Semua Bab THE BILLIONAIRE WHO STOLE MY FIRST NIGHT: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Jasmine looked at the documents spread across her tiny apartment's coffee table and said what I'd been thinking but couldn't bring myself to voice: "You're fucked.""Thanks. Really helpful." I sank deeper into her secondhand couch, exhausted beyond measure. It was three AM—twenty-nine hours left on Liam's ultimatum—and I'd spent the past day consulting attorneys, reviewing options, and coming to the same conclusion from every angle.Fighting Liam Hawthorne was a war I could not win."I'm not trying to be harsh," Jasmine continued, pouring us both tea even though neither of us would drink it. "I'm trying to be honest. Look at what you're up against—unlimited legal resources, a prenup that favors him, criminal charges that make you look unstable, and a baby that gives him moral high ground. Every card in this game is stacked in his favor.""So you're saying I should just surrender? Sign his documents and accept being controlled for the rest of my life?""I'm saying you need to be realis

"We're already married."I said it to Detective Morrison, to Liam, to Rebecca, to everyone staring at me waiting for my response to Natasha's accusation. My voice was hollow, mechanical, stating facts to avoid feeling anything."That doesn't matter," Morrison said, her voice gentle but firm. "What matters is whether you're willing to cooperate with our investigation into your husband's potential involvement in your mother's murder. If Natasha's testimony is credible—""It's not credible. It's revenge." Liam's voice was steel. "She's facing life in prison for murder. She'll say anything to reduce her sentence, including fabricating stories about me paying her.""Then you'll have no problem coming in for questioning. Both of you. Now." Morrison's expression was implacable. "We need statements while memories are fresh. Before you have time to coordinate stories."So we went. Separately. Into different interrogation rooms with different detectives asking the same questions in different wa

"Six million dollars."Liam said it like he was ordering coffee, not offering to erase my family's catastrophic debt. We sat in a neutral space—a hotel conference room Rebecca had insisted on, recorded and witnessed, everything documented—and he'd opened with the one number that could change everything."That's the total debt?" I asked, though I'd already seen the documents. Had memorized every devastating figure."Six million to clear all obligations, pay all penalties, and ensure your parents avoid prosecution for the financial crimes." He slid a contract across the table. "In exchange, I need three things from you."Of course there were conditions. With Liam, there were always conditions."I'm listening," I sai

Richard had exactly ninety seconds inside my apartment before Liam kicked down the door.Not knocked. Not waited for me to answer. Kicked down the door with enough force that it flew off its hinges, bringing two security guards and what looked like barely contained violence into my small living room."Get away from her." Liam's voice was nothing I'd heard before—cold, lethal, stripped of all CEO polish. "Right now. Before I do something we'll all regret."Richard, to his credit, didn't move from where he sat on my couch, the manila envelope still unopened in his lap. "I'm having a private conversation with Evelyn. You have no legal right to be here.""She's my wife. That's all th

I woke at three AM in Rebecca's guest room, my hand on my stomach, feeling the subtle flutter that might have been the baby or might have been fear manifesting physically.Eight weeks pregnant. Still barely showing. Still able to pretend this wasn't real if I tried hard enough.Except it was real. The baby was real. And every decision I made now would shape the life of someone who hadn't asked to be conceived in chaos, carried through crisis, born into a war between parents who couldn't figure out how to trust each other.My phone glowed on the nightstand. Three AM messages from people who shouldn't be awake:Liam: I know you said tomorrow. But I can't sleep knowing you think I'd trap you. Can we talk? Please?