Semua Bab The Forgotten wife of the Billionaire : Bab 61 - Bab 70

I could hear them, even from the hallway.Dominic’s voice—low, steady, coaxing. Eliana’s—small but sharp, the voice that carried worry no child should ever have to take.I stayed by the wall, one hand pressed against the cool plaster, listening to the murmur of words I couldn’t quite make out. When Eliana’s little voice broke with, “Even if you’re angry?” my chest tightened so hard I had to close my eyes.He answered her. Gentle. Honest. And when I peeked into the kitchen, I saw him kneeling by her chair, holding her tiny hand like it was the most important thing in the world.It was disarming—how careful he could be with her. How much of himself he gave away without even realising it.And it terrified me.Because Dominic didn’t belong to this kind of softness. Not really. Not with the shadows circling us. The man who whispered promises to our daughter was the same man who’d stood last night with fire in his eyes and violence in his hands.And I knew—God, I knew—those two versions of

I woke to silence. The kind that wasn’t natural. Not the gentle hush of a house at rest, but the charged, waiting quiet that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. The bed beside me was empty. I sat up slowly, my fingers tightening on the sheets as if they could ground me. The clock read a little after two. The shadows stretched long across the room, reaching for me. “Dominic?” I whispered, though I already knew he wasn’t there. I padded to the door, my bare feet silent against the wood floor. The house felt different—colder somehow. I could smell the faint trace of night air drifting in from somewhere, the metallic tang of something sharp beneath it. I found him in the living room. He stood by the window, the outline of his body rigid, his shoulders squared like he was preparing for battle. His hand hung loosely at his side, but the glint of metal caught the faint light. My breath hitched. A gun. “Dominic.” His name came out sharper than I intended, cutting through the h

The first gunshot cracked the night apart.I shoved Eliana against my chest, my arms curling around her trembling little body as though I could fold her back into me, protect her from the chaos tearing through our home. Her heartbeat thudded fast against mine. Too fast.“Mommy—” she whispered, voice high and frightened, muffled against my shoulder.“Shh, baby. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”But the truth was, I didn’t know if I did.Another explosion of sound—glass shattering, boots pounding, Dominic’s voice shouting commands I couldn’t make out. I’d seen men like the ones downstairs before. Masks. Knives. Guns. I knew what they wanted.And I knew what Dominic was willing to do to stop them.I pressed my lips to Eliana’s hair, breathing her in. Strawberries and soap and childhood. My throat burned. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve a life haunted by shadows and blood.Leo dangled from her little fist, his button eye catching the faint glow of the nightlight. She was clutching

The gunshot split the night.For a breathless second, there was nothing but ringing silence. No scream, no fall, no confirmation. Just smoke curling from the barrel of my gun and my father’s shadow standing tall in the haze.Then—slowly, horribly—he laughed.“You almost had me, son.”His voice was steady, calm, like I hadn’t just tried to put a bullet through his skull. My stomach dropped.I blinked through the sting of gunpowder and saw it: a jagged crack in the plaster where the bullet had landed inches from his head. My vision was still ruined from the flash grenade. My shot had gone wide.And he knew it.He stepped forward, unfazed, eyes gleaming with that merciless pride he’d worn my whole life. “You’re getting closer. But closer isn’t enough. Not against me.”My grip tightened on the gun. My body screamed at me to fire again, but my father was already moving, already closing the distance. His hand clamped around my wrist with the same crushing force I remembered from childhood l

Lena’s POVThe silence was worse. It had a heaviness that settled in the air alongside the dust motes. I watched the red and blue lights of the police cars retreat down the street, their flashing colours reflecting over the shattered living room one last time. The house was a mess, and we were standing in its waste. Bullet holes filled the walls like rough scars. The sofa was broken and across the floor, the blood was no longer fresh, and bright red, but now a dark and ugly stain.I didn’t look at it. I couldn’t. My eyes were fixed on Eliana, who lay curled on the other sofa, her breathing steady against the mess around us. Her grip on Leo was still so tight her knuckles were white. The innocence was gone from her face. It had been taken clean by fear, leaving her pale and tired out.This was the last night. She would never wake up to see something like the previous night. I pressed a hand to her forehead, stroking her hair. The vow was a silent prayer, fierce burning promise. I woul