Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire’s Broken Contract: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Riley's POV"Brett." The name escaped my lips like a prayer and a curse combined.Dr. Vasquez nodded grimly. "His people have been calling all morning. They want to know about Lily's paternity, her medical history, everything."I stared at the monitors surrounding my daughter's bed, the steady beeping suddenly feeling like a countdown timer. "Why would he care about Tom?""I don't know. But Riley, you need to understand something." Dr. Vasquez pulled up a chair beside me. "The hospital board is getting nervous. The media attention, the photographers camping outside it's becoming a liability.""What are you saying?""I'm saying we may not be able to treat Lily here much longer. Not with this circus following you."My hands clenched into fists. "She's dying, and you're worried about your reputation?""I'm worried about all my patients. The disruption is affecting everyone."The door burst open, and Marcus Webb stepped inside, his military bearing unmistakable even in civilian clothes. B

Riley's POVThe dress Brett had chosen for me was a deep emerald green that hugged every curve, with a neckline that was elegant without being modest. It cost more than most people made in a year, but as I stared at myself in the mirror, I realized it wasn't the dress that had changed—it was me.The woman looking back at me had steel in her eyes and fire in her spine. This wasn't the broken victim who had begged for scraps. This was a woman who had nothing left to lose and everything to fight for."You look beautiful."I turned to find Brett in the doorway, resplendent in his black tuxedo. For a moment, I saw something raw in his expression before the familiar mask slipped back into place."Thank you.""Are you ready for this?""Are you?"He smiled, and there was something almost proud in it. "I'm beginning to think I underestimated you.""You did."The ride to the Metropolitan Museum was silent, the city lights blurring past the tinted windows as Brett sat across from me, his attenti

Riley's POVThe ride back to the penthouse was silent except for the hum of the engine and the sound of my heart hammering against my ribs. Brett sat beside me, his hand resting on my thigh, his thumb tracing small circles through the fabric of my dress.Everything had changed tonight. I could feel it in the air between us, electric and dangerous."You realize what you've done," Brett said finally, his voice low."I stood up for myself." I kept my eyes on the city lights blurring past the window. "Isn't that what you wanted?""What I wanted was for you to learn your place."I turned to face him. "And where is that, exactly?"His jaw tightened. "Beside me. Not behind me. Not beneath me. Beside me."The admission hung between us like a confession. Brett Graham didn't have equals. He had employees, competitors, and conquests. But never equals."And what does that mean for us?" I asked quietly."I don't know." His honesty was more terrifying than any threat. "I've never had to figure that

Riley's POVThe parking garage beneath Brett's building felt like a tomb. I sat in my beat-up Honda, hands shaking as I gripped the steering wheel, the torn contract scattered across my lap."Mommy?" Lily's voice drifted from the backseat, thick with sleep. "Are we going home now?"Home. The word twisted in my chest like a knife."Yeah, baby. We're going home." I forced the words past the lump in my throat, knowing we had no home to go to.I started the engine, the familiar grinding noise somehow comforting in its reliability. At least something in my life still worked, even if it was barely.The drive to Mercy General took twenty minutes through late-night traffic. I'd called Dr. Vasquez from the elevator, my voice breaking as I explained that Lily's surgery would have to be postponed. Again."We'll find another way," she'd said, but I heard the worry in her voice. Time was running out.The hospital parking lot was nearly empty at this hour. I pulled into a spot under a flickering st

Riley's POVThe waiting room smelled like disinfectant and medicine as I sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair, my hands folded in my lap to stop them from shaking, watching the surgery clock tick away the minutes.Three hours. Lily had been in surgery for three hours."More coffee?" The volunteer, a sweet elderly woman named Margaret, held up a steaming pot."No, thank you." I'd already had four cups. Any more and I'd vibrate right out of my chair.The waiting room was nearly empty at this hour. Just me, a man whose wife was having her gallbladder removed, and a teenage girl waiting for news about her father's car accident.The doors whooshed open, and Victoria Sterling walked in like she owned the place. Designer heels clicked against the linoleum as she scanned the room, her eyes landing on me with predatory satisfaction."Well, well. If it isn't the charity case."I didn't look up from my magazine. "Go away, Victoria.""I don't think so." She settled into the chair across from me,