All Chapters of The billionaire who couldn't steal my heart: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

65 Chapters

CHAPTER 30: JOINED FORCES

RONAN POV“Ronan… Ronan, wake up. Ronan!”The voice comes from far away at first, floating through the haze of sleep like an echo. Warm. Soft. Familiar. Too familiar.Annabelle?I groan, half convinced I’m dreaming again because why else would her voice sound so close? Why would she sound as if she’s right beside me?“Ronan!”A hand grips my shoulder and shakes me hard.My eyes fly open.And I’m staring directly into Annabelle’s face. Her real face, not the dream version that smiles at me like she owns gravity. Her hazel eyes are wide with urgency, a few messy strands of hair falling over her forehead, her lips parted slightly.Not a dream.Hell.I suck in a sharp breath and push upright immediately. “Annabelle…”“You scared me!” she whispers harshly. “I’ve been calling you for the past minute. You weren’t moving.”I blink a few times, trying to gather my thoughts. “I… I slept off.”And then everything crashes back in a tidal wave.My mother’s betrayal.The board’s suspension.The hum

CHAPTER 31: FIRST ATTACK

RONAN POVTalking with Miranda this morning felt like someone finally pulled the curtains off a room I had been stumbling around in for years. She didn’t tell me anything I hadn’t suspected about my mother but hearing it from someone who had nothing to gain or lose made everything snap into place. It made me realize that I’ve allowed Victoria Blackwood, the infamous queen of manipulation, to control the board for too long.And for once… I wanted to knock over a few pieces of hers.Miranda had been calm, brutally honest, and maybe just a little sympathetic when she said, “Your mother doesn’t break because she doesn’t believe she can. Someone has to show her she can bleed.”That sentence has lived in my head all morning.I stand by the window of my penthouse, the city stretching below me like a restless animal, and I know exactly what I need to do. If my mother thrives on control, then I’ll shake the ground underneath her feet. If she enjoys toying with other people’s lives, then it’s t

CHAPTER 32: SECRETS FROM THE GRAVE

VICTORIA POVGrrrng! Grnnnng! GRNNNNG!My phone hasn’t stopped vibrating since dawn. At first, I thought I was dreaming but I kept hearing sounds like a chainsaw buzzing somewhere in the distance until the persistent vibration against my nightstand drags me toward consciousness. I groan, burying my face deeper into the cool satin of my pillow.“For fuck’s sake…” I mumble, voice muffled and thick with sleep.The buzzing stops.Peace.Two seconds later—GRNNNNG!I flinch. The vibration jolts through the penthouse again.I could turn it off. I should turn it off. But my arms feel heavy, my bones jelly, and the idea of moving seems like a betrayal to my own body. So I ignore it and close my eyes again.But then—another sound.At first it’s faint, like soft murmurs. Then louder. Closer. A low rumble of voices mixed with frantic shuffling.I freeze.No. Not inside. But—Outside.What the hell?I force myself upright, wincing at the sudden rush of blood to my head. My penthouse is drenched i

CHAPTER 33: THE LAWSUIT

VICTORIA POVMy heart was still pounding with the remnants of rage when my phone lit up on the dresser. Detective Walsh’s name flashing insistently. Perfect. Just when my morning couldn’t get any worse.I didn’t bother to calm myself. I snatched the phone up, my pulse thundering in my ears.“Talk,” I barked, because I didn’t have patience for greetings, pity, or whatever bad news he had reheated for me this time.Walsh inhaled sharply, the sigh of a man who didn’t want to be the messenger of doom but didn’t have a choice. “Good morning, Victoria,” he began cautiously, as if I might combust through the line. “I’m calling because… Annabelle Callahan has filed a case.”My entire body went still.He continued, “She is officially suing you to court with multiple charges—defamation of character, document forgery, destruction of property, emotional distress and so many more”I could feel the blood rush to my head. “You’re joking.”“I wish I were,” he said. “But she’s officially hired Miranda

CHAPTER 34: MEMORIES

ANNABELLE POVI didn’t expect Ronan to do that to his own mother.For a long moment, I just sat there after hearing the news, staring at my reflection in the blank TV screen. My eyebrows are pinched together, lips parted in disbelief. Ronan Blackthorne, heir to the Blackthorne empire, the man raised under Victoria’s iron grip, my half brother, had actually turned against her. His own mother.Yes, Victoria Blackthorne was evil, agreed. Everyone in the city whispered it now that they know some truths about her, though mostly behind well-guarded lips. But even then, a part of me thought Ronan would always choose blood over justice. Over truth. Over me. When he came to me I thought…Anyways not that it mattered. Victoria had been nothing but a raging storm since the first instant she walked into the café where I used to work. One cold look, one perfectly manicured sneer, and she decided I was beneath her. Trash. A nobody who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her and her precious

CHAPTER 35: ANOTHER REJECTION

Annabelle povI’m going for an interview today. Not thrilled about it because of the recent rejections I’ve gotten but maybe just maybe today would be different. I pulled open my closet, fingers flipping through the limited options I had left after everything fell apart. A simple blouse. Black slacks. Clean, pressed, professional. Safe. As I dressed, I caught my reflection in the mirror.My eyes looked tired, but there was fire underneath the exhaustion. A simmering flame that refused to go out.“Come on, Annabelle,” I whispered to myself. “You’ve survived worse.”A soft knock echoed against my apartment door. I frowned. “Who…?”I opened the door cautiously.Standing there was Ronan, someone I wasn’t expecting at all. He looked good as always and while moving away for him to come in I notice that he is holding a small lunch box wrapped in a cheerful yellow cloth. He smiled warmly. “I know today is a big day for you, the last time I was here I saw that you’ve been practicing a few i

CHAPTER 36: MORE SECRETS

RONAN POVMy mother has been livid since the rumors began to spread.Not loudly. Not recklessly.No screaming fits. No public meltdowns.That was the most terrifying part.She had gone quiet, the kind of quiet that belongs to predators right before they strike. The calm before a stromThe headlines were everywhere now. Blogs, gossip columns, anonymous forums, whispered conversations in boardrooms and charity galas.Victoria Blackthorne isn’t who we thought she was.Dark secrets behind the Blackthorne empire.All of it traced back to me.And she knew it.She hadn’t confronted me yet. Not a single phone call. Not a threatening message. Not even a passive-aggressive warning dressed as concern.She was calm.And my mother’s calm was always a promise of violence.But until she struck back, I wasn’t stopping.I would hit her with everything I had. Every secret. Every weakness. Every carefully constructed lie she had built her empire on.I was in my apartment when my phone buzzed.Marcus.My

CHAPTER 37: ANOTHER HIDDEN CHILD?

RONAN POVThe call comes in while I’m reviewing documents I’ve already read twice and still can’t make sense of.“Sir,” David’s calm voice filters through the intercom from downstairs, “you have a visitor. He says his name is Alec. Should I send him up?”I pause, fingers stilling on the tablet in my hand.Alec?The name means nothing to me. I replay it in my head, searching my memory for any association—business, enemies, lawyers, distant relatives but come up empty.Unless my mother has finally lost her patience and decided to send a hired killer to finish me off, who knows what Victoria’s silence could mean but I doubt anyone named Alec is here to shoot me in cold blood.Still, with my family, anything is possible.“Send him up, David,” I reply after a beat. “Thank you.”The line disconnects.I set the tablet aside and lean back on the sofa, rubbing my thumb against my jaw. My instincts are already on edge, the familiar tension coiling in my chest. Ever since Harrison Blackthorne, m

CHAPTER 38: FIRST CONFRONTATION

ANABELLE POVThe courtroom smells like polished wood and cold authority.It’s not intimidating because it’s loud. No, it’s intimidating because it’s quiet. Every sound echoes. Every movement feels watched. Even my breathing feels too loud as Ronan and I take our seats behind Miranda.Across the aisle sits Victoria Blackthorne.My stomach tightens.She’s dressed in soft cream, elegant and deliberate, pearls resting against her neck like a symbol of innocence she doesn’t possess. Her posture is perfect. Her expression is serene.If someone didn’t know her, they would think she was the victim. The one offended. She turns her head slightly to face me and our eyes meet. Her lips curve into a faint smile. I look away first, not because I’m afraid, but because I refuse to give her that satisfaction.“This is it,” Miranda murmurs beside me. “First impressions matter.”I nod, though my palms are damp, and my hands are trembling but I’m here for me and for my mother. The bailiff announces the

CHAPTER 39: THE MASK SHATTERS

VICTORIA POVThe courtroom doors close behind me with a dull, final thud.And something inside me snaps. The control I’ve always managed to pull shatters to the ground. I don’t wait until we reach the corridor. I don’t care who’s watching or listening. I don’t care about the whispers, the stares, the reporters pretending not to stare.“HOW DARE YOU?” I shriek, my voice ricocheting off marble walls as I whirl on my lawyer, my eyes blazing with anger. He flinches.Good.“That was supposed to be CONTROLLED,” I scream, jabbing a manicured finger into his chest. “That was supposed to be CLEAN. You told me this girl had NOTHING.”“Victoria, please—” he starts.“IT IS MRS BLACKTHORNE TO YOU AND DON’T YOU DARE ‘PLEASE’ ME!” I snap, my composure evaporating like it was never there. “Do you have any idea what just happened in there? Do you understand what you LET happen?”People stop walking. Security stiffens. I can feel eyes burning into my back.For years, I ruled rooms with a smile, a whi

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP