All Chapters of Dear Billionaire Ex, I am more than an arranged marriage: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The weight of Gavin Pierce’s revelations about her mother pressed down on Eva like a leaden fog. Add to that the mounting threats against Ari, and she felt like she was being squeezed from all sides, every breath tighter than the last. Sleep had become elusive when she closed her eyes, she saw shadows, remembered voices, the flicker of fear in Ari’s eyes. Each morning, she awoke more determined than ever to peel back the layers of secrets buried around her.Lucian, for all his steel-edged demeanor and emotional walls, had become unexpectedly a strange kind of anchor. Their relationship was still as brittle as glass, a contract disguised as a marriage, but the shared urgency to protect Ari was forming threads of something almost real between them. They didn't speak of it, but in the way he lingered longer in the doorway when she put Ari to bed, or how his gaze softened when Eva entered a room, she could feel it. The tension between them wasn’t just hostility anymore. It was something..

The news of Ari’s disappearance hit Eva like a physical blow, cracking through the fragile shell of triumph that still lingered from the board meeting. The red dot in the photograph. The veiled threats. The chess moves made in shadows. They had all been leading to this.Her throat tightened, her pulse thundered in her ears. But she didn’t allow herself to spiral. Years of journalistic instinct kicked in, forcing her to breathe, assess, act. Emotions later action now.Across the room, Lucian looked as if someone had ripped the floor out from under him. His usual composure had evaporated. His face was ashen, his jaw clenched so tight she could see the muscle twitching. The phone in his hand trembled as he barked into it with a ferocity she’d never heard before.“Marcus, I want every asset we have on this every drone, every satellite, every goddamn informant! Lock down the city if you have to. Find her!”Eva crossed to him, placing a steadying hand on his arm. He flinched at the touch, t

The hospital waiting room felt cold and endless. Time dragged as Eva sat in a hard plastic chair, Ari asleep in her arms, her small fingers gripping Eva’s blouse. Marcus Kane paced the hallway like a caged animal, while Detective Reyes stood quietly nearby, keeping watch and offering silent support.Eva’s burner phone now nearly dead rested beside her. Updates had stopped hours ago. The adrenaline was gone, replaced with a gnawing dread that coiled in her stomach like a nest of snakes.Finally, the double doors pushed open. Gideon Blackwell, Lucian’s ever-composed legal counsel, stepped out. His usually pristine appearance was unkempt, tie loosened, hair mussed, and his eyes betrayed an exhaustion too deep for words.“He’s stable,” Gideon said hoarsely, voice cracking under the weight of the night. “The bullet passed clean through. No vital organs hit. He’s very lucky.”The collective exhale that followed felt like a dam breaking. Eva’s shoulders sagged with relief, and she looked dow

Evelyn’s arrest brought a strange feeling relief, but also fear. The news spread quickly. Everyone was talking about it. Headlines showed Evelyn Cross, once known as a perfect daughter and Lucian Thorne’s fiancée, now as a criminal. Her perfect image was gone.Thorne Capital Group, already shaken by past problems, was hit again. The company now faced public anger, new investigations, and deep mistrust.Lucian, still recovering in the hospital, was angry but quiet about it. He looked tired, but his eyes were sharp. The betrayal by his aunt, Vivian, and her daughter Evelyn hurt more than anything else.“This isn’t just about business,” Lucian said, sitting up in bed. Eva and Gideon Blackwell were beside him. “Vivian and Evelyn tried to destroy everything. My sister’s name, Ari’s future. We need to make sure they never come back from this.”Eva nodded. “Izzy’s files and Henry’s confession are important. But Evelyn hinted there are more secrets. What else are they hiding?”Gideon, always

The quiet unease about Gavin Pierce’s disappearance troubledt Eva. Vivian Thorne and Evelyn Cross were behind bars. Lucian was healing, both physically and emotionally. Thorne Capital was slowly rebuilding under new leadership. But despite the progress, Eva couldn’t shake the feeling that something was unfinished like a final chapter waiting to be written in invisible ink.Gavin Pierce had vanished. Veritas Capital dissolved overnight, no explanation, no digital footprint. Eva’s instincts; those sharp, stubborn instincts that had made her E.L. Verity told her Gavin had never truly been who he claimed to be.Then the message came.Your mother is ready to talk. Meet at the old lighthouse. Midnight.It arrived on Eva’s burner phone; the one only Detective Reyes and a handful of others knew about. But this wasn’t from Reyes. The number was unfamiliar. The tone was unmistakable.Eva stared at the screen for several minutes, her thoughts filled with confusion, fear, and hope. Margaret Langs