All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Lost Heiress : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The days blur into nights after that first furious, forbidden fuck in Alex’s apartment. We don’t talk about it at first we just fall into it, like gravity pulling us under. He texts me at odd hours,Come over.” I do. Sneaking out of Mrs. Sharon’s place like a thief, heart pounding, knowing every shadow could be watching. But the pull is stronger than the fear. We’re step-siblings by some twisted fate, but when his hands are on me, that label burns away like paper in fire. It starts as a secret, as anything can be in a family like his. Alex hires a private investigator the morning after, behind Richard’s back,He doesn’t tell me until later, but I see the tension in his jaw, the way he stares at his phone like it’s a bomb. “I need proof,” he mutters one night, buried inside me on his kitchen floor, sweat slicking our skin.Before we go after him. I nod, gasping, nails digging into his shoulders as he thrusts his cock deeper, like he’s fucking the doubt out of both of us. The affair co

The audio file arrives at 3:17 a.m. I’m sitting cross-legged on my studio floor, headphones on, coffee gone cold beside me. The recording is grainy someone’s phone hidden in Richard Robert’s office ,but the voices are unmistakable. My mother’s soft laugh. Richard’s low murmur. A date mentioned. A payment. Words like “clean slate” and “permanent solution.” My hands go numb. I hit pause, rewind, listen again, and again, until the words carve themselves into my brain. I don’t cry I just sit there in the dark, feeling something inside me harden into steel. Morning comes very heavy , I drag myself to campus, hoodie up, eyes down. The rumors have evolved thanks to Bella—now I’m the girl who trades sex for money, who sleeps with professors, who chased Alex because of his last name. People whisper when I pass. I keep walking. Adrian finds me in the library stacks again, same spot where he once offered half a sandwich and quiet kindness. He’s in a charcoal coat that probably costs more

The planetarium is almost empty on a Thursday night,just a handful of couples scattered in the domed dark, heads tilted back to the slow swirl of projected stars. Adrian leads me by the hand down the sloping aisle, his palm warm and steady. He picked me up after my shift with a quiet smile and no questions, like he could sense the storm inside me and wanted to give me somewhere calm to stand in it. We settle into the back row, seats reclined, the lights dimming until the ceiling becomes a velvet sky. Galaxies bloom overhead, slow and ancient. His shoulder brushes mine. This place has no lies, he whispers. Just stars. They don’t pretend to be anything they’re not. I turn to look at him. The soft blue glow of nebulae paints his face high cheekbones, gentle eyes, the kind of handsome that feels safe. He’s wearing a dark sweater that smells faintly of cedar and winter air. When he reaches over and laces his fingers through mine, it feels like the simplest thing in the world. Halfw

The morning starts ordinary, almost gentle. I wake tangled in Alex’s sheets, his arm heavy across my waist, city sunlight striping the bed. For the first time in months, I don’t jolt awake from nightmares. I just lie there listening to his steady breathing, feeling the warmth of him against my back, and let myself believe we might actually survive this.We make slow, lazy love no rush, no desperation, just the quiet certainty of two people who finally know they belong to each other without any curse hanging over them. He kisses every bruise Bella’s rumors left on my heart, murmurs my name like it’s sacred. Afterward he makes coffee while I steal one of his shirts, and we drink it on the balcony, shoulders touching, planning how we’ll confront Richard when he gets back from New York tomorrow, and going to the US attorneys office to give put the recording we acquired the the previous day.I leave for campus around noon, promising to text when my last class ends. He watches me go with

Three days after the hospital discharge, life feels almost normal. Almost.Alex and I hole up in his penthouse like newlyweds on a honeymoon no one knows about. We order takeout, make love on every surface, think over the PI’s latest files until our eyes burn. The silver ring on my finger has been replaced with a real one,a simple platinum band he slid on in the hospital parking lot, whispering promises against my lips. We haven’t told anyone yet. Not Kacey. Not even Adrian, whose last text sits unanswered in my phone: Hope you’re okay. I’m here if you need anything.I feel guilty every time I see it, but guilt is a luxury I can’t afford right now.Richard is back in the city. We know because the anonymous threats stopped the moment his private jet landed. That silence is worse than the messages. It means he’s planning something quieter. Sharper.On the fourth morning, my phone buzzes with a number I deleted weeks ago.Bella.I almost let it go to voicemail. Alex is in the shower; I