جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 260

Chapter 252 Ethan's POVI barely had time to register Pascal moving toward me before his fist connected with my face.Hard.The impact was brutal, explosive, sending my head snapping to the side, pain radiating through my jaw and cheekbone.I tasted blood immediately."Don't you ever talk to my mother like that again," Pascal snarled, his face inches from mine, his eyes burning with rage.I spat blood onto the concrete floor and turned my head slowly back to look at him.And I laughed.It was a harsh, bitter sound, but I couldn't help it.Because this was pathetic."You're a coward," I said, my voice rough but steady. "You've been hiding for years like a scared little rat. And now you're trying to steal what someone else built."Pascal's expression darkened."Steal?" he repeated, his voice dangerously low. "Walker Industries belongs to me. I'm Grace's son. Her real son. Not some bastard child of a maid."I grinned, even though it made my split lip throb.He wanted a reaction. Wanted

Chapter 254 Cynthia's POVWhen Grace finally finished her twisted monologue, Ethan's eyes searched my face, looking for shock, for denial, for some sign that Grace's story was a complete fabrication.But I couldn't give him that.Because I wasn't entirely clueless.I'd known pieces of this for three years now.Not all of it — Grace had filled in gaps I'd never known existed, had connected dots I'd never even seen — but enough.Enough to know that my life had been built on lies.I met Ethan's gaze, and the devastation I saw there made my chest ache.His face was covered in blood — from his nose, his split lip, the gash above his eyebrow where Pascal's fist had connected particularly brutally. Dried streaks of it had tracked down his jaw and onto the collar of his shirt, darkening the fabric. He'd stopped trying to blink away the blood pooling near his eye. He'd just… stopped. Like his body had quietly accepted that this was what things were now, and fighting it was a luxury he couldn'

Chapter 256Third Person POVThe news spread like wildfire.By noon on Christmas Day, every major news outlet in Missford was running the story."MICHELIN CHEF KIDNAPPED ON CHRISTMAS DAY""CYNTHIA LAURENT AND EX-HUSBAND ETHAN WALKER MISSING""POLICE SEARCH FOR MISSING RESTAURANT OWNER AND BUSINESS TYCOON"The headlines screamed across television screens, social media feeds, and news websites.And the city responded with shock, horror, and an outpouring of concern that neither Cynthia nor Ethan could have anticipated.Maison Cynclair, ParisThe restaurant was closed, indefinitely.The staff had gathered in the dining room—chefs, sous chefs, servers, sommeliers—all of them staring at the news playing on the small television mounted in the corner.Felicia, one of Cynthia's longest-serving sous chefs, had tears streaming down her face."I can't believe this is happening," she whispered. "Not to Ms. Cynclair. Not to her."Manager Pierre sat with his head in his hands."She was supposed to

Chapter 258 Ethan's POVI broke.Completely, utterly broke.The tears came before I could stop them — hot and uncontrollable, streaming down my battered face, stinging the cuts and bruises, mixing with the dried blood.My entire body shook with sobs I'd been holding back for hours, maybe years.Because Cynthia had just told me she loved me.Not past tense.Not conditional.Loved.Present tense.Despite everything I'd done to her.Despite how I'd treated her, neglected her, pushed her away.Despite the fact that we were tied up in a freezing warehouse, beaten and terrified, possibly hours away from death.She still loved me.And God help me, I loved her too."I love you too," I said, my voice breaking completely. "Cynthia, I love you too."She stared at me, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks."I never stopped," I continued, the words tumbling out now, desperate and raw. "Not since that warehouse twenty years ago when you tried to save me. Not when we got married. Not when I was too

Chapter 260Cynthia's POVAnna had finished untying me.My wrists were free, the ropes falling away, blood rushing back into my hands with painful pins and needles.I could hear the car engine getting closer, the footsteps approaching, and I saw the exact moment Anna's resolve started to crumble.Her eyes went wide with fear, her hands dropping away from me, her entire body tensing like she was about to run."Anna…" I started.But I didn't have time to finish.Because I wasn't about to stay in this warehouse for one second longer than I had to.I scrambled out of the chair, my legs nearly giving out beneath me after being in the same position for so long, and lunged toward Ethan."Cynthia, what are you…" Ethan started."Shut up," I said, my fingers already working at the ropes binding his wrists. "I'm getting you out of here.""You need to run," Ethan said urgently. "Right now. While you still can.""Not without you," I shot back, pulling at the knots.They were tight—so tight—and my