LOGINChapter 196Zara didn't cower in the bunker.She left Marcus and four heavily armed guards outside Ethan’s ICU with strict orders to shoot anyone who came down the elevator, and she took the remaining six guards with her topside.When the private elevator doors opened into the grand foyer of Frost Manor, the silence was deafening. The massive, bulletproof glass front doors of the estate were wide open.Standing in the center of the foyer, examining a priceless Renaissance painting on the wall, was a man.He was strikingly handsome, perhaps in his early forties, wearing a bespoke, silver-gray three-piece suit that cost more than most people's homes. His hair was perfectly coiffed, entirely white despite his youthful face. And pinned to his lapel was the unmistakable silver snowflake.At his feet, bound and gagged, were two of Zara’s elite perimeter snipers."Who the hell are you?" Zara demanded, stepping out of the elevator. Her guards fanned out, training their assault rifles squarely
Chapter 195The silver snowflake on the tablet screen seemed to mock Zara.It was beautiful, delicate, and razor-sharp just like the legacy her grandfather had left her. But her grandfather, Elias Frost, was supposed to be the last of his line. He had built Frost Industries from the ground up, moving to America to escape a European family he claimed had all perished in a fire decades ago."They didn't die," Zara murmured, the cold, suffocating truth settling over her. "He lied to me. He didn't build Frost Industries to create an empire. He built it as a shield."Marcus nodded slowly, his face grim. "If Elias was hiding from the main branch of the Frost family, it means they are old money, Boss. Ancient money. The kind that doesn't just buy politicians they buy entire countries. Julian Thorne and the Sinclair Syndicate were just a regional nuisance to them."Zara felt a sickening churn in her stomach. "If they are so powerful, why intervene now? Why execute Julian?""Because Julian got
Chapter 194Ethan stared at the ring on Zara’s finger, his chest heaving as the weight of her words crashed over him.We are already standing together.For a man who had spent his entire life relying on his sheer physical presence, his dominance, and his intellect to protect the things he cared about, being helpless was a fate worse than death. He wanted to push her away. His male pride screamed at him to release her, to spare her the burden of caring for an invalid.But as he looked into Zara’s eyes, he didn't see pity. He saw a fierce, unyielding devotion that burned hotter than the sun."You put it on," Ethan breathed, his voice barely a rasp. His hand trembled as he reached up, his large, rough thumb lightly tracing the diamond on her finger."I did," Zara said, her voice steadying. "I wore it into the gala tonight. I told Agatha, Julian, and the entire board of directors that we signed a secret registry. I told them I am your legal wife."Ethan’s eyes widened slightly. "You claim
Chapter 193The flight back to Frost Manor was an agonizing blur.By the time Zara sprinted out of the private elevator and into the subterranean medical wing, she was gasping for air, her high heels discarded somewhere in the hallway.The bunker was in chaos.Two nurses were backing out of the ICU, looking terrified. Inside the glass-walled room, the sound of crashing metal and heart monitors blaring in erratic, panicked rhythms echoed loudly."Ethan!" Zara cried, bursting through the doors.The sight stopped her dead in her tracks, stealing the breath from her lungs.Ethan was awake. He had ripped the ventilator tube out of his throat, and blood was dripping from the IV lines he had violently torn from his arms. His pale, heavily bruised chest heaved as he braced his massive arms against the rails of the hospital bed, trying to haul himself up.Dr. Evans and two male orderlies were trying to hold him down, but Ethan was fighting them with the blind, terrifying ferocity of a trapped
Chapter 192The word ‘wife’ hit the ballroom like a physical shockwave.Agatha Cole’s knees finally gave out. She collapsed into the plush velvet chair behind her, her cane clattering uselessly to the floor. "Impossible," she wheezed, her eyes darting to the massive, flawless diamond catching the light on Zara’s finger. "He didn't marry you. The wedding never happened!""It happened five years ago in our hearts, Agatha," Zara said, her voice dripping with lethal grace as she ascended the steps to the stage. "But legally? It happened three weeks ago. Ethan and I signed a confidential marriage registry, sealed by a federal judge. And as his legal spouse, I possess the sole, irrevocable right to his proxy."It was a lie, of course.The ring was the one Ethan had bought for her five years ago, the one he had secretly kept in his study safe. Zara had slipped it onto her own finger before walking into the ballroom. The "registry" was a brilliant, airtight forgery cooked up by her lawyers ov
Chapter 191The Next Evening - 8:00 PMThe Grand Ballroom, Cole Corporation TowerThe memorial gala was a masterpiece of macabre theater.The massive ballroom was draped in black velvet and white lilies. A towering, tragically beautiful portrait of Ethan Cole and Zara Frost stood on the stage, framed by hundreds of flickering candles. Soft, melancholic string music played as the elite of the city politicians, tech moguls, and corrupt billionaires mingled, sipping champagne over the graves of their rivals.At the center of the room, playing the role of the grieving grandmother, was Agatha Cole.She wore a spectacular black mourning gown, dabbing her dry eyes with a silk handkerchief as she accepted condolences from the board members."It’s a catastrophic loss," Agatha sighed heavily to a group of investors. "My poor Ethan. The pressure... the tragedy. But we must be strong. We must secure the legacy he left behind."Standing a few feet away, swirling a glass of scotch, was Julian Thorn







