All Chapters of The mysterious Billionaire's Wife; a lost heiress.: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

(Mia POV)Jake's weight collapsed against me, all wrong angles and deadweight pulling us both down.We hit the concrete hard. My tailbone screamed but I barely registered it. His head fell back against my shoulder, his body slack in my arms."Jake?" My voice came out strangled. "Jake, stay with me."Warmth spread across my chest, my lap, soaking through my clothes with terrifying speed. In the strobing muzzle flashes I saw it—dark and viscous, too much of it, pumping out with each beat of his heart."No, no, no…" My hands pressed against the wound, trying to stop the flow. It pulsed between my fingers, hot and slick. The bullet had hit him center mass. Too close to his heart. Maybe through it.His eyes found mine. Glazed. Unfocused. Trying to see me through the pain."Mia..." A whisper. Barely sound."Don't talk. Save your strength." My voice cracked. "Dennis! Dennis, he needs…"But Dennis was still firing, keeping Richard's remaining men pinned down. The firefight hadn't stopped. Cou

(Mia POV)Robert's blood was warm on my hands."No. No, no, no..." The words kept coming, automatic, meaningless. "Stay with me. Robert, look at me!"His eyes had rolled back, showing whites. His body was limp in my arms, too heavy, all wrong."Paramedics!" Dennis was shouting into his radio. "Someone's down! Multiple casualties! We need every bus you have!"I pressed my hands against the wound in Robert's side. Blood pulsed between my fingers with each heartbeat. At least his heart was still beating. At least he was still…"Don't you dare," I said to his unconscious face. "Don't you dare leave me. Not after, not when…"Jake's dead face flashed in my mind. Then Elizabeth's.Two people gone in minutes.I couldn't lose a third.Paramedics swarmed through the entrance. They pulled me away from Robert despite my protests, despite my grip on his shirt, despite everything."Ma'am, we need space to work…""That's my husband…""I understand, but we need to…"They surrounded him. Cutting away

( Mia POV)The investigation took three days.Three days of Detective Morrison asking the same questions in different ways. Three days of lawyers huddled in corners, whispering about liability and public perception. Three days of waiting to hear if Robert would be charged with murder or celebrated as a hero.In the end, the verdict was clear: justified shooting. Defense of others. Robert had acted to protect Nel's life when Richard raised his weapon. The video footage from the warehouse cameras confirmed it. Open and shut.I felt nothing when Victoria told me the news.Nothing when the lawyer explained that Robert wouldn't face charges.Nothing when James released a statement praising his son's bravery while condemning Richard's villainy.The numbness had settled into my bones like frost, turning everything brittle and cold.---Jake's funeral was on Friday.The sky was gray, threatening rain but never delivering. Like even the weather couldn't commit to mourning properly.His family

(Robert POV)The wheelchair was a prison.Not because of the pain, though my shoulder throbbed like someone had driven nails through bone. Not because of the limitation, though every simple task became a battle of will versus physics.The wheelchair was a prison because it gave me too much time to watch.And what I saw was destroying me.Two weeks had passed since the funerals. Fourteen days of watching Mia shrink into herself like a flower closing against the cold. She moved through the mansion like a shadow, present but not really there.She took care of me. That was the worst part.Every morning she appeared with medication and water, her face carefully blank. She helped me dress when my shoulder screamed in protest. She made meals I couldn't eat and sat beside me in silence while we both pretended to be fine.Her hands were always gentle. Too gentle. Like I was made of glass that might shatter if she pressed too hard.Like she was trying to fix what she'd broken."You don't have t

(Mia POV)The paperwork took three weeks.Three weeks of lawyers, court dates, and endless documents to sign. Three weeks of proving I was capable of caring for Nel, that I had the means and stability to give him a good life.As if three point seven billion dollars wasn't proof enough.But the system had its processes. Its checks and balances. So I jumped through every hoop they put in front of me until finally, on a Thursday afternoon in late November, the judge signed the final order.Nel was officially mine. My ward. My responsibility. My family.Not a brother by blood, but close enough. The paperwork said guardian, but my heart said something deeper."How do you feel?" Robert asked as we left the courthouse.Nel held my hand, swinging it slightly. He'd been quiet during the hearing, watching the adults talk about his future like he wasn't there."Good," I said. "Scared. Relieved.""All at once?""All at once."We drove home through light traffic. Nel fell asleep in the backseat, e