Lahat ng Kabanata ng Daddy, I found you a wife.: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

I stood paralyzed, staring at the empty space where Leonard had held his phone. The words I’d seen flashed behind my eyes like neon on a dark street: terminated, canceled.The silence in the opulent living room felt like a physical blow, heavier than the scream from last night. Leonard stood rigid, his body language screaming guilt. His CEO mask had shattered, leaving only the raw, desperate fear of a man caught lying."The roles," I whispered again, my voice thin, like glass about to break. "They're not postponed. Mason took them. He used your company to fire me, and you knew. You knew when you stood here and told me to trust you."He didn't try to deny it. That was worse than any lie.Leonard took a step toward me, his hands held up, palms open in a plea. "Veronica, please. It just happened. I found out thirty minutes ago, on the call. I was handling it. I was going to tell you—""You told me I was 'a prisoner for my future,'" I cut him off, the fury rising fast, stinging my eyes. "

I slapped the red panel with my palm. The noise didn't come from the lift. It came from high above us: a horrible, loud snap of metal tearing apart.I looked up, terrified. The chain holding the broken platform lift snapped loose. It didn't fall on us, but the sudden release of weight sent a massive metal beam swinging down from the ceiling.It swung fast, like a giant scythe."No!" I screamed.Mason was right behind me. He saw the beam too and shouted, throwing himself backward to escape the deadly arc.The heavy beam smashed into the concrete floor exactly where Mason had been standing a second before. The impact sent up a huge cloud of dust and concrete shards.I didn't stop to see if Mason was hurt. I turned and ran, pulling Angel closer. The dust was thick, stinging my eyes and throat. Angel started coughing, a small, weak sound that tore at my heart."Vee! Eyes!" Angel gasped, her voice tiny and terrified."I know, baby. We have to run!"I ran past the broken lift, heading for t

The air in the quiet office was thick with dust and the silence of a finished war. Mason was caught in the net, kicking uselessly behind Elias. Angel was safe in the small room. But none of that mattered.The only thing that mattered was Leonard’s face on the screen, full of guilt and desperate love, confessing his final, biggest lie.I told them we are engaged, Veronica. I told the world we are getting married.I stood there, holding Angel tight against my chest. Her small, warm body was the only real thing in the room. I felt nothing—just a huge, cold emptiness where my heart used to be.I walked slowly to the communications desk. I looked at Leonard’s digital face. He was staring at me, waiting for the scream, the tears, the final, angry goodbye."You," I whispered, my voice rough and flat, barely a sound. "You promised me no more secrets. You promised me power. And you gave me a public lie. A lie I can't undo.""I did it for your safety, Veronica!" Leonard pleaded through the spea

The morning after the press conference was the quietest I had ever known the mansion. There was no terror, no screaming, just the humming of the high-level security systems Leonard had in place. The kind of silence that comes after a bomb has gone off.I woke up in the guest wing—my new room. It was huge, separate, and far away from Leonard’s master suite. I had my own living area, a small kitchen, and a lock on the door that felt safe and final.Angel was asleep in the next room, having slept through the night for the first time since the scare at the warehouse. She was safe. That was all that mattered.I walked to the kitchen, wearing a simple silk robe I found in the closet. The mansion was still dark outside, but the kitchen monitors were already humming. Elias was not there. Instead, Leonard was standing by the coffee maker, dressed in a fresh suit, looking ready for a day of corporate combat.He looked tired, but focused. He saw me, and his shoulders tensed slightly, waiting for

The study felt different now. It was huge, dark, and filled with Leonard’s old power, but I was sitting in the center of it.I sat in Leonard’s massive leather chair, behind the mahogany desk. I adjusted the position of the high-backed seat, feeling the cool, strong leather against my skin. The height of the chair made me feel untouchable.It was almost noon. Director Daniel was due to arrive.Leonard was in the room, too. He stood by the wall of windows, his back to the light, silent and tense. He looked like a guard, not the owner. I had given him his orders: Watch me fight. Say nothing.I had spent the morning reading the files Leonard had prepared. The documents weren't just about the The Anchor project. They were about Director Daniel's life. Elias's team had worked fast. I knew every loan Daniel owed, every lawsuit he had buried, and the exact dates Hattie had paid him off to steal my role.The diamond wall on my finger felt like a heavy piece of steel, ready for battle.A quiet