All Chapters of Contract Marriage with the Disabled Billionaire : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Darren’s POVTables of vendor catalogs. Strings of emails from designers, chefs, PR consultants.But I couldn’t focus on hors d’oeuvres or centerpieces.All I saw was Richard’s face behind every smiling stranger.“Your father’s been speaking to Logan,” Isadora said from the doorway.I looked up.“And?”“He offered me a trade. Him or you.”My heart froze.“What did you say?”She crossed the room and placed both hands on my chest. “I said I choose me. And I belong to you.”Logan’s POV“You’ll be invited again,” Logan said.Richard didn’t react. “You sure they won’t frisk me this time?”Logan smirked. “You’ll come in quiet. You’ll walk right past the guards.”He slid a folder across the table.A contract.Transfer of ownership. Full rights.“You want him to sign this at the gala?” Richard asked.“He will.”“And if he doesn’t?”Logan’s eyes narrowed.“Then the gala ends in blood.”Isadora’s POVEveningI stood at the window of the west hall, watching the twilight settle over the gardens.

Isadora’s POVI couldn’t sleep. So I trimmed the orchids.The greenhouse used to calm me. But not today. Not with Logan whispering in the shadows and Richard prowling at the fence.I clipped too hard and snapped a stem.“Damn it,” I whispered.“Bad day?” Darren’s voice asked from the door.“Worse than usual.”He stepped in, hands in his coat pockets.“I’m going to the city tomorrow. Quiet visit. I want to speak to the workers directly. Off-record.”I turned. “Won’t that be dangerous?”He nodded. “That’s why I’m doing it.”Darren’s POVThree men sat at the back of the auto garage.Former miners.Still loyal.“Logan’s bleeding us dry,” one said. “No one’s hiring. He’s cutting off anyone who doesn’t back him.”“I can help,” I said. “But not as your boss — as your friend. I’ll move funds quietly. Support your businesses until this tide turns.”They looked at each other.“You’d do that?”“Logan’s playing short-term politics,” I said. “I’m building something that lasts.”Logan’s POV“He wen

Alex’s POVThe back-up generators kicked on briefly during a power flicker.One of the camera lines blinked. Just once.But that was enough.Alex replayed the footage.One frame. A branch moved. Not from wind. From displacement.He isolated it. Zoomed.There was no face.No body.But something — someone — had been there.And they were close enough to hear everything.Logan’s POV“Still no confirmation from Richard?” his assistant asked.“He’s being careful. That’s good.”“You want to nudge him?”“No,” Logan said. “When a dog’s about to bite, you don’t pull its leash. You step back and let it run.”Isadora’s POVThe house was quiet again.Not the comforting kind.The kind that made the hair on the back of your neck rise.I walked the halls slowly, barefoot, hand grazing the wall. Every few steps, I glanced out the window. The trees swayed. The shadows danced.Nothing unusual.And yet…I paused near the east hallway.The door to the guest room stood ajar.I always kept it shut.My breat

Darren’s POVThe city was dark.Even the skyline felt dimmer, as if it too was holding breath.I lit a cigar — something I rarely indulged in — and stared across the grounds.Alex had increased the patrol routes. Floodlights rotated automatically. Thermal sensors had been upgraded.And yet… I still felt watched.I hated it.Not for me — but for her.I’d spent my whole life building walls to survive.Now I was using them to protect someone else.And I would die before I let anyone break through.Alex’s POVHe adjusted the camera feed again.Southwest perimeter. A motion blur. Half a second long.Alex rewound. Slowed the frame.A figure.Not close. But there.Moving past the second treeline.They were getting braver.Closer.He picked up the comm and whispered, “Tell Darren — he’s testing us again.”Isadora’s POVI wandered the corridor in my robe, restless.I paused outside the guest room — the same one I’d found ajar days ago.Still closed now.Still locked.But I placed my hand on th

Logan’s POVHe hurled the press draft across the table.“What happened?” he snapped. “I had seventeen votes.”“We think the article got to her. Mason’s been under pressure from her district.”“She betrayed us,” Logan said coldly. “And now she needs to be reminded who holds the reins.”“Should we pull her funding?”“No. Not yet. We don’t retaliate in panic. We counter.”“But how?”He smiled tightly.“We leak Darren’s estate finances. Suggest hidden assets. Question his tax records. We don’t need to kill him — we just need to flood him.”Isadora’s POVDarren sat quietly on the floor in front of the fireplace. I curled beside him, blanket over our legs.Neither of us spoke for a long time.We didn’t have to.“I didn’t think she’d flip,” he said finally.“She didn’t flip,” I murmured. “She saw truth.”He turned toward me.“You think that’s enough?”“I think… it’s the first brick. The one that knocks down the wall.”He reached for my hand.“Thank you for going into town.”“Thank you for le