All Chapters of THE WIFE WHO STOLE HIS HEART: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The call came exactly twelve minutes after Sophia disappeared with Emma. I timed it perfectly—long enough for panic to set in, short enough to prevent any real rescue attempts. Forty-seven years in corporate warfare has taught me that timing is everything when you're closing the deal that matters most."Elena." I didn't bother with pleasantries as my sister answered on the first ring. "I assume you've discovered Emma is missing."The silence that followed was pure Romano—my sister calculating her response with the same cold intelligence that had kept her in power for decades."Thomas." Her voice carried forty years of steel. "Where is my great-granddaughter?""Safe. For now." I walked to the window of my downtown office, looking out at the Seattle skyline where somewhere below, the Romano empire was finally within my grasp. "But her continued safety depends entirely on your next decision.""What decision?"I smiled, savoring this moment I'd been orchestrating for three years. "The dec

The call came at 3:17 AM, shattering what little sleep any of us had managed. Elena's voice was steel wrapped in exhaustion when she answered, but I could hear the tremble underneath."Thomas." She didn't wait for pleasantries. "I've made my decision."From my hospital chair beside James's bed, I watched Mikel pace like a caged wolf. James was conscious now, bandaged but determined, his laptop open despite the doctor's protests. None of us had left the hospital since the courthouse shooting six hours ago."The Romano empire for Emma," Elena continued, her voice carrying forty years of building and sacrifice. "I'll sign the papers."James grabbed my hand, his grip weak but urgent. "Bella, no. Tell her no. There's another way."But Elena was already giving Thomas the details, arranging the transfer of everything she'd built since she was thirty years old. Romano Enterprises, the real estate holdings, the charitable foundation

The gun felt heavier than I expected, cold metal pressing against my palm as I held Emma close with my other arm. For three years, I'd been Thomas Romano's weapon of destruction. Now, in this moment of crystal clarity, I understood what I really was.A victim who'd become a victimizer. A broken woman who'd been used to break an innocent family."Sophia," Thomas said, his voice smooth as silk even with my gun pointed at his chest. "Put the weapon down. You're frightening Emma."But Emma wasn't frightened. She looked up at me with those wise five-year-old eyes and whispered, "Sophia, are you going to protect me like the mama dolphins?"The question shattered the last of my delusions. I wasn't Emma's protector. I wasn't fighting for love. I was a mentally ill woman who'd spent three years terrorizing a child because a manipulative man had convinced me it was romantic."Yes, sweetheart," I said, my voice steadier than it had been in

The warehouse echoed with raised voices and the metallic click of weapons being drawn. Uncle Thomas stood rigid, his gun trained on the family he'd torn apart, while Great-Grandma Elena faced him with decades of pain etched in every line of her face. Sophia's arms trembled around me as Mommy and Daddy gripped each other's hands until their knuckles turned white. "Stop," I whispered, but my small voice was swallowed by the cavernous space. "STOP!" I shouted, and every adult head turned toward me with startled expressions. Sophia set me down gently, her hands shaking. I walked into the center of all those angry, frightened grown-ups, my legs wobbly but my heart steady. Daddy always said being brave meant doing what's right even when you're scared. "Why is everyone so mad?" I asked, looking from face to face. "We're family. Families don't point guns at each other."

The metal clicked as the cops cuffed Thomas. It felt like the end of our family's forty-year war. But when the agents went to take him, I saw something in his eyes that stopped me.Not anger. Not the ice I'd seen for decades. Peace."Wait." I walked up, ignoring the detective's worried look. "Thomas, I need to ask you something before they go."My brother looked at me with those Romano eyes, the same eyes that used to be warm. "What is it, Elena?""Why?" The question had hurt me for years. "Why did you hate me when I always loved you?"Thomas was quiet for so long, I didn't think he'd answer. The warehouse felt still. Emma was holding onto Bella, and Mikel was watching them."Because I never told you what I did to look after you," Thomas said quietly. "And after forty years, it just got too hard to say.""What do you mean?"He looked at Emma, like she gave him strength. "Elena, remember before Dad died