Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ex-Wife Returns With Secret Baby : Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

“Mom, are you coming back tonight?”Elara froze with her hand still on the car door.Aria stood on the porch, clutching her stuffed rabbit, eyes too wide for a question that simple.Elara forced a smile and walked back a few steps, crouching so they were eye level. “I’ll be back soon, sweetheart. I just need a little time to think.”Aria frowned. “Like when people think and don’t come back?”Elara’s chest tightened. She pulled Aria into her arms, breathing in the familiar scent of soap and home. “No. Not like that. I promise.”From the doorway, Liam watched silently, his hands clenched at his sides. He wanted to step forward. Wanted to say something that would fix this. But every word he rehearsed felt wrong—too late or too selfish.Elara stood, meeting his eyes across the small distance that suddenly felt like miles.“I’ll call,” she said quietly.“I’ll wait,” Liam replied, just as quietly.She nodded once, then turned away before he could see her doubt.Adrian’s place was quiet in a

“Don’t move.”The command was quiet, but it carried authority—sharp, controlled, dangerous.Elara froze halfway down the hallway, her bare feet pressed to the cold floor. Adrian stood between her and the back door, one hand raised slowly, the other clenched around his phone as if it were a weapon.“Police are already on their way,” Adrian said evenly, eyes fixed on the shadow beyond the glass. “You don’t want this to end badly.”A silhouette shifted outside. Slow. Unhurried.“That depends,” the voice replied, calm to the point of cruelty, “on who decides what ‘badly’ means.”Elara’s heart hammered so loud she was sure it could be heard through the walls. She took a step back without looking, her shoulder brushing the wall.“Adrian,” she whispered. “He knows.”“I know,” Adrian murmured back. “That’s why you’re staying behind me.”The doorknob turned once more—then stopped. Silence stretched, thick and suffocating.Then footsteps retreated.Adrian didn’t relax. Not yet.He moved quickly

“Don’t let them see the glass.”Elara’s voice was steady, but her hands were still trembling as she stepped over the shattered pieces scattered across the living room floor.Devano stood frozen near the hallway, his little sister clutching his sleeve. “What was that?” he whispered.“A stupid kid with bad aim,” Liam answered quickly, already moving toward them. His tone was calm—too calm. “Nothing you need to worry about.”Adrian was kneeling near the broken window, carefully peeling the note off the brick without smudging fingerprints. Police sirens echoed faintly in the distance.Elara forced herself to breathe.Not panic.Not now.Not in front of them.She crouched in front of the children. “Hey. Look at me.”Devano’s eyes were wide. “Is he back?”The question hit harder than the brick.Liam stiffened behind her.Elara cupped Devano’s face gently. “No. And even if he were, you’re not alone. Do you understand?”Devano nodded, but it wasn’t convincing.Adrian stood and crossed the roo

“Check the cameras.” Liam didn’t raise his voice, but the tension in it snapped through the room like a pulled wire. Adrian was already moving toward the security panel near the hallway. “I am.” Elara stood in the middle of the living room, the boarded window behind her casting jagged shadows across the floor. The children had finally fallen asleep upstairs—exhausted from fear they didn’t fully understand. The house was quiet again. Too quiet. Adrian’s fingers moved quickly over the screen. “Front yard camera glitched for twelve seconds about ten minutes ago.” Liam’s head snapped up. “Glitched?” “Static interference. Then it came back.” Elara’s stomach twisted. “That’s when the call ended.” Silence settled heavily between them. Liam exhaled slowly. “He’s close.” “He wants you to think that,” Adrian replied calmly. “Psychological pressure.” “He knew about my parents,” Elara said. “He knew we were there.” Adrian turned to face her. “Which means one of two thin

“Put my daughter down.”Elara’s voice cracked across the marble foyer before the front doors had even finished slamming open.Her heels struck the polished floor in sharp, furious beats as she strode inside the Ashford estate. Rain clung to her coat, dripping onto the white tiles like scattered tears. At the center of the grand hall, Liam’s mother stood rigid as a statue, one elegant arm wrapped possessively around little Arin, while the twins clung to a housekeeper’s skirts nearby.Arin’s small hands reached toward Elara.“Mommy!”That single cry snapped whatever fragile restraint Elara had left.“I said,” she repeated, her voice shaking now—not from fear, but from fury barely contained, “put my daughter down.”Liam stepped in behind her, jaw tight, shoulders drawn like a man bracing for war. He had driven them here in silence after the call. After discovering his parents had taken the children from school without permission.His father emerged from the study, calm and composed, as t