บททั้งหมดของ Sweet Unhappy Heart: บทที่ 161 - บทที่ 170

Third person's POV Liam stared at his phone screen in the quiet of his office, the late afternoon sun slanting through the blinds and casting bars of light across his desk. The address glowed back at him like a beacon: 142 Oakwood Lane, Riverside. It was a forty-minute drive from downtown, through winding suburbs where big money hid behind tall gates and manicured lawns that were maintained by crews who arrived before dawn and left before anyone noticed them.Harold Vance had retired there ten years ago, far from the glass towers of Sinclair Corporation, far from the schemes and the dirty money and the midnight calls from men who spoke in careful euphemisms about problems that needed solving. Liam had found the address through an old employee directory his father had kept in a locked drawer, along with other documents that painted a picture of Astor Sinclair's empire that made Liam's stomach turn.He picked up his phone and texted Jackson quickly.**Liam: Heading to Riverside now. Ad

Third person's POV The city slid past the car windows in a blur of glass and concrete, the afternoon sun turning everything into a washed-out photograph. Liam kept his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, his focus supposedly on the traffic but really on the man sitting beside him. Jackson stared out the passenger window, his reflection ghostly in the glass, and Liam could see the tension in every line of his body.They were heading to Richard Maddox's apartment, to a conversation neither of them wanted to have but couldn't avoid. The address was programmed into the GPS, counting down the minutes and miles until they arrived at a reckoning that had been building since Astor Sinclair went to prison two months ago.Liam had wanted Jackson to stay home. Had argued that morning that Jackson needed rest, that the stress of confronting his father could wait another day. But Jackson had shut that down fast, his voice sharp with frustration."I'm not staying locked up in the apartment

Third person's POV Richard stood up, his face flushing. "You don't understand what it was like. The pressure. The constant need to maintain appearances. To keep the money flowing. To keep all the plates spinning.""I understand perfectly. You're a coward and a murderer who sacrificed everyone around you to protect your precious empire." Jackson pulled out his phone. "The police know I'm here. They're watching this building right now. And I'm going to walk out of here and tell them everything you just told me.""Jackson, wait—" Richard took a step forward, and Jackson instinctively stepped back."Don't come near me. Don't call me. Don't text me. As of right now, you don't have a son." Jackson moved toward the door, his hand on the knob. "And when they come to arrest you, I hope you remember this conversation. I hope you remember choosing money over family. Choosing lies over the truth. I thought you are better than Astor, Liam's father. But it turns out you both are the same.""You ca

Two Days LaterThe Hospital General de México smelled like antiseptic and the particular anxiety that came with waiting rooms full of people hoping for good news. Avery Maddox shifted in the plastic chair, her hand resting on her belly where the baby had been kicking up a storm all morning. Eight months pregnant and every part of her body ached in ways she hadn't known were possible.The antenatal clinic was busy today. Women in various stages of pregnancy sat around her, some with partners holding their hands, others alone like Avery. A television mounted in the corner played a telenovela nobody was really watching. The volume was low enough that it was just colorful noise, a distraction from the waiting."Avery Maddox?" A nurse appeared in the doorway, clipboard in hand, her scrubs decorated with cartoon storks.Avery pushed herself up from the chair with effort, one hand braced against the armrest. Her back protested immediately, that constant low ache that had become her companion

Third person's POV They clinked mugs and got back to work.A message notification lit up Eve's phone screen, the blue glow cutting through the dim basement workspace. She picked it up, unlocking it with her thumb while her other hand continued typing commands into the database interface.Liam: Hey, Miss Eve, any update about Jackson? I guess blood is thicker than water after all. I mean, Jackson has hardly been sleeping ever since he heard that Avery might be in danger.Eve stared at the message for a long moment. She could picture it, Liam trying to hold everything together while Jackson spiraled with worry about his sister. The sister who was eight months pregnant and alone in Mexico City. The sister who had no idea that international task forces were mobilizing around her, that her new friend Mateo was one of the most dangerous criminals in the western hemisphere, that her life was hanging by a thread."And, Kingsley?" Eve called out, still staring at her phone.Chen looked up fro