All Chapters of After He Took It All: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Sophia's POVI felt a nervous sort of electric buzz running through me. This was it: the high-risk, high-reward move that would either win the game or bury me under several layers of Ferdinez litigation. After days of careful plotting, I finally had the final plan in place. Jason was, predictably, a mess, calling me every hour and whining about the ethics, which was hilarious coming from a man who had abandoned his own father in a German clinic to steal his retirement. “Sophia, if this blows up, you understand what happens? Axel will know we tried to ruin his perfect little princess, and the entire Julliard legacy goes down in flames. We stick to the money, Sophia! Not the public scandal!” he ranted into the phone.“The money is already frozen, Jason!” I snapped, rolling my eyes while looking over the final copy of the leak. “The only way to unfreeze it is to shatter Brielle’s legal standing. She gained power of attorney from a man who is neurologically impaired. We expose his long

Axel's POVJulian Vance was still standing there, radiating quiet disapproval and making my office feel small and stupid. The silence after I sent the warning to Brielle was excruciating. He didn't raise his voice or tap his foot, but the pressure he exerted was heavier than a physical assault. “You are interfering, Axel,” Julian repeated, his voice silky smooth. “Madame Ferdinez sees this as interference with a containment strategy that has been in place for nearly two decades. The Julliard asset was supposed to remain passive. Your actions, and now the actions of Brielle, have activated it. Why?”I kept my face perfectly neutral, falling back on the ruthless composure I was born with. “My actions are proactive, Julian. I identified a Vandenberg operative—Hess—targeting the Geist asset. If the Vandenbergs gain leverage over Geist, they have a direct line to every name on that list, including Madame Ferdinez. I preempted a collapse, not caused one.” Julian smiled, but it didn't rea

Axel's POVJulian Vance’s quiet threat was still ringing in this goddamn sterile office air. He didn't have to say a damn thing out loud; the message was crystal clear.My mother’s whole freakin’ network knew I was actively protecting Brielle. They knew exactly how to use the shit evidence of my past control to absolutely wreck me. Worse, they could destroy any shot I had with Brielle.I walked straight to my desk and just slammed my fist down. The old, delicate glass figurine—some stupid corporate BS—shattered instantly, scattering shards across the mahogany. The sound was loud as hell and, honestly, pretty satisfying. It was a physical release for the cold, visceral fear that had been building since Julian bounced.The hairpin is, like... a ticking bomb, I guess? Yeah, something like that.If the Vandenbergs, the rival firm now trying to screw over Geist, found that tracker on Brielle, they wouldn't just use it against me.They would hand it straight to Brielle as the final, irrefut

Brielle's POVRichter stared at the desk where the two hairpins lay: the innocent-looking replacement and the tiny, exposed GPS beacon from the original.The military-grade components were barely visible. The implication was a flash flood of information, washing away the last remnants of my naive trust.He didn't look at the pin for long. He looked at me. His gaze was sharper, colder, and more dangerously intelligent than ever before. The air in the room was thick with accusation, heavier than the moment he discovered I was late for our first meeting.“Tell me, Who the hell,” he asked, his voice a lethal, controlled whisper that was far more terrifying than a shout, “are you talking to, Ms. Julliard?”My heart hammered, a frantic prisoner against my ribs, but I forced my face into the same blank, marble mask I’d used to convince him to attack the Steinmetz case. I had to sell this lie perfectly, or I was screwed.“An old security team,” I said, keeping my hands steady in my lap. I did

Axel's POVThe morning news had been a complete, screaming disaster. The worst kind of shit-show.Brielle’s latest attack—the destruction of my father-in-law's sentimental foundations, including the Leda music charity—was a masterstroke of cruelty and corporate strategy. It wasn't about money; it was about public image.The world was now seeing the Julliard empire as poisoned, unstable, and ruled by a vengeful daughter. The subsequent chaos in the quiet funds tied to the Geist Verwaltungs cabal was a visible tremor.I didn't give a damn about the press, but I cared deeply about the damage to the structure, because that structure protected Brielle.And I knew exactly whose fault it was. My mother. Ines Ferdinez. The calculating old cow.I found her in her private office, located in the quietest, oldest wing of the family building. She was sitting at her pristine antique desk, not a single piece of paper out of place, sipping tea from a thin porcelain cup.She looked like a museum exhib