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64: THE FIRST STRIKE
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2025-12-15 00:03:46
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The Billionaire's Contract Wife 130: Seven Days
The city felt different when the clock started ticking.Grace noticed it in the way people looked at her now—less curiosity, more calculation. The story had moved past shock. It had entered the phase where outcomes were measured, where sides were chosen quietly over coffee and boardroom tables.Seven days.That was what Calder Hayes had given her.Not mercy.A deadline.Jordan closed the penthouse doors behind them, locking every bolt with deliberate precision. “He wanted to see if you’d bend,” he said.Grace set her bag down slowly. “He wanted to see if I’d flinch.”Jordan turned to her. “You didn’t.”She met his gaze. “Neither did he.”They stood there for a moment, absorbing the weight of what was coming.Seven days to dismantle a legacy built on fear.Seven days to survive it.Day One came with pressure.The board of Hayes Group announced an emergency meeting—closed session. Legal analysts flooded the airwaves. Calder’s allies resurfaced, speaking carefully, never directly, but al
The Billionaire's Contract Wife 129: The Room Without Windows
The room smelled like old wood and quiet control.Grace noticed it the moment she stepped inside—how the air felt heavier, insulated from the outside world. No windows. No clocks. Just paneled walls, a long polished table, and two chairs facing each other like opposing truths waiting to collide.Jordan stopped at the door.“This is as far as I go,” the security officer said politely, firmly.Grace turned to Jordan.His eyes searched her face, memorizing it—as if preparing for the possibility that this room might change her. He took her hands, squeezing once.“One hour,” he said low. “If anything feels wrong—”“I leave,” she finished.His thumb brushed over her knuckles. “And I’ll be right there.”Grace nodded, then stepped away.The door closed behind her with a soft, final click.Calder Hayes was already seated.He looked… ordinary.That unsettled her more than rage would have.Gray at the temples. Perfectly tailored suit. Calm posture. The kind of man people trusted instinctively be
The Billionaire's Contract Wife 128: When Power Strikes Quietly
Power didn’t announce itself with violence.It arrived softly.Grace felt it the next morning, in the absence of sound.No messages. No threats. No frantic calls from allies or enemies alike.Silence—clean, deliberate, and deeply unsettling.Jordan noticed it too. He stood at the window long after dawn, coffee untouched in his hand, eyes scanning the street below with a predator’s patience.“He’s gone quiet,” Jordan said finally.Grace leaned against the doorframe. “That’s worse, isn’t it?”Jordan nodded. “Calder doesn’t retreat. He repositions.”Evan entered the room moments later, phone already in hand. “You’re not going to like this.”Grace didn’t flinch. “I already don’t.”“Three witnesses recanted overnight,” Evan said. “Two citing ‘memory inconsistencies.’ One claiming coercion.”Jordan exhaled slowly. “And the fourth?”Evan hesitated. “Missing.”The word landed heavily.Grace crossed her arms, grounding herself. “He’s reminding us he still controls fear.”“Yes,” Jordan said qui
The Billionaire's Contract Wife 127: No Way Back
There was no dramatic announcement when the world crossed the point of no return.No thunder. No sirens.Just a quiet understanding that nothing could be undone.Grace realized it as she stood at the kitchen counter the next morning, coffee untouched, watching Jordan read through overnight briefings with a stillness that felt heavier than panic. This wasn’t urgency anymore.This was commitment.“They’re issuing warrants,” Evan said from the doorway. He hadn’t slept. None of them had. “Not for Calder. Not yet. But for three intermediaries.”Jordan nodded once. “That’s the fracture point.”Grace turned slowly. “Meaning?”“Meaning,” Jordan said, eyes lifting to meet hers, “someone’s going to talk.”“And Calder knows it,” Grace finished.A silence fell.The house felt too quiet. Even the walls seemed to listen.Grace’s phone vibrated again. She didn’t look at it immediately. She already knew it wouldn’t be support or reassurance. Those had stopped coming hours ago.Jordan watched her care
The Billionaire's Contract Wife 126: The Price of Protection
Protection, Grace learned, was never free.It demanded payment in sleepless nights, in tightened security, in choices that narrowed until only one path remained. As Jordan pulled the car back into traffic, the city lights streaking past like fractured stars, she felt the weight of that truth settle deep in her chest.No one spoke for several minutes.Evan finally broke the silence. “They didn’t expect sirens that fast.”Jordan’s jaw flexed. “Which means someone tipped us off.”Grace turned slowly. “Or someone wanted us seen.”Jordan glanced at her, eyes sharp. “You think this was a warning.”“I think,” she said carefully, “that my presence is accelerating things.”Evan shifted uncomfortably. “That’s not—”“It is,” Grace interrupted gently. “And pretending otherwise will get people hurt.”Jordan’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “You don’t get to shoulder this alone.”“I’m not asking to,” she replied. “I’m asking us to be honest about the cost.”The word hung between them.They
The Billionaire's Contract Wife 125: The Cost of Standing
The first consequence arrived before dawn.Grace woke to the sound of Jordan’s phone vibrating relentlessly on the nightstand. He silenced it once, then twice, then finally answered with a low, tense, “What happened?”She sat up instantly, heart racing.Jordan didn’t speak for a long moment. His jaw tightened. A muscle in his cheek twitched.“When?” he asked quietly.Grace reached for his arm. “Jordan?”He ended the call and turned to her, eyes dark and focused. “They froze your personal accounts.”Her breath caught. “All of them?”“Yes,” he said. “And they’ve petitioned to restrict your travel.”Grace stared at him, stunned. “They can’t—”“They can,” Jordan interrupted. “And they did.”The room felt suddenly smaller, the walls pressing in. Not because of fear—but because of the precision of the attack. Calder Hayes wasn’t lashing out blindly. He was cutting supply lines. Testing endurance.“They want me dependent,” Grace said slowly. “Vulnerable.”Jordan nodded. “And silent.”She swu
