on holding her hand until the cameras rolled."I look terrified," Aurora corrected, smoothing the fabric of her trousers."You look real," Liam said. He walked over and squeezed her shoulder. "And that's what they ne
Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride Chapter 164: The Proposal
The contract with LVMH was a thick, glossy document that smelled of legal toner and global domination. It sat on the table of the conference room at the Cross Empire tower. Liam and Aurora sat on one side. The LVMH executives—a team of impeccably dressed French men and women—sat on the other. "
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-29Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride Chapter 163: The Business Deal
The "Happy Family" facade was holding, but the seams were beginning to strain under the pressure of the outside world. It was Wednesday. Two days after the charity auction. Two days after Liam had declared that he didn't want "easy," he wanted them. Aurora was in her office at AVA, staring at a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-29Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride Chapter 170: The Confession
The penthouse was quiet, suspended in the amber light of a New York sunset. Ethan was at a sleepover—his first one, with a school friend—leaving the apartment feeling both spacious and strangely empty.Liam stood at the kitchen island, chopping vegetables with a precision that bordered on aggressiv
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-29Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride Chapter 166: The Agreement
The design meeting had been a battlefield, but the ceasefire that followed was even more complex.Aurora and Liam sat in the penthouse living room, the "Alliance" contract spread out on the coffee table between them. Ethan was asleep, exhausted from a day of "saving the alphabet" at school.The con
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2026-03-29
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