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Chapter 57: The Second Target
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2026-02-04 07:13:33
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The Billionaire's Broken Bride Chapter 57: The Second Target
Ariana’s POV“You’re not going.”Ethan doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t need to. The words land flat and final, like a door being locked from the inside.I keep my eyes on the tablet in front of me. The dim safehouse lights reflect off the screen, washing everything in cold blue. A woman’s face stares back—early forties, sharp eyes, tension carved into the lines around her mouth.Marisol Vega.Former forensic accountant. Independent consultant. Disappeared eighteen months ago after submitting a sealed report to an internal ethics committee that never officially existed.“She’s alive,” I say quietly. “That alone changes everything.”Ethan steps closer, his shadow cutting across the table. “She’s alive because she ran. Because she erased herself. And because she stayed invisible.”“I know.”“Then you understand why you can’t be anywhere near this.”I finally look up at him. His expression is controlled, but his jaw is tight—the way it gets when fear sneaks in and he refuses to name
The Billionaire's Broken Bride Chapter 56: Names Have Weight
Ariana’s POV“I’m not going to soften this,” Ethan says.The city lights smear across the glass behind him, rain turning everything into warped reflections. He doesn’t step closer. Doesn’t touch me. It’s like he knows—one wrong movement and I’ll splinter.“Say it anyway,” I reply.My voice sounds steadier than I feel.He exhales through his nose, slow. Measured. The kind of breath you take before jumping.“The name I kept from you,” he says, “is Gabriel Navarro.”The room tilts.Not dramatically. Not all at once. Just enough that the edges blur and my stomach drops like I missed a step on the stairs.I grab the back of the chair beside me.Navarro.My mother’s maiden name. The name I stopped using when it became easier to pretend my childhood was something clean and forgettable.“That’s not—” I start, then stop. My tongue feels thick. “That’s not possible.”Ethan doesn’t interrupt. He just watches me, eyes sharp, tracking every micro-shift in my face like he’s afraid I’ll collapse.“
The Billionaire's Broken Bride Chapter 55: The First Crack
Ariana’s POVThe first thing I hear is glass.Not shattering—just the soft, deliberate clink of it being set down too hard on stone.I slow my steps in the hallway.“…you’re asking for chaos,” Tristan says, his voice clipped, controlled in the way men get when they’re pretending not to be angry. “If you go public now, before we lock down the paper trail, you hand them time to destroy everything.”“And if we wait,” Ethan snaps, “we give them time to come after her.”There it is.My name isn’t spoken, but it’s there anyway—pressed into the air like a fingerprint.I stop just before the corner, the light from the living room spilling faintly across the marble floor. The penthouse is dim, only the city glow bleeding through the windows, rain streaking down the glass in crooked lines. Somewhere inside, ice shifts in a tumbler.Tristan exhales. “You can’t protect her by blowing this wide open. Not yet.”Ethan laughs, short and sharp. “That’s rich, coming from the man who thinks silence equa
The Billionaire's Broken Bride Chapter 54: The Name He Didnt Say
Ariana’s POV“W-what do you mean?”My voice barely escaped my throat. The air felt thin, like the room had shrunk around us.Leo stiffened beside me, jaw tightening. “Ariana, don’t listen to him.”The men at the door stood tense, watching everything with military stillness. The storm hissed against the windows. My pulse hammered so loudly it felt like it was echoing off the walls.I swallowed hard. “Ethan… what are you talking about?”Static crackled on the line—just long enough for dread to crawl up my spine.Then Ethan spoke again, quieter this time, the fear in his voice chilling.“Ariana… someone is lying to you.”Leo let out a sharp exhale. “He’s manipulating you. You know what he does—”“Leo, stop,” I whispered, eyes fixed on the phone like it might bite.Ethan’s voice returned, strained.“Ariana, listen carefully. You need to step away from him.”My breath caught. “From… who?”Silence.A heavy, awful silence.Leo’s hand brushed my elbow, trying to pull me slightly behind him. I
The Billionaire's Broken Bride Chapter 53: The Men At The Door
Ariana’s POVThe knock came again—sharp, impatient, echoing through the penthouse like a warning shot.I froze. Leo stepped in front of me without thinking, his arm brushing mine, tense like a wire pulled too tight.“Ariana,” he whispered, barely moving his lips, “don’t answer that yet.”My heartbeat hammered against my ribs. The storm outside pressed against the glass like it wanted to come in, wind howling, rain slashing sideways. Everything felt too loud—my pulse, the thunder, the shallow rise and fall of Leo’s breath.Another knock. This one harder.“Ariana Navarro,” the voice repeated, deeper this time. “Open the door. Now.”Leo muttered under his breath, “That doesn’t sound like hotel staff.”“No,” I said, trying to swallow the dryness in my throat. “It doesn’t.”I took a step back, my heel brushing against the edge of the rug. Leo positioned himself fully in front of me now, shoulders square, soaked clothes clinging to him from earlier. He looked like he was ready to fight whoe
The Billionaire's Broken Bride Chapter 52: The Weight of His Absence
Ariana’s POVThe moment Ethan disappeared behind the door, the penthouse felt wrong—too huge, too hollow, too loud with the sounds I didn’t want to hear. The storm outside slammed against the windows, a restless tapping that matched the uneven beat in my chest.“Ariana… tell me what you need.”Leo’s voice came from behind me—soft, careful, almost guilty. But I didn’t turn around. My eyes stayed glued to the door Ethan slammed, the faint vibration still shivering through the frame.“Ariana,” Leo said again, footsteps squishing softly on the puddles he’d dragged inside. “I didn’t come here to make things worse. I came because—”“Because what?” My voice cracked. I faced him slowly, each word a little heavier than the last. “Because you think you know what’s best for me?”Leo looked like the storm had swallowed him. His clothes were soaked, hair dripping, chest rising and falling like he’d sprinted across half the city just to stand here. But his eyes—steady, intent—held mine like he was
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