Lahat ng Kabanata ng Sold to be a Billionaires Slave: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Zoe pressed her back to the cold white wall outside the ICU. Her ears burned as she caught the hushed voices of Brayden’s mother and brother drifting down the corridor.Leonardo’s voice was eager. “This is our chance. With Brayden out, the board will need stability. I’ll step in as CEO. It’s the logical move.”Brayden’s mother sniffed, her tone dripping disdain. “Of course. The company cannot be left in the hands of… that slave he bought and married. She’s a liability. Look where her presence has landed my son already. A coma!”Zoe’s nails bit into her palms. Vultures. He’s not even cold in that bed, and they’re already clawing for his throne.Clara, who had been quietly at her side, touched her arm in warning. “Zoe, don’t…”But Zoe shook her head, fire lighting her voice though she kept it low. “No. I won’t let them strip him of everything he built. Not after the way they’ve treated him. He trusted me more than he ever trusted them. He chose me. And now… it’s my turn to protect him.”

The first thing I felt was cold. A thin sheet tucked over me, the sterile scent of antiseptic biting at my nose. I wasn’t in Brayden’s room anymore.I blinked hard, disoriented, until the faint hum of monitors reminded me, I’d fainted.The voices outside my door sharpened into argument.“She collapsed in front of the doctors! How can someone that fragile run an empire?” Leonardo’s voice.“Fragile?” Clara’s tone cracked like a whip. “Zoe is stronger than both of you combined.”Alessia’s laugh cut through the air. “Stronger? Please. She’s nothing but a maid who got lucky. Leonardo’s right, she doesn’t belong in that office, or in this family.”I pushed myself upright as I swung my legs over the side of the bed just as Clara snapped, “She belongs more than either of you. Zoe is Brayden’s First wife. His First choice. And you two? You’re parasites clinging to destroy what he built.”“Parasites?” Leonardo hissed. “Careful, Clara. Watch your tongue. You’re not even a member of this family.”

The mansion was too quiet when I got back. But I knew Clara would be upstairs in my room. I tossed my bag on the hallway console and headed upstairs. That’s when I heard it, muffled noises. Low groans. A woman’s laugh.Curiosity pulled me down the hall. I stopped at Brayden’s room, the door cracked just enough for me to push it wider.Alessia was on all fours on Brayden’s bed. Leonardo gripped her hips from behind, slamming into her with a violence that made the headboard crash against the wall.“Oh God, Leo,” Alessia moaned. “Harder. Just like that. You fuck me better than your pathetic brother ever could.”Leonardo’s laugh was low and cruel. “Say it louder. Who owns this pussy?.”Alessia arched. “It was always you. Not Brayden. You. You make me feel alive, he never could.”Leonardo snarled, driving harder. “When he’s gone, you’ll be mine for good. No more hiding. No more pretending.”Her answering laugh was breathless. “Let him rot in that coma. You’ll inherit it all anyway. the na

Alessia’s heels clicked down the hall before I could steady myself. She stopped right in front of me, a wicked little smile twisting her lips.“Must hurt,” she purred, “watching him look right through you. Poor Zoe, the stand-in wife who couldn’t even leave a dent in his memory.”My nails dug into my palms. “He’s confused. He just woke up.”Leonardo’s chuckle came from behind her. “Confused, sure. But he remembered Alessia first, didn’t he? Called her his wife like it was instinct. Meanwhile, you? He looked at you like the cleaning staff.”Clara shifted beside me, sharp with anger. “You two are vile.”Brayden’s mother joined in then. Her gaze cut into me like a blade. “I warned him. Marrying beneath himself would end in disaster. And here you are, sobbing in the hallway while Alessia tends to her husband. You should pack up your things and go back to whatever gutter you crawled out of.”The fury bubbled hot in my veins. My voice came out like acid. “Funny you should say that. Because

A week later, Brayden was discharged from the hospital and came back home. Alessia hung around him playing the perfect wife, snapping orders at staff like the spoiled Mafia heiress she was. I stayed in my room with Clara, trying to steer clear of both of them and focus on keeping myself, and the triplets, alive. Clara tossed me a look over her laptop. “You know this can’t last forever. Hiding up here while she plays house downstairs?” I sighed, rubbing my belly. “It’s not hiding. It’s… waiting.” I stared at the glowing screen of my phone. Five million dollars. That’s how much I’d scraped together in secret these past months while Brayden lay unconscious. Enough to walk away, enough to build a new life for me and the babies. And yet…I couldn’t. Not while he was still under this roof with Alessia whispering poison in his ear and his mother and brother circling like vultures. A knock jolted me. Before I could answer, the door swung open. Brayden stood there looking devastat