Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 251 - Chapitre 260

The Nikolaidis estate was quiet. Almost too quiet.Felix Nikolaidis sat in one of the armchairs in the private sitting room, one ankle crossed over his knee, his expression composed to the point of indifference. The insidious weight of legal documents and public disgrace was being spread out in front of him.He did not really care. His mother was not happy with the social splashback they were facing. But he knew that this would not last. They were just another rich family having a scandal, he was just another heir who had disgraced himself to the point of having to sit in a holding cell.Right now, he was sitting in imported Italian leather in his childhood home, sunlight filtering through sheer curtains, a silver tea set untouched on the table before him.Across from him sat Daniel Kosta, the family’s long time legal counsel. He had represented Nikolaidis interests for decades, but today his expression was stripped of its usual smooth confidence. Papers were spread before him in neat

The constant thrum of voices, footsteps, laughter, doors opening and closing, music playing somewhere in the background made it feel alive. All the same, the house felt unchanged. It was still full of warmth and chaos and life, layered with the faint scent of vanilla, floor polish, and baked sugar.Today was special, children’s laughter drifted up from the garden, bright and piercing, punctuated by the high-pitched squeal of balloons and the deep rumble of adult conversation. Music floated through the open windows, something cheerful and rhythmic that was probably put on to keep the children dancing.Belinda sat on the edge of the guest bed in her childhood room, her back against the headboard, the soft cotton duvet folded across her lap. The room had barely changed. The pale blue walls still held the posters she had never bothered to remove, the bookshelf still carried old textbooks and paperbacks she had loved as a teenager, and her wardrobe still held some of the dresses she no long

Adrea realised how nervous she was the moment she sat in the witness waiting room. She could hear the muffled pulse of voices through thick wooden doors. There was a rhythm to a courtroom that did not exist anywhere else. The deposition weeks ago had been brutal. The actual trial was nothing like she had imagined. It was part ritual, part performance, and entirely merciless on her nerves.A lawyer knocked lightly on the doorframe.“They are ready for you.”She nodded, smoothing her hands over her skirt. Her palms were damp. Her heartbeat was loud enough that she wondered if the microphone in the courtroom would pick it up.Aris was not here to hold her hand. She had not realised how she had come to depend on that side of him.Either way, even if she had been allowed to see him before their testimonies, this was not his battle. At the end of the day, she would be alone on that witness stand.A man that Adrea had decided to assume was some type of court clerk or the judge’s assistant (ma

Rafael had not realised how heavy the year had been until it was suddenly over. The trial had ended. Felix had been sentenced. The chaos that had swallowed the Nikolaidis name had finally quieted to a low, distant hum. There were still headlines, still whispered conversations in rooms he walked into, still a faint shadow trailing his surname, his mother was not talking to him (he could not decide if that was a blessing or not), but the storm itself had passed.He felt lighter.Relieved for himself.He had spent so long reacting to disasters that he had forgotten what it felt like to just be. Now, for the first time in months, he could focus on what mattered.Belinda.Or rather, the child in her womb.He stared at his phone for a long time before unlocking it.Her name was still saved in his contacts.Easy to find.Avoidance had always come easily to him when it came to personal matters. But there was no avoiding this. There was a child. His child.He exhaled slowly, thumb hovering over

One Year LaterFelix was already on his feet when the shouting started.The common room was never quiet, but there was a particular tone that carried differently. The kind that made the guards look up from their desks, the kind that drew a slow circle of bodies around a brewing confrontation. Felix recognised it instantly. He had learned to, during his first brutal months inside. Back then, that sound had meant danger. Now, it meant opportunity.The man in front of him called himself Rook. Not his real name, but not many used their real names here. Rook was a broad-shouldered, tattooed, loud, imbecilic. He had arrived six months ago and had made the mistake of thinking Felix was still the quiet, untouchable rich boy who paid for protection and kept to himself.That assumption had lasted until Felix corrected it.“Say it again,” Rook growled, stepping closer.Felix tilted his head, faintly amused.“I thought you’re just stooped and careless. Apparently, you’re also hard of hearing.”Roo