All Chapters of THE WIFE WHO STOLE HIS HEART: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The first news came when Maya, my assistant, barged into my office at Romano Enterprises, looking like she'd seen a ghost and clutching her tablet like a lifeline."Bella, you HAVE to see this. Now."I looked up from the boring quarterly reports, instantly on alert. Maya had been with me for three years, and I'd never seen her this freaked out."What's going on?"She put her tablet on my desk. My blood went cold when I saw the headline on *Seattle Spotlight*: **COLD-HEARTED HEIRESS: The Real Bella Romano Sterling**Underneath was a photo of me from a charity gala two years before. I'd donated like fifty grand to kids' literacy programs. But the caption turned it nasty: *Claims to be a struggling single mom, but Romano's living the high life, splashing cash on designer dresses while keeping her daughter's dad away.*"There's more," Maya said quietly, scrolling to show me even more trashy headlines across different news outlets.*Northwest Business Weekly*: "Romano Enterprises: Family F

I was sitting in the big chair by the window in Nonna Elena's living room, swinging my legs 'cause they didn't reach the floor. The grown-ups were whispering in the kitchen, using their serious voices, which meant something important was going on.The TV was on, but no one was watching. I kept seeing our pictures on the screen, which was weird because we weren't celebrities. Just normal people.Mommy came back from the kitchen looking tired, like she does when she has to talk on the phone for work. She sat on the couch across from me."Emma, sweetie, are you okay? I know today's been confusing."I thought about it. Confusing was a good word for today. "Why do the TV people care about us, Mommy? We didn't do anything special."Mommy gave me that look she has when she's trying to explain stuff to me. "Sometimes, when families have tricky situations, people get curious and start talking about it.""But why our family? Lots of families have tricky stuff. Jenny at school's parents are divo

"The person they're attacking isn't who you are either," Mikel said quietly. "The cold, calculating woman in these stories... that's not the mother I've watched with Emma. That's not the woman who stays up all night when Emma's sick, or who researches every ingredient in her food, or who reads three bedtime stories.""But what if people believe it? What if the CPS worker believes it?""Then we show them the truth. We show them Emma—happy, healthy, loved. We show them the home you've built, the life you've given her, the mother you are."I wanted to believe him, but I was scared. "What if that's not enough? What if someone with enough money and influence can make lies look like truth?"Mikel took my hand. "Then we fight. With everything we have. Because that little girl upstairs deserves parents who don't give up."His certainty steadied me."I need to be at the office early tomorrow," I said. "Before seven.""I'll pick you up at six-thirty.""Mikel, you don't need to—""Yes, I do." He

The conference room at Elena's place felt like a war room, photos spread all over the table and Lucas's tech humming in the corner. I sat across from Mikel, watching him check out the evidence of our family getting attacked, the same intense look he had at our first business meetings."Someone with access to both our companies," he said quietly, touching the financial records Lucas put together. "Someone who knew our security, our schedules, and where we were weak.""Thomas Romano," I replied, still shocked by what Elena said. "My own great-uncle has been targeting Emma."Mikel looked up, worried. "Bella, I need to tell you something. I've been looking into this for three years."My stomach dropped. I didn't know if I could handle any more surprises tonight. "What is it?"He grabbed a thick folder from his briefcase and put it on the table. "I never really believed what happened that night. Even drunk, something felt off about my memories.""Mikel—""I know how it sounds, the cheating

The phone rang at 3:47 AM, waking us up after a pretty good day. Emma's cry on the baby monitor wasn't her usual bad dream—she sounded really upset, and Mikel and I shot up.I got to her room first. She was bent over in bed, holding her stomach and crying."Mommy, it hurts," she said, shaking. "It hurts a lot."Mikel came in, hair all messed up, but he was immediately focused. He saw Emma's pale face and went for his jacket."Hospital," he said, and I grabbed Emma.As we were leaving, I got a text from the same weird number that had been bugging us: *Kids get sick when they're stressed. Too bad when they suffer.*I was scared, but Emma's crying was more important. We'd deal with Sophia later—right now, Emma needed a doctor.The drive to Seattle Children's Hospital felt super long. Emma was quiet against my shoulder, and Mikel drove fast but carefully. His hands were tight on the wheel, but he talked to Emma calmly."You'll be okay, princess. The doctors will fix you.""Is it the same