Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 101 - Chapitre 108

MABELClaire set down her wine glass and looked at me directly."You want me to deny it," she said. "You want me to lie. To claim it was all a misunderstanding. That the baby swap was an accident. That I had no idea what happened.""Did you know?""Of course I knew." She said it simply. Casually. Like admitting she knew the weather forecast. "I orchestrated the entire thing."Even though I'd known it, had evidence of it, hearing her admit it so baldly took my breath away."You're admitting you stole my baby.""I'm admitting I did what was necessary." Claire picked up her fork, examining it as if we were discussing something mundane. "There's a difference.""No. There isn't.""Of course there is." She set the fork down. "Necessary actions aren't always pleasant. But they're required when the alternative is worse.""The alternative being what? Me raising my own son?""Yes. Exactly that." Claire leaned forward slightly. "Mabel, you were twenty-three years old. Barely able to support your

MABEL"Wait."Claire's voice stopped me at the restaurant entrance.I turned back. She stood beside our table, composed as ever."We're not finished," she said."Yes, we are.""No. We're not." Claire gestured to my chair. "Sit down. I have an offer to make.""I don't want anything from you…..""You haven't heard it yet." Her voice was calm. Reasonable. "Sit. Five more minutes. Then if you still want to leave, you can."Against my better judgment, I walked back to the table.I didn't sit."Talk," I said.Claire sat, folding her hands on the table. "You're angry. I understand that. You feel wronged. Violated. Robbed of something precious.""I was robbed of something precious. My son.""From your perspective, yes." Claire nodded. "But from mine, I saved my grandson from an unsuitable situation. We see the same events differently.""There's no different way to see kidnapping…""Let me finish." Claire's voice sharpened slightly. "You want justice. Revenge. Whatever you want to call it. You

MABEL"Wait!"Claire's voice cracked. Actually cracked.I'd never heard her sound anything but composed. But now there was desperation in her tone.I stopped at the restaurant entrance. Didn't turn around."Your mother was a thief," Claire said loudly.That made me turn.Claire stood by our table, her perfect composure finally shattered. Her face was flushed. Her hands clenched into fists."What did you say?" I asked quietly."Your mother. Elena. She was a thief." Claire's voice was sharp now. Defensive. "She stole MY designs. Not the other way around."I walked back slowly. "Say that again.""Elena James stole from ME. She had access to my studio. She saw my sketches. And she copied them." Claire's eyes blazed. "Everything she created was based on work she stole from me.""You're lying.""I'm telling the truth! The truth you've been too blind to see!" Claire moved toward me. "Your mother wasn't some innocent victim. She was a copycat. A thief. A plagiarist.""My mother was original….

MABELI was halfway to the door when Claire's voice stopped me."If you go through with this, I'll bury you."I stopped. Turned slowly.Claire stood by the table, her composure returning. The moment of weakness was gone. Now she looked like the Claire I knew. Cold. Calculating. Dangerous."What did you say?" I asked."I said I'll bury you." Claire's voice was steel. "You think you can expose me? Destroy my empire? Take my grandson? I'll make sure you regret every single decision you've made.""Is that a threat?""It's a promise." Claire moved toward me. "If you hold that press conference, if you launch that fashion line, if you pursue custody of Liam, I will destroy you so completely you'll wish you'd taken my money and disappeared.""You already tried to destroy me. Five years ago. Remember?" I stepped closer. "You took my husband. My baby. My life. You tried to break me. And it didn't work.""I wasn't trying then. Not really." Claire's smile was cold. "I was just removing you from m