Library

Search

Home / Romance / The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return / Chapter 281 - Chapter 290

All Chapters of The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return: Chapter 281 - Chapter 290

320 Chapters

#281

Chapter 281Cynthia's POVFive months since Ethan had disappeared from that warehouse, leaving behind nothing but blood and unanswered questions.One hundred and fifty-two days of waking up each morning and forcing myself to believe that today might be the day we'd finally get answers, living in a suspended state between hope and despair, between moving forward and standing completely still.But I hadn't given up.I'd promised Kevin I wouldn't, and I'd meant it.So I'd pulled myself together, piece by painful piece. I'd gotten out of bed. I'd started eating regularly again. I'd left Amber at Nathaniel and Helen's visiting as often as possible and promising him that things would get better, even though I wasn't entirely sure I believed it myself.And I'd started building something new.A restaurant here in Missford.Not to replace Maison Cynclair in Paris, but to give myself something to focus on besides the endless waiting. Something concrete and real that I could pour my energy into

#282

Chapter 282Cynthia's POVI didn't even bother grabbing my coat.Didn't tell the contractor I was leaving.Didn't do anything except follow Kevin out of the restaurant and into his car, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.Anna had been found and she should know where Ethan is.Kevin drove like a man possessed, weaving through traffic, running yellow lights, his jaw clenched tight."Where did they find her?" I asked, my voice shaking."Abandoned motel on the east side of the city," Kevin said. "She'd been hiding there for months. The investigators tracked her through a cash withdrawal she made last week. Stupid mistake on her part.""Is she okay?" I asked.Kevin shot me a look. "Why do you care if she's okay?""Because she helped us," I said. "She let us go. She…""She also sabotaged your restaurant and worked with Grace to kidnap you in the first place," Kevin interrupted sharply. "Don't forget that."I fell silent, because he was right.Anna had done terrible things

#283

Chapter 283Third Person POVAnna sat back in her chair, her expression calculating despite the tears still wet on her cheeks."I'll take you to the place," she said quietly. "But I need guarantees."Detective Susan raised an eyebrow. "Guarantees?""A comfortable prison," Anna said, meeting the detective's gaze steadily. "Less restrictive. Protection from Grace and Pascal if they're ever caught. And assurance that Hayden will be cared for properly while I'm serving my sentence."Detective Susan's jaw tightened. "You're in no position to make demands, Ms. Walker.""Then I guess you'll have to find the cabin on your own," Anna replied, her voice hardening slightly. "Good luck with that. It's not on any official records. Jerome bought it under a shell company that doesn't exist anymore."Cynthia leaned forward, her hands flat on the table."Anna," she said quietly. "Please. If you know where Ethan is, just tell us. Don't make this about…""I'm not making this about anything except surviv

#284

Chapter 284Cynthia's POVI was still catching my breath, my heart pounding from the sprint, when Detective Susan appeared beside Kevin's car.Her expression was a mixture of frustration and disapproval."Ms. Cynclair," she said, her tone sharp. "I specifically told you to stay back and let us handle this.""I know," I said, not backing down. "But…""No buts," Detective Susan interrupted. "This is an active investigation. A potentially dangerous situation. You could have compromised the entire operation."Kevin stepped forward, placing himself slightly between me and the detective."With all due respect, Detective," he said, "if Cynthia hadn't been here, you wouldn't have noticed that guy in the hoodie approaching. Her alertness is what alerted your team."Detective Susan's jaw tightened."That may be true," she said. "But it doesn't change the fact that civilians have no business being at an active scene. You both need to leave. Now.""No," I said firmly.Detective Susan's eyebrows s

#285

Chapter 285Cynthia's POVI was reviewing the final menu selections for the restaurant's soft opening when Bryan walked in.Right on schedule, as he had been for the past few weeks. Almost every evening after work, Bryan would stop by, ostensibly to check on the progress of the restaurant, but really — I suspected to check on me."Hey," he said, offering a tired smile as he approached the table where I was working."Hey yourself," I replied, setting down the menu mock-ups. "Long day?""Aren't they all?" Bryan said, pulling out a chair and sitting across from me. "How are you feeling?"The question had become routine between us, but today, for the first time in months, my answer was different."Hopeful," I said, and I couldn't keep the smile from spreading across my face. "Really, genuinely hopeful, Bryan."Bryan's expression shifted slightly, something flickering in his eyes that I couldn't quite read."The DNA results came back," I continued, the words tumbling out in a rush. "From t

#286

Chapter 286Bryan's POVPascal had been found, orr at least, there was a lead on his location.The text Cynthia had shown me before I left the restaurant flashed through my mind as I drove through the darkening streets of Missford.Possible sighting near the docks. Moving teams into position now.Normal people—would have felt relief at that news.Hope that finally, after five months of searching, answers were within reach.But I wasn't normal people.And relief was the last thing I felt.How could Pascal be so careless?So sloppy?Five months of successfully staying hidden, and now he was spotted near the docks like some amateur criminal who didn't know how to cover his tracks.It was almost insulting how easy he'd made it for them.I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my jaw clenching.This wasn't supposed to happen.Ethan wasn't supposed to be found.I'd been so careful. So patient. Playing the role of the concerned friend, the supportive presence, the man who just wanted to help C

#287

Chapter 287Cynthia's POVNikolai had insisted on staying to help me close up the restaurant.We moved through the space together in comfortable rhythm—him wiping down the counters in the prep area while I organized the sample menus and design sketches I'd been reviewing earlier."I still can't believe they actually found him," I said, breaking the silence. "After all this time, Pascal was just... here. In Missford. The whole time."Nikolai looked up from the counter he was cleaning, his expression thoughtful."It makes sense, though," he said. "Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. The police were searching everywhere except right under their noses.""But now they have him," I said, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. "Or they're close to having him. And once they do, he'll have to tell them where Ethan is. He'll have to—"My voice caught, emotion threatening to overwhelm me.Nikolai set down the cloth he'd been using and crossed the kitchen to stand beside me.

#288

Chapter 288Ethan's POVSix months.One hundred and eighty-three days since I'd woken up in a strange bed, pain radiating through my chest, my head pounding, my memories completely blank except for fragments — scattered pieces of a puzzle I couldn't put together.My name was Ethan.I knew that much because the old man who'd found me half-dead in his field had gone through my pockets looking for identification and found nothing except a wedding ring.A simple gold band that had two names engraved on the inside.Ethan & CynthiaEthan. That was me.And Cynthia... Cynthia was someone important. Someone I'd married. Someone I needed to find.But I didn't know who she was.Couldn't picture her face. Couldn't recall a single moment we'd shared together.Just her name, burning in my mind like a brand.Cynthia.The old man's name was Gavin.He was in his seventies, weathered and bent from decades of farm work, with kind eyes and calloused hands that had carefully tended to my wounds when he'd

#289

Chapter 289Cynthia's POVI was still trying to figure out how to politely extract my hand from Nikolai's when he suddenly smiled and said, "I have something for you."Before I could respond, he stood up from his seat and moved around the table to stand behind me."Nikolai, what are you…" I started.I felt something cool and delicate settle against my collarbone, heard the soft click of a clasp being fastened at the nape of my neck.A necklace.He'd put a necklace on me."There," Nikolai said, his voice warm with satisfaction. "Perfect."I reached up instinctively, my fingers finding the pendant—something smooth and substantial, probably expensive if I had to guess based on the weight of it."What is this?" I asked, my voice coming out sharper than I'd intended.Nikolai returned to his seat, looking pleased with himself."Just something I saw on my way to your restaurant," he said casually. "I thought it would be beautiful on you."The words hung in the air between us.Just something

#290

Chapter 290Ethan's POVPrisca stood completely naked in front of me.No hesitation. No shyness. No attempt to cover herself.Just bare skin and deliberate seduction, her body positioned in a way that was impossible to ignore.And despite everything—despite the confusion clouding my mind, despite the emptiness where my memories should be, despite the desperate loneliness that had been my constant companion for six months—I felt my body respond.Heat pooled low in my stomach.Blood rushed places it hadn't in half a year.My breath caught.Because it had been so long.Six months since I'd woken up in this farm house with no memory of who I was or how I'd gotten there.Six months of living in this isolated farmhouse with Gavin and Prisca, working the fields, trying desperately to piece together fragments of a life I couldn't remember.Six months without touch. Without intimacy. Without anything resembling normalcy.And my body—traitorous, desperate thing that it was—wanted this.Wanted t

PREV

...

27 28 29 30 31 32

NEXT

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

DMCA.com Protection Status