Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire Legacy : Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

Annabella's pov"True," Daniel agreed. "But I prefer to keep him alive. Dead, he's useless. Alive and sick, he's the perfect tool. Though I admit I've been considering whether Mia serves any purpose anymore. She's becoming problematic, asking too many questions.""So take care of her too.""I already am," Daniel said, and I heard papers rustling. "Same compound, different delivery method. I needed Anabella to think she was losing her mind, that everyone around her was falling apart. If her son is sick, if Mia dies, if things keep spiraling out of control, she'll have no choice but to rely on me completely. No one else would want her—a woman who can't even keep her own family safe. She'd be broken, desperate, grateful for whatever scraps of affection I threw her way."The recording went on for another minute, with Daniel and his accomplice discussing logistics, payment schedules, and contingency plans. They talked about framing me if things went wrong, about having evidence planted and

Anabella's POVMarcus worked faster than I expected. Within forty-five minutes he had convinced the judge to grant me bail on the condition that I wore an ankle monitor and stayed within city limits. I didn't care about the restrictions. Just getting out of that cell felt like breathing for the first time in days.The officer secured the monitor around my ankle. The locking clicks sounded sharp like a countdown. Each one marked how little time I had left. It sat heavy on my skin and felt awkward and tight. The metal edge dug against bone. I flexed my foot experimentally. Too tight. Too real. This thing was going to track my every move and I knew that if I stepped one foot outside the boundaries they set for me I would be thrown right back into that cell.John was waiting when I exited the station. He stood on the sidewalk with his phone pressed to his ear and he was pacing like he couldn't stand still. His gestures were sharp and impatient and his brows were furrowed so deep they almo

ANNABELLE'SThen I saw him.Peter was sitting in the corner of a large empty room, still tied to the chair. His head was down, chin touching his chest, and he wasn't moving. For one horrible moment, I thought we were too late.The world tilted sideways. My vision blurred at the edges, tunneling until all I could see was my baby's small, motionless form slumped in that chair. Every nightmare I'd had over the past days crystallized into this single, devastating image. The rope. The shadows. The absolute stillness of him.No. No, no, no."Peter!" I screamed, running toward him without thinking about danger or traps or anything except reaching my son.My legs felt like they were moving through water, not fast enough, never fast enough. Each step felt like an eternity. What if he wasn't breathing? What if I'd failed him? What if every choice I'd made, every lie I'd told, every moment I'd wasted had led to this—to being too late?I dropped to my knees in front of him, my fingers fumbling de

John's POV.The paramedics wheeled me through the emergency room doors at breakneck speed. The fluorescent lights overhead blurred into streaks of white as they rushed me down the hallway. My shoulder throbbed with every bump and turn of the gurney. The pain was sharp and constant like someone had driven a hot spike through my flesh and left it there to burn.Annabella ran alongside the stretcher, her hand gripping the metal rail. Her face was pale, streaked with tears and soot from the warehouse. "John, you're going to be okay," she said, her voice breaking. "You have to be okay.""I'm fine," I managed through gritted teeth, though the blood soaking through the makeshift bandage she'd wrapped around my shoulder suggested otherwise. "You got Peter. That's all that matters.""Don't," she said sharply. "Don't act like your life doesn't matter."Our eyes met for a moment, and something passed between us—something neither of us could name or acknowledge. Not here. Not now. Not with everyt

Annabella's POV.I paced back and forth across the small waiting room while wringing my hands together. The fluorescent lights above buzzed softly and cast everything in a harsh white glow that made the pale blue walls look even more sterile. Every few seconds I glanced at the double doors that led to the operating rooms as if staring at them hard enough would make someone come through with news about John.He had been in surgery for over an hour now. Maybe longer. I had lost track of time somewhere between watching them wheel him away and sitting down in this uncomfortable plastic chair that I couldn't stay in for more than thirty seconds.Peter sat in one of the chairs with his legs dangling off the edge because he was still too small for his feet to touch the ground. He had the blanket the paramedics gave him wrapped around his shoulders and he watched me pace with worried eyes that looked too old for his young face."Mommy," he said quietly. "You should sit down.""I can't," I sai