All Chapters of GUILTY DEVOTION: Chapter 151 - Chapter 156

With the recent revelations and other evidence provided by Charles, Nicholas consults his lawyers to sue both Genevieve and Ryan for emotional distress, conspiracy to defraud his reputation and career, and manipulating Cassie into silence.The email arrived first in a cold, legal, merciless manner. It was their notice of the crimes they had been sued for. Ryan read it twice, then a third time, his fingers trembling so badly he nearly dropped his phone.This wasn’t a warning but an annihilation.He paced his apartment like a trapped animal, bare feet slapping against the tile, breath coming too fast. If this went to court, there would be no soft landing or any form of clever spin. Everything he had done, every lie, half-truth, and act of blackmail, would be dragged into the light.Genevieve had promised protection and power, but now she wasn’t answering his calls.Ryan laughed then, a sharp, brittle sound that startled even him. Of course. Of course she had vanished. She always did whe

Ryan didn’t look like a man who had just lost everything. He looked hollow.Cassie saw him briefly through the glass wall as officers led him down the corridor, wrists cuffed and shoulders slumped. He didn’t fight this time and didn’t shout. His eyes searched once, found hers, and whatever he saw there made him look away.That was the last time she saw him as anything other than a shadow of the past.*****The charges were read aloud. Attempted kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, false paternity claims, and psychological coercion. When investigators followed the trail back far enough, Genevieve’s name surfaced again and again. She was finally arrested and dragged while kicking and screaming. She had wanted to secretly stow away when she heard of his arrest.She was charged with harassment, fraud, forgery, threats, and coordinated intimidation. Cassie didn’t follow them to the police station because she couldn’t. The weight of all the years of fear, the manipulation, and the quiet terror

Victoria called Cassie into her room just after dusk. Cassie stood outside the door for a long moment before knocking. Her heart pounded the way it used to when she was younger, when she wasn’t sure whether she was about to be punished or protected. She stepped in slowly.Victoria sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded in her lap. She looked older somehow. Not weak but worn in a way she had never allowed herself to see before.“Sit,” her mother said.Cassie obeyed, perching on the chair across from her, spine straight, and hands clenched together. The silence floated between them as their minds flashed through everything unsaid.Victoria spoke first. “I was wrong,” she said. Cassie’s breath seized for a moment.Victoria looked down at her hands. “I spent months telling myself I was protecting you. That distance was discipline, and that pain would teach you what I couldn’t explain.”Her voice wavered, just slightly. “But the truth is… I was afraid.”Cassie swallowed. “Afraid of what?