Semua Bab The Wedding Jilt: Gangster's Revenge Bride: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Chapter 41: The Father's Choice*Valerie's POV*"Papa! I need her out of here now!"The words erupted from me with desperate fury, my voice echoing off the high ceilings of my childhood home. I was shaking with rage, with betrayal, with the sheer audacity of finding Cynthia here in the one place that should have been safe from her poison.My father stared at me with wide, confused eyes. Francesco Newton, who had negotiated with world leaders and defused international crises, looked completely lost in the face of his daughter's hysteria."Valeria, cara, please," he said, his voice gentle but strained. "Tell me what's wrong. Help me understand why you're so upset.""Please, Valerie," Cynthia interjected, and I spun to face her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but I could see the calculation behind them, the performance she was putting on for my father's benefit. "Please, let me explain. I know you're hurt, but you have to understand…I saved you.""Saved me?" The words came out as

Chapter 43: An Unexpected Ally*Valerie's POV*After what felt like an eternity but was probably only twenty minutes, I heard my father's voice in the hallway, speaking in animated Italian to someone whose deeper voice responded with what sounded like Arabic-accented English. Business, then. Even in his semi-retirement, Papa never seemed to stop working.The study door opened and my father entered with a man who immediately commanded attention. He was younger than I'd expected from the mature voice, maybe mid-thirties with dark hair, olive skin, and the kind of effortless elegance that spoke of serious money. His suit was perfectly tailored, his watch was definitely Swiss, and when he smiled, it was with the confidence of someone who'd never been told no about anything important."Valeria, tesoro," my father said, switching to English, "I'd like you to meet Hassan Al-Rashid. Hassan, my daughter Valeria."Hassan stepped forward with fluid grace, taking my hand in both of his. "It is tr

Chapter 45: An Offer of Help*Valerie's POV*Hassan's dark eyes never left my face during the entire phone conversation. He sat perfectly still in his chair, but I could feel his attention like a weight, cataloguing every word, every change in my expression. When I spoke about law enforcement and someone potentially betraying Tony's location, I saw something shift in Hassan's posture, the kind of focused interest that suggested this conversation had just become much more serious than idle curiosity.“Could you come over to my father’s place?” I asked Tony and Hassan gave me a frown.“What?”"You shouldn't tell anyone about it," I continued saying to Tony, "including Vivian and Victor, because it could be anyone. I'll send you the address shortly. It's safe here, well-guarded. My father has excellent security."Hassan's eyebrows rose slightly at this, though whether from surprise at my invitation to a dangerous man or approval of my tactical thinking, I couldn't tell."Good," Tony's vo

Chapter 47: Breaking Point*Vivian's POV*I was in the bathroom when Valerie picked up Tony’s call and the walls in this cheap hotel were paper-thin."Thank God," he'd said when she answered. Thank God. Like he'd been praying for her safety, like her voice was salvation itself.I pressed my ear to the door, hating myself for eavesdropping but unable to stop. Eight years of partnership, of loyalty, of standing by his side through blood and bullets, and I'd never heard that tone in his voice when he spoke to me. Never heard that raw relief, that desperate need."I want to know why you went away like that," he was saying, and I could hear the hurt beneath the demand.The pain in his voice was worse than if he'd been angry. This was the sound of a man who'd been wounded by someone he cared about, someone whose absence had left an actual hole in his chest.When had I become so invisible to him that he couldn't see what was right in front of him?"Valerie, listen to me," he continued, and t

Chapter 49: A Father's Reflection*Mr. Newton's POV*As I watched Valeria settle back into her chair, something shifted in my chest… a complex mixture of pride, regret, and overwhelming love that I hadn't allowed myself to feel fully in years. My daughter had grown into a remarkable woman, strong and independent, exactly as her mother had always predicted she would.But the painful truth was that I'd missed so much of that transformation.After Maria died, I'd thrown myself into business with an almost manic intensity. It was easier than facing the grief, easier than looking at our daughter and seeing Maria's eyes staring back at me with that same fierce intelligence, that same stubborn determination. Valeria looked so much like her mother that sometimes, in certain lights, it took my breath away and made my chest feel hollow.I couldn't afford to be weak. Not with the responsibilities that weighed on my shoulders, the thousands of people whose livelihoods depended on the decisions I