All Chapters of The Billionaire Replaced Me With My Assistant : Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

Eleanor's POV The buzz in the hall was a living creature, fueled by scandal, champagne, and a tension you could cut with the silver knife beside me on stage. I watched everything from my command post, a discreet podium next to the main stage, where a screen showed the faces of the nominees. The television cameras, voracious, panned between Alexander and Lila retreating to a dark corner, Victoria and Richard petrified with fury, and Sophia and Michael, an island of tense serenity amid the chaos. The argument had been perfect. More than I could have planned. Alexander, with his theatrical desperation, had done me the favor of exposing the cracks for all of New York to see. Now, it was my turn. I activated the discreet microphone on my collar. "Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests." My voice, amplified and smooth, cut through the murmur like a scalpel. "I thank you all for the… enthusiastic reception tonight. However, I remind you we are here to celebrate the busine

Victoria's POV I couldn't believe what was happening. It had to be a nightmare. What did all this mean? Did my father really do all that? What would become of my family after this? Those damn cameras were filming me. My father in the background, staring at that woman with an expression I'd never seen. It had all been a trap. Damn it. Oh, no. It was that image: the one of the wretch in the bathroom hours ago – that wouldn't leave my mind now. I needed to make sure they had done the cleanup job I'd requested. ~ Flashback ~ The gun barrel was aimed directly at Lucas's heart. The world had narrowed to this point: his chest rising and falling, my trembling fingers on the trigger, and the smell of fear, his or mine, I could no longer tell. "Victoria," he said, his voice a whisper, his hands still raised. "Think. Think of Liam. If you do this, he loses his mother. You'll go to prison. Or worse, to a psychiatric hospital. Is that what you want for your son? A monster for a mother?" "Y

Sophia's POV In the middle of that huge ballroom, with everyone still watching, I embraced Eleanor, now recognizing her as my grandmother. She smelled of jasmine, her hug was strong, despite her apparent age."I waited so long for this, Sophia," she spoke into my ear, her voice choked. "So long."She let go of the hug and cupped my face with her hands. Her hands were soft, her brown eyes, identical to mine, were filled with tears."Forgive me. Forgive me for disappearing all these years. For leaving you alone."I pulled back a little, needing air. I wiped my face with my hand, removing the last traces of tears."I can't explain it," I said, my voice still trembling. "It's a relief inside. Like a weight is gone. It's justice.""I know," she said simply. "I know."That's when the journalists arrived. A bunch of them, with cameras and microphones. The flashes started to blind us."Adeline Grant, or rather, Eleanor Morgan! Is it true you've been alive for ten years?""Where have you bee

Alexander's POVI let go of her neck as if burned. She instantly recoiled, her fingers flying to the skin I had touched, rubbing it as if she could erase the contact."Look what you've become!" she spat, her voice still trembling, but hatred reigniting in her eyes. "Such unnecessary violence! Do you think this makes you strong? It makes you look like a cornered animal!"I ignored the insult. What held me now was something much deeper than her cheap anger."You're hiding something from me," I stated, my voice low and dangerously controlled. "And it's been going on for a while. Even in Paris, during our meetings, you kept hinting at things... looking at me with that smile of someone who knows something I don't. And now, when I mentioned my son, you just started laughing. As if... as if you found it funny."She regained some composure, squaring her shoulders. "Maybe I just think you should be smarter than this," she said, a thread of disdain in her voice."Maybe you're right," I agreed,

Victoria's POV"Talk? What do you have to talk to me about?"I tried to push past him, a sharp, fleeing motion. His arm shot out like a physical barrier, blocking my path with no apparent effort."Alexander..." the word came out as a snarl. "What do you want? I'm not in the mood for your mind games right now."He tilted his head, a fake display of concern. "What games? You seem extraordinarily worried about something. More than just your father's arrest."My heart jumped. He knows? About Lucas? It's not possible.I averted my eyes, looking to the window where the rain lashed, making liquid trails on the glass."Of course I'm worried! My father is in a cell right now, I'm here alone trying to figure out how to save what's left, and you have the nerve to say I'm 'strange'?"When I turned back, he was no longer standing. He was sitting. In my father's chair.The CEO's leather chair, behind the massive mahogany desk. His bandaged hands resting on the arms like a king on his throne.A chil