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2026-07-21 18:15:46
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Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil 96
We arrived early and the procedure commenced as the lawyer slid the first photograph across the table and stopped it directly in front of me. "Let us start with the basics." My gaze dropped to the photograph, then back to her. "What basics?" "Your relationship with Shane. Your living arrangements. Your employment. Your decision to leave." David sat beside me, notebook open and pen resting between his fingers. He had warned me the first questions would sound harmless. That was the point. They wanted me comfortable before pressing where it hurt. My hands folded in my lap. "I understand." The lawyer glanced at her notes. "You married Shane Bennett approximately two years ago?" "Yes." "And when did problems begin in the marriage?" My eyes stayed on her. "Shane lost his logistics job about a year ago." "That caused problems?" "It changed him." "How?" "He became angry more often. He stopped looking for work consistently. He started controlling things he had not control
Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil 95
The examination room was colder than the hallway, and my hands rested over my stomach while the nurse finished arranging the paperwork on the desk. A blood pressure cuff lay beside the monitor, a small tray of supplies waited near the examination table, and everything looked clean, ordinary, controlled. That helped more than I expected. “Whenever you are ready.” My fingers moved slowly over the curve beneath my sweater. The baby had been moving on and off since we arrived, small rolls and gentle pushes that made the fear feel less distant without making it disappear. My mother had stayed in the waiting room. Gideon and Elias were outside the examination room, close enough to reach me if something went wrong, but neither had tried to follow. The nurse looked at the form. “Before we begin, I need to ask you a few questions.” A nod was all I gave her. “Any pain?” “My lower back aches sometimes.” “How severe?” “Not severe. More uncomfortable than painful.” She wrote it d
Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil 94
The clinic was three blocks ahead when Gideon stopped the car and left the engine idling at the curb. Its low vibration ran through the floor beneath my shoes. Gideon’s hands stayed on the steering wheel, his attention fixed through the windshield. Elias leaned forward from the back seat, following his gaze, while my mother went still beside me. Across the street, Shane stood on the sidewalk alone, hands buried in his jacket pockets and shoulders slightly hunched against the cold. No lawyer stood beside him, no car waited at the curb, and no one approached him. He simply watched the clinic entrance as though he had been waiting for us. My mother’s fingers closed around mine. “Adeline.” The tremor in her hand ran straight into mine. Across the street, Shane shifted his weight. Traffic moved behind him in gray and silver streaks. Pedestrians passed between us, coats and bags breaking the view for seconds at a time, but his figure remained in the same place. My stomach tightened. The
Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil 93
Sleep felt impossible because the deposition notes burned a hole in my brain. A sharp chime echoed from the front gate, and my body bolted upright. My thumb checked the security monitor, and a familiar figure stood under the yellow streetlight. My feet hit the cold floor, and my hand grabbed the banister while the wooden stairs creaked under my weight. Gideon stepped out of the kitchen, and his dark eyes tracked my movement. "Who is here?" he asked. My throat swallowed hard. "My mother," my lips murmured. Gideon’s posture shifted, but he just nodded and stepped back to give me space. The front door opened, as the cool night air rushed inside. My mother stood on the porch with shaking shoulders, and her hands clutched a worn leather purse. My eyes traced the lines of exhaustion on her face, and the heavy knot of resentment from the phone call softened into a dull ache. My mother stepped forward, and my arms wrapped around her waist. The familiar warmth of her embrace
Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil 92
My eyes stared at the pile of deposition notes on the bed, and the black text blurred slightly under the overhead light. My fingers trembled against the fabric, and my brain demanded a distraction before the panic swallowed me whole. Grabbing my phone, my thumb hovered over the contacts list. The name sat at the very bottom, untouched for four months. My breath hitched, and my thumb pressed the call button. The line rang once. Then it rang twice. My chest tightened because voicemail felt entirely expected, and a harsh dismissal felt equally likely. My thumb hovered over the end button, ready to hang up before the machine picked up. A sharp click broke the silence. "Adeline?" Her mother's voice cracked through the speaker, rough and entirely exhausted. My body froze. My lungs stopped pulling in air. "Hi, Mom," my voice whispered, though the sound came out entirely too quiet. "I have been waiting for you to call," she sobbed. The sound tore straight through the speaker an
Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil 91
Elias tapped his fingers against the steering wheel and pulled the car onto a quiet, tree-lined road. "Change of plans," he announced. "The Nile is too crowded." Gideon shifted in the jump seat. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Where are we going?" "The Blackstone conservatory," Elias replied. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "It is quiet. The glass walls block the wind. No paparazzi." Gideon uncrossed his arms. He looked at me. "Are you comfortable with that?" I nodded. The heavy exhaustion of the morning pressed against my shoulders. A quiet, enclosed space sounded perfect. "Take me there," I said. The car rolled to a stop in front of a massive glass structure. The iron gates slid open. Elias parked the car and stepped out. He opened my door. I took his hand and stepped onto the gravel path. A cool draft swept through the entrance. Gideon stepped in front of me immediately. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. The heavy fabric swall
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