Todos os capítulos de Divorced by my Billionaire Ex, Now He Wants Me Back! : Capítulo 141 - Capítulo 150

142 aJosh.I drove past Alex’s house—Stella’s house now, I corrected myself—three times before I worked up the nerve to pull over. The neighborhood was too quiet for a Wednesday. Clouds hung low, heavy with rain that hadn’t yet started, and the air buzzed with that charged, electric tension that always seemed to follow my sister these days.I’d been meaning to talk to her since that note arrived. Not just meaning to—needing to. The words haunted me as much as they haunted her. I’d seen the way she moved through the hotel lately, brittle and careful, like she was afraid the floor might give way beneath her feet. Like she was waiting for something, or someone, to crack through the surface and pull her under.The kids were at school. Alex had left early, some meeting that would probably run late, which suited me just fine. I wasn’t here to see him. I needed Stella to look at me and tell me she was okay, even if we both knew it was a lie.I texted her from the curb: I’m outside. Need to

Sophie.It’s the anticipation that I live for—the space between intention and action, where the world feels charged and crackling, and every small gesture could be mistaken for something innocent or catastrophic. I used to think of myself as a good liar, but lately, I’m starting to believe that the best lies are the ones nobody bothers to question. And here in this tastefully neutral café, where everyone is too absorbed in their own afternoon secrets to notice a thing, I can be anyone I want.Across from me, Dane Callahan is already here when I arrive—he’s always early, as if afraid the world might move on without him. There’s something in the way he sits, back straight, eyes shuttered, hands motionless beside a half-drunk espresso, that suggests he’s used to controlling the tempo of every room he walks into. I wonder, for the hundredth time, if he has any real friends.I slip into the seat across from him, smiling faintly. “You could try looking less like a man waiting for bad news.”

145Stella.The nightmare clung to me like a second skin, cold and impossible to shake. I woke gasping, fists tangled in the bedsheets, chest heaving with a kind of grief that felt older than I was. For a few seconds, I lay perfectly still, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for the panic to fade, for the world to come back into focus.It didn’t. My heart hammered in my ears. I pressed my palm against it, willing it to slow down. I listened to the house—the hush, the sigh of the wind outside, the muffled creak as it settled. I could almost believe everything was normal. Almost.But the image wouldn’t let go. Eli’s hand slipping out of mine, Emma’s laughter dissolving into a scream, faceless figures looming out of the dark, snatching them away while I stood frozen, powerless. I’d never felt terror like it. Not even in the worst days of the custody fight, not even when I’d lost everything. This was something new, something primal.I couldn’t breathe in the room. I kicked off the covers

147Stella.The air in the kitchen felt thick. The phone was face down on the counter, as if hiding it could erase the photo burned into both our minds. My pulse still hadn’t settled. I could feel Alex watching me from the doorway, tension radiating off him in waves. Even the soft morning light felt accusatory and harsh.I busied myself at the sink, scrubbing a mug that didn’t need it, wishing the world would give us one quiet day. One day without threats or secrets or shadows at the door. But that was a fantasy, and I knew it. Real life was coffee gone cold and the sharp edge of fear in your ex-husband’s voice.He cleared his throat. I could hear the gravel in it—he hadn’t slept any more than I had. “Stella.”I didn’t turn. “I’m listening.”He hesitated, and for a split second I let myself hope he’d let it go. That he’d see how tired I was, how scared, and offer comfort instead of questions.But Alex was never one to let go of anything, least of all control.“Who sent that picture?”

149StellaThe phone shook in my hand before I could even lift it to my ear. The teacher’s voice, trembling, came through so sharply it made my stomach twist and my throat tighten.“Ms. Harrington… something happened at the school this morning,” she said, her words rushing as though she couldn’t get them out fast enough.“What? What happened?” I asked, heart thudding in a way I hadn’t felt in years.“There was… a man. He claimed to be Alex’s cousin. He tried to sign out the twins.”Every muscle in me locked. I could feel my hands go clammy. The room felt suddenly too small, the shadows of the living room corners pressing in. Wasn’t it just two days ago a lady tried to take them?“A man… what do you mean tried? Were they—were they taken?”“No, ma’am. The staff were suspicious when he couldn’t answer the security question Mr. Marwood set. They didn’t release Emma or Eli. But he had all the other details: their birthdays, your maiden name, personal things that only a few people know.”I