Semua Bab The Billionaire’s Convenient Ex-Wife : Bab 71 - Bab 79

The private dining room at Le Bernardin felt like a different planet from all the corporate bullshit and inheritance drama. Candlelight bounced off crystal glasses, good wine sat breathing in fancy decanters, and for the first time in weeks, I was eating dinner with people who actually gave a damn if I lived or died."To the woman who just became the scariest person at this table," Jules said, lifting her champagne with a grin that was half proud, half trouble. "And somehow kept her head on straight.""The night's still young," I said, touching my glass to hers. "Give me time."Across the table, Sana Van Alston—my cousin, still getting used to that idea—smiled without looking like she was about to bolt. Away from her mother and that suffocating boardroom, she looked different. Younger. Like she could actually breathe for once."I still can't wrap my head around what you did," she said. "When you walked into that first meeting, I figured my mother was going to tear you apart.""She sur

Dominic's POV“Then you're more damaged by her influence than I thought."The disappointment in her voice hit harder than anger would have. This was the same tone she'd used when I was eight and failed to negotiate the proper price for a lemonade stand. The same cold disapproval that had shaped every decision I'd made for the first thirty years of my life."I'm going to ask you once," I said, "and I want a straight answer. Are you behind the threat Scarlett received last night?""What threat?""The text message. The death threat.""I don't send text messages, darling. Far too traceable." She returned to her chair, settling back into it like a queen on her throne. "Though I can't say I'm surprised someone did. Your wife has made a lot of enemies recently.""By destroying criminals.""By disrupting the natural order of things. By taking power that doesn't belong to her and using it to interfere with systems that have worked perfectly well for decades."I stared at her, understanding daw

The silence in the penthouse was a physical thing. It pressed in on my ears, a low hum of electricity and recycled air that was somehow heavier than any noise. I stood at the window, the city lights a blur of cold, distant fire. They weren’t beautiful tonight. They were just… there. A reminder of a world that kept spinning, oblivious.The glass of whiskey in my hand was for him, but I’d taken a sip. The burn of it was grounding. Macallan 18. It tasted like smoke and money and bad decisions. I was waiting. Not like the scared girl I used to be, pacing and chewing my nails down to the quick. This was a different kind of waiting. The coiled stillness before a strike. My fight wasn’t with him. It was with what he was walking back from.You don’t just walk away from a woman like Lydia Blackwood. She wasn't just his mother; she was the architect of his DNA, the ghost in his machine. Defying her was an act of self-immolation. And he was doing it for me. The thought didn't make me feel powerf

The Van Alston building lobby felt like a war zone.I stepped out of the elevator with Jules flanking me, both of us trying to look calm despite the chaos erupting around us. Reporters had somehow gotten past building security and were packed into the marble space like vultures fighting over a carcass. The moment they spotted me, the noise level went from loud to deafening."Ms. Blackwood! Is it true you've been receiving psychiatric treatment?""Scarlett! How do you respond to allegations that you're unfit to run Van Alston Industries?""Are you planning to step down from your position?"The questions came from all directions, overlapping and aggressive. Camera flashes went off like strobe lights, making my vision blur. I could feel my heart rate spiking, that familiar panic starting to claw at the edges of my consciousness."Keep walking," Jules murmured beside me, her hand on my elbow. "Don't stop, don't engage."But they weren't interested in letting me walk. The crowd surged forw

Victoria's penthouse felt like stepping into a different world after the chaos of the warehouse. Soft lighting, fresh flowers, and the kind of quiet that came from actual security instead of just the illusion of it. She was sitting in her favorite chair by the window, looking out at Central Park with a cup of tea in her hands."You look like hell," she said without turning around when I walked in."Good to see you too, Grandmother," I said, settling into the chair across from her. "How are you feeling?""Like a woman who got shot three weeks ago and is tired of everyone asking how she feels." Victoria's eyes moved to the bandage on Jules's forehead, then to the way I was unconsciously protecting my stomach with my hands. "But I'm guessing you've had a worse day than me.""You could say that."Jules dropped into the couch with a grunt. "Your granddaughter almost got trampled to death by a mob of fake reporters sent by your son-in-law's psychotic mother.""I heard." Victoria set down he