Todos os capítulos de The Billionaire's Regret: Capítulo 191 - Capítulo 200

I pointed at Sebastian with my chin. “He told you about her?”Zenna rolled her eyes. “Told me is a very generous way to put it. He sent one picture, told me her age, then said she likes croissants and isn’t afraid of him.” She squeezed my arm. “Does she really look like Sebastian?”“Tragically,” I said.Zenna’s smile widened. “I’ve always wanted to meet my niece.”“You didn’t even know I had a child until a few days ago.”“That doesn’t erase the desire retroactively.”“That isn’t a real concept.”“In this family, money makes a lot of concepts real.”I shook my head, but a smile escaped anyway. “I’ll introduce you. After all of this is over and I’m sure no one is trying to plant another tracking device inside her favorite stuffed animal.”Zenna’s expression softened.“Later,” I said. “I promise.”“Tomorrow?”“Zenna.”“Fine. I’ll wait until the day after tomorrow.”“You disappear for five years and still manage to keep Zenna waiting.”I recognized the voice.Zane Romano stood a few feet

The main ballroom had transformed while we were talking outside.The candles on the tables had been lit. The chandeliers had been dimmed until the crystals cast nothing but warm gold over the guests’ heads. Onstage, three enormous screens displayed the Romano Foundation emblem in an animation far too elegant for an organization whose meetings mostly consisted of people interrupting one another.The orchestra stopped playing.The silverware stopped clinking.Five hundred rich people finally sat down after spending an hour standing around purely to make sure everyone had seen their clothes.Sebastian guided me toward the main table.I didn’t need to check the place cards to know my seat was beside his. Zenna had probably decided that separating us by two feet would compromise national security or ruin the photographs.A board member stood near the table, narrow-framed, his silver hair combed so precisely it looked as though someone had used a ruler.“Mr. Romano.” He shook Sebastian’s ha

Poppy.What about Poppy?I grabbed my clutch from the table.Sebastian already had his phone out. “The villa,” he said as Luca approached.“Being confirmed.”“Now.”Luca spoke into his earpiece, his gaze moving from the doors on the right to the small balcony above the ballroom. “Èze team, status.”A pause followed.Too long.My fingers had already opened Salma’s contact when a voice came through Luca’s earpiece.“The villa is secure. Perimeter intact. Poppy is upstairs with Salma and two officers. No changes.”I pressed the screen hard enough to close the app again.Sebastian glanced at me. His hand shifted from my shoulder to the back of my neck, his warm palm settling against the skin just below my bun.“She’s safe,” he said.“I heard.”“Jas.”“I heard.”His hand stayed where it was.At the front of the room, Zenna still stood behind the podium. She switched off the already-dead microphone, stepped down from the stage, and spoke to one of the security officers in a voice that didn’

Sebastian looked out the window.I noticed the red line on his cuff again.It was larger now.“You’re bleeding.”He didn’t turn. “No.”I stared at the stain slowly spreading through the white fabric. “Interesting. Apparently your suit has started menstruating from the wrist.”Luca coughed in the front seat.Sebastian tugged his cuff down and covered the stain with his jacket. “It’s a scratch.”“From the door?”“It doesn’t matter.”“A favorite sentence among men trying to get infections.”He looked at me. “I’m fine.”“Of course. You also forgot you had ten million euros. Your judgment tonight is no longer considered reliable.”The SUV stopped in front of a private entrance to a high-rise overlooking the sea.No main lobby.No concierge.Only a dark steel door that opened after one of the officers scanned a card and entered a code.We got out in an enclosed parking area. The air was cold and smelled like concrete.No cameras.No press.Just four security officers and an elevator waiting

My phone buzzed on the table.Neither of us moved.The vibration stopped.Then started again.Longer this time.A video call.SALMA filled the screen.I pulled my hand away so quickly I nearly took Sebastian’s bandage with me. He leaned back.I grabbed the phone.The first thing that appeared was one enormous green eye.“Mommy!”I moved the phone farther from my face.Poppy filled the screen.She was strapped into a car seat, her chubby body wrapped in pink pajamas and a yellow cardigan buttoned unevenly. Her long hair fell in a mess over her shoulders. Her bangs covered nearly her entire forehead and one eyebrow. Bunny was trapped beneath the seat belt with her, one ear pressed against Poppy’s cheek like he’d been taken hostage too.Streetlights flickered across the rear window.“Why is the camera so close?” I asked.“I want to see Mommy’s pores.”“No four-year-old needs to see her mother’s pores.”Poppy narrowed her eyes at the screen. “Why are your face red?”“I’m not.”“A little r