جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 170

"It's advice." He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a persuasive murmur. "You know the truth. You have evidence. You could go to the authorities, the press, Alexander Blackwood. You could try to bring me down, bring Amelia down. But here's what you need to understand, Katherine: you're not innocent in this."She recoiled. "What?""You signed every document. You approved every deal. You pushed the board to accept the Ariadne offer. If this collapses, you don't walk away clean. You go down with the rest of us." He tilted his head. "Is that the justice you want? To lose your reputation, your career, your children future? To be the CEO who sold her company to a predator?"The mention of her twins was a calculated blow. Katherine felt it land."I'm not threatening you," Nicholas continued, his voice softening into something almost kind. "I'm offering you a choice. Walk away. Take the settlement package. Start over somewhere new. You're young, you're smart, you're resilient. Don't let

“He didn’t believe me. He’s demanding a paternity test.”“We expected that.”“Yes, but he might tell Amelia.” Gabriella stood up, pacing. “That’s actually better. Much better. Let him tell her himself. Let her hear it from him that there might be another woman’s baby. The doubt alone will eat her alive.”Sofia grinned. “You’re brilliant. Even when it doesn’t go perfectly, you turn it around.”“It went perfectly,” Gabriella corrected. “He’s angry, he’s defensive, and he’s scared. Those emotions will cloud everything else. By the time we ‘prove’ the pregnancy is real with the clinic paperwork, he’ll be too confused to think straight.”She pulled up the doctored ultrasound on her phone and forwarded it to Alejandro’s number, along with a fake doctor’s name and clinic information they’d prepared in advance.“Now what?” Sofia asked.“Now we wait. The internet will have the story within minutes. Alejandro will see it everywhere. His phone will explode with calls. Amelia will see it too.” G

FAVINO GRAND MANSION ~ SPAIN The early morning sun was just starting to brighten the sky over Seville when Marisa Favino’s phone lit up with the news alert. She was sitting in the breakfast room of the family estate, sipping her café con leche, when she saw the headline.Her coffee cup clattered against the saucer.“Madre de Dios,” she whispered.Within seconds, her phone was flooded. Text messages. Calls. Emails. Everyone in their social circle had seen it. The scandal was everywhere.ALEJANDRO FAVINO SECRET BABY - MYSTERY WOMAN EIGHT WEEKS PREGNANTThe ultrasound photo was right there on her screen. Clear as day. Eight weeks.Marisa’s hand shook as she scrolled through the article. Her son. Her only son. Creating a bastard child with some woman who wasn’t his wife. The shame of it. The absolute disgrace.She heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up to see Doña Isabella, Alejandro’s grandmother, walking into the breakfast room with her cane. At eighty-two years old, Doña Isabe

AMELIA FAVINO PENTHOUSE ~ NEW YORK Amelia stared at her phone screen as another call from Alejandro came through. She watched his name flash for the third time that morning, her finger hovering over the answer button. Then she pressed decline and blocked his number. Again.She couldn’t do this. Not now. Not when every news site was showing that ultrasound photo. Not when her son had come home from school yesterday asking why the other kids were saying Daddy had a new baby.Ariana walked into the kitchen carrying two coffee cups. She was moving slowly, her eight-month pregnant belly making everything difficult. But she’d insisted on staying overnight at Amelia’s penthouse, sleeping on the guest room bed even though it clearly wasn’t comfortable for her.“Was that him again?” Ariana asked, setting down the coffee.“Yes. Third time this morning.” Amelia took the cup gratefully. “I blocked him. Again.”“How many times have you blocked him now?”“I’ve lost count. He keeps calling from

AMELIA FAVINO PENTHOUSE ~ NEW YORK The message came through with a sharp ping, breaking the quiet in Amelia’s penthouse.Amelia looked at her phone. Someone had sent her an anonymous message, hidden through several secret internet routes before reaching her private inbox.Stone Holdings is being investigated. Katherina Rodriguez knows everything. She has proof. She’s going to destroy you both.Amelia read it twice. Her face stayed calm, but her hand gripped the phone so tight her knuckles turned white.Rebecca. It had to be Rebecca, her lawyer. Rebecca had connections everywhere and heard secrets most people never knew about.She called Nicholas immediately.“Someone sent me a tip,” she said without saying hello. “Katherina knows about Stone Holdings. She has proof of everything.”Silence on the other end. Then Nicholas let out a long, slow breath.“She came to my apartment last night and confronted me,” Nicholas admitted. “I didn’t think she would act this quickly.”“You didn’t thin