MasukPustaka
Cari
Semua Bab Shattered Vows : Bab 21 - Bab 30
40 Bab
Chapter Twenty-One The Threat Beneath the Surface
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaThe folder felt like it was pulsing in my hands.Thin and worn, but loaded with the kind of truth that could split a life apart. Melinda Rhodes had told me she was giving me the keys to Sophie’s ruin, but this—this was more than evidence. It was a graveyard of broken spirits. And Ava’s was buried beneath them all.The first page was a journal entry. Ava’s handwriting was delicate, almost childlike. She wrote about Sophie with a mix of fear and worship. It was the kind of twisted devotion a victim has for their abuser.“She says no one else will ever love me. That I’m too weak, too broken. But she loves me. I think she really does. Even when she hurts me, she says it’s for my own good.”I closed the folder before I could vomit.The next morning, I met Trina Williams at a café that opened before dawn. The air was thick with roasted coffee beans and secrets.She took one look at me and sighed. “How deep are you in?”“Neck-deep. Maybe more.”She
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-03Chapter Twenty-Two They Want to Break Me
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaThe hospital boardroom smelled like antiseptic and polished wood, but the tension in the air was sour and thick.I sat on one side of the long table, fingers clenched around a legal pad I hadn’t written a single word on. Across from me sat three board members, a legal representative, and one very smug woman who didn’t belong here—Sophie Meyers, dressed in a pale ivory suit like she’d just stepped out of a fashion shoot instead of a battlefield.My heart pounded behind my ribs like it wanted to escape. But I didn’t show it. Not anymore.I’d cried in the dark. I’d broken down in the privacy of my home. I’d screamed into pillows, punched mirrors, begged the universe to make it stop. But here? Now?I was steel.“You’ve been accused of misconduct,” the chairman said, folding his hands. “Patient mistreatment. Emotional instability. Conflict of interest due to an alleged affair with a colleague. These complaints are serious, Dr. Blake.”Sophie crossed her
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-03Chapter Twenty-Three The Ghost of Ava
Shattered Vows /Jane James
Elena I used to think silence was peaceful. That it gave you space to think, to breathe. But the silence in my house tonight was suffocating. Heavy. Paranoid. Every tick of the clock, every creak of the floorboards, every gust of wind tapping the window felt like a warning. I was alone. But I didn’t feel alone. My laptop sat open on the desk in front of me. The screen glowed with a folder titled “AVA – FINAL RECORDINGS.” A USB drive blinked steadily in the side port, like a heartbeat. A faint, blinking reminder that someone had once existed—and someone else had worked so hard to erase her. Twenty-seven audio files. All timestamped. Some with names. Others just… dates. I clicked the first. Her voice filled the room like a ghost drifting through my walls. “She said I needed her. That no one else would love someone with my past. I believed her. God, I really believed her.” Ava sounded so young. So soft. Like she hadn’t yet realized she was living in a trap disguised as
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-03Chapter Twenty-Six Beneath Her Mask
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaYou know what no one tells you about betrayal?It doesn’t always come like a storm. Sometimes, it arrives dressed in elegance, heels clicking across polished floors, wearing a smile so polished it blinds everyone but you—the one who’s bleeding underneath.That’s exactly how Sophie walked into the hospital today. Confident. Calm. Like she owned the building. Like she hadn’t just threatened my son. Like she hadn’t shattered my marriage and left me gasping for air in my own home.I stood by the nurse’s station, pretending to review patient notes. In reality, I was tracking her every step. My heart wasn’t just pounding—it was roaring in my ears. Rage. Fear. Loathing. A sick blend of all three. But I kept my face neutral. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this war, it’s this: never let the enemy see you crack.She passed by, her perfume hitting me like smoke. I knew that scent far too well. I used to compliment it—back when I believed she was my friend.Her eyes flicked to mine. I
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-04Chapter Twenty-Four No One Is Safe
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaI didn’t sleep.Instead, I sat on the edge of my bed with every light in the house blazing, one hand gripping the cold handle of a kitchen knife, the other clenched around the phone like it was my only lifeline.The silence was louder than screams.Every creak of wood, every distant horn outside, every tap against the window felt like Sophie breathing down my neck.But it wasn’t just fear keeping me awake—it was fury.She crossed a line. Caleb wasn’t just a part of my life. He was my reason for breathing, my one constant in a world that had become a web of lies. And now, he was a target.The thought made my vision blur.When Jasper arrived, he didn’t speak right away. He walked into the house like he owned it, checked the locks, scanned the perimeter, and finally turned to me with that familiar hard look in his eyes—the look of a man ready to burn the world down.“She sent you a picture of your son?” he asked quietly, though the rage simmeri
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-04Chapter Twenty-Five The Calm Before the Carnage
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaThere’s something terrifying about silence—true silence. The kind that feels manufactured, like the world is holding its breath before it implodes.That’s the silence I woke up to the next morning.Jasper had insisted I sleep at his penthouse while security followed Caleb to school. I agreed—not because I trusted him completely, but because at that moment, he was the only person who hated Sophie enough to burn with me.And I needed fire.I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring out over the city skyline. The sun rose like it always did, oblivious to the war brewing beneath it.How could the world look so normal while mine was crumbling?I could still feel her presence—Sophie. Like smoke in my lungs, clinging to everything. She had touched my marriage, twisted my sanity, and now she was circling my son.There was no going back.I turned as Jasper entered the room, coffee in one hand, a folder in the other.“She’s got people on the
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-04Chapter Twenty-Seven The Weak Link
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaThere are moments when your entire world hinges on a single conversation. One whisper. One breath. One truth that changes everything.This was that moment.We sat in a dimly lit corner of a nearly empty café on the outskirts of town. It smelled of old wood and burnt espresso. The kind of place people came to disappear. Which made it the perfect place to meet Isla Greene.She looked nothing like the confident assistant Sophie paraded around in hospital corridors years ago. Her hands trembled as she wrapped them around a chipped coffee cup. Her eyes darted to the window every few seconds like she expected Sophie to materialize from the shadows and slit her throat.Jasper sat beside me, his presence grounding, silent, watchful. But my heart pounded like a warning bell.“I shouldn’t be here,” Isla whispered, barely above audible.“But you are,” I said. “Because you’re the first person who’s ever dared to speak out against her.”Isla’s lips pressed i
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-04Chapter Twenty-Eight The Fire Beneath the Ashes
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaThe moment I stepped out of that café with Isla’s flash drive burning a hole in my coat pocket, I knew there was no turning back.The wind howled through the street like it sensed the war I was about to start. My hands shook—not from fear, but fury. The kind of fury that simmered for too long under the surface until it started to boil.I’d been too quiet. Too composed. Too damn trusting.Not anymore.Jasper opened the car door for me without a word, watching my face like he could read the storm behind my eyes. Once I settled into the seat, he slid behind the wheel and didn’t even ask what I was thinking. He already knew.“She gave you everything?” he asked as he started the engine.I nodded, staring at the flash drive. “Emails, audio recordings, calendar entries—she said it’s enough to prove collusion between Jason and Sophie. Enough to get the custody case thrown out before it even begins.”“And Jason?” he asked carefully.My lips curled in
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-04Chapter Twenty-Nine The Rebuild Begins
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaI didn’t sleep that night.Not because of fear. Not even rage. But because for the first time in weeks, I could breathe without choking on my own silence. The weight of pretending, of enduring, of swallowing my pain for the sake of appearance had finally lifted. And beneath it was something sharper, something stronger.Purpose.I spent the early hours sorting through Isla’s files, categorizing everything by type and strength of evidence. Voice recordings from Sophie’s calls with Jason. Screenshots of their chat history. Legal documents with annotations Jason swore he never saw—annotated in Sophie’s handwriting. Even timestamps from her calendar that matched the nights Jason lied about “staying late at the office.”It was enough to bury them both.By dawn, I had three folders created and ready—Custody Defense, Professional Misconduct, and Personal Leverage. I wasn’t going to be reckless. This wasn’t about revenge. It was about protection. Of Noah. Of mys
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-04Chapter Thirty Courtroom Shadows
Shattered Vows /Jane James
ElenaThe courthouse smelled like old paper, nervous sweat, and the weight of too many lives dissected within its walls. I’d been in courtrooms before—back when I shadowed senior attorneys during my internship. But sitting on this side of the bench, heart pounding in my chest and palms damp against the navy fabric of my slacks, was something entirely different.This wasn’t academic. This was my life.Ms. Kessler sat beside me, perfectly poised in a tailored gray suit, calm in a way that made me envy her. Across from us sat Jason and his attorney—a smug man with silver-streaked hair and eyes that seemed to size me up like I was a hostile witness. Jason himself looked… irritated. Uncomfortable. And slightly panicked.Good.Let him feel it.“Relax your hands,” Ms. Kessler whispered.I realized I’d been digging my nails into my palm. I uncurled my fist and exhaled slowly, letting my spine straighten. I wouldn’t let him see me afraid. Not here. Not anymore.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-05-04
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
