Semua Bab Stripper by Night, Doctor by Deception : Bab 111 - Bab 120

ELENAI was standing in the supermarket aisle, debating whether to grab cereal or instant noodles when my phone rang.Unknown number.I answered anyway.“Elena?” The voice was low, tense. I recognized it- one of Lucas’ men. I didn’t know his name, but I’d heard his voice before. He only ever called when shit went sideways.Something in his tone made my heart skip. “What’s going on?”There was a pause. I could hear him breathing hard, like he was running or had just seen something he shouldn’t have.He took a shaky breath.“It’s your brother,” he said. “Lucas… we found him.”My grip on the shopping basket tightened. “What do you mean found him?”“He’s dead,” he said bluntly. “In his room. Someone stabbed him.”The basket slipped from my fingers and crashed to the floor, spilling apples and a loaf of bread across the aisle.I didn’t even notice.“What?” I whispered. “What the hell did you just say?”“I don’t know who did it,” the man continued quickly, his voice trembling. “There was no

RYANMy heart skipped a beat the moment Matteo rolled into the room. I felt the blood drain from my face. How the hell did I miss this? I thought I was the only one who’d slipped into Ricardo’s world with a mission. The only one playing a game behind the curtain. Turns out… I’d brought someone else right into the fire. Someone who was playing me just like I played Ricardo.Elena.God, I was so blind.And now here he was.Matteo.I hadn’t seen him since the night Ricardo shot his fucking legs. My lungs felt like they were filled with cement.Matteo’s eyes locked on mine, and in them, I saw the same anger and hate I’d seen the last time… only now, it was colder. Like he’d been waiting for this moment every goddamn day since that night.“Elena,” he called out. “You did well.”She smiled at him and I swear I felt something inside me rip open.I tried to move, tried to speak, but my limbs weren’t mine anymore. The drug she gave me, whatever it was had me frozen in this half-living state. I

RAFAEL “If you hadn’t come to me with that photo and his name,” he said, his voice calmer than I expected, “I would’ve never known he existed. I would’ve gone to my grave not knowing I had a son.”I swallowed the knot forming in my throat and offered a faint smile. “It’s nothing,” I murmured. “I didn’t do it for you.”His brow lifted slightly.I glanced down at Ryan’s hand in mine. “I did it for him. He deserved to know where he came from. He deserved to have something… someone outside all the chaos. I didn’t care what the outcome was… I just wanted him to have the choice. And maybe a little peace.”He was quiet again.Then I leaned forward slightly, lowering my voice. “But… if I may ask, sir… can we keep this between us?”Now that got his full attention.I cleared my throat. “Ryan doesn’t know I found you. Or that I’ve kept tabs on you since the day he told me he didn’t know his father. He doesn’t know I was the one who put everything together. And I want to keep it that way.”“Why?

RYANI looked up at him slowly, my thumb hovering over the screen.“…Yeah,” I said carefully. “Just a weird message.”“From who?”I hesitated. “No name. Just… anonymous.”He raised a brow, clearly curious, but didn’t press. “Probably spam,” he said with a shrug. “Come on. We’re almost there.”He turned and kept walking.But I didn’t move right away.My gaze lingered on his back, suddenly aware of how quiet the hallway had gotten… and how cold my fingers felt.Devil in sheep’s clothing.The words rang louder the second time.Was it just someone trying to stir drama?Or was there something I didn’t know?Still holding my phone tightly, I forced my feet to move.But something in my chest had shifted.I tried to shake it off.Whoever this person was, whatever they were trying to do, I wasn’t going to let them ruin the peace I’d finally found. The calm I’d fought so damn hard for.I drew in a deep breath and stuffed my phone back into my pocket.No.Not today.Not when I had Rafael by my s

RYANShe couldn’t talk.The nurse just stood there, her lips pressed together, eyes glistening like she’d already said this a thousand times and it never got easier. But she didn’t have to speak. I already knew.Still, I clung to the silence like it might somehow change things.Then the door opened again. This time, a doctor stepped out. Mid-forties, maybe. Calm face. No emotion. That kind of calm that only made everything feel worse.He cleared his throat, glanced between me and Rafael, then said it.“I’m sorry… we did everything we could.”That was it.Eight words.Eight words that shattered everything inside me.My ears rang. My vision blurred. The room tilted sideways like the walls had caved in. My knees buckled, and I stumbled backward into the chair behind me like gravity was too much. My mouth was open, but I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, couldn’t cry.He was gone.Gone.I stared blankly at the doctor, as if maybe he’d realize he made a mistake. As if maybe he’d say, Wait…