All Chapters of The Bet That Ruined Us : Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

[VINCENT'S CAR - MAIN ROAD TO THE CITY]"Drive faster, Vince!"Shayla was gripping the dashboard so hard her knuckles had gone white. Her fingernails were digging into the leather hard enough to leave marks. Her other hand was pressed against her swollen belly. The baby was kicking. Hard. Frantic. Like it could feel her terror."I am already driving fifteen miles over the speed limit, Shayla!" Vincent's eyes were locked on the road. Both hands tight on the wheel. "You are five months pregnant! If I crash this car going this fast, you and the baby could both be hurt! You need to calm down!""Do not tell me to calm down!" Her voice was rising. Getting shrill. "Just drive faster! Please! Something is wrong! I know it! I can feel it!"Her whole body was shaking. Trembling like she was freezing even though the car heater was on. Her heart was racing. Pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat.That nightmare. That terrible vivid nightmare she had woken up screaming from. Ayven callin

Grayson pulled up to the address Monica had sent. An old shipping warehouse in an enclosed alley. He parked his car and got out. The air smelled like rust and dead fish and old motor oil. The sun was setting. Long shadows stretching across the cracked pavement. Making everything look darker. More ominous.Grayson checked his gun. Glock 19. Loaded. Fifteen rounds in the magazine. One in the chamber.Two spare magazines in his jacket pockets. Forty-five rounds total.Probably not enough if this went bad. But better than nothing.He walked toward the warehouse entrance. A massive rolling metal door that was partially open. Maybe three feet of clearance at the bottom. Just enough for a person to duck under and slip through.He knew it was a trap. Obviously. Anyone with half a brain could see it was a trap.But his children were on the line. And he would walk into any trap. Face any danger. Do absolutely anything to save them.Grayson ducked under the door and stepped inside.His footsteps

[DON VOLKOV'S WAREHOUSE - CONTINUOUS]"What do you mean not yet?" His voice came out strangled. Raw. "I signed everything! I gave you what you wanted! Let my kids go!""Like I said," Don Volkov replied. His voice still that same flat monotone. "If I kill you, your father will come for me. And I want him to come. I want him to watch you die. To feel what I felt when he destroyed me."He raised his hand. Slowly. Deliberately.Ivan and Jake immediately raised their guns. Pointed them at Grayson's head. Two red laser dots on his forehead."You cannot be serious!" Grayson was shouting now. "I just gave you everything! The entire Cross fortune! What more do you want?""Your death," Volkov said simply. "That is what I have always wanted. Your father took everything from me. So I take everything from him. Including his son.""You are insane!""No. Just patient."Volkov started to bring his hand down. The signal. The order.And then the entire warehouse exploded with sound and light.Not a real

Your son is alive.Three words. Simple words. But they hit like a physical blow.Shayla released a breath she did not know she had been holding. Her whole body sagged with relief. She put her hand on her stomach. On the baby, like she needed to protect it from the fear and stress.Grayson nodded. He did not trust himself to speak. His throat was too tight. Too many emotions were trying to come out at once and he could not let any of them escape. He could not break down. Not here. Not now. He had to stay strong and hold it together."But he is in a coma," the doctor continued. His voice stayed gentle but firm. Delivering hard truths with compassion. "A gunshot wound to the abdomen in an eight-year-old child. That is extremely serious, Mr. and Mrs. Cross. Extremely serious. The fact that he survived the surgery at all is honestly a miracle."He pulled out a tablet. Started showing them scans and images. Medical things that Grayson did not fully understand but looked terrible anyway."Th

He could feel tears burning behind his eyes. He fought them back with everything he had."Because I knew he needed you. I knew he needed his mother, he was suffering without you there. And I was not going to take that away from him just because it hurt me to know you were talking to him but not to me."Grayson's hands were shaking. His whole body was trembling with the effort of holding back everything he was feeling."I could have easily found you, Shayla. I have the resources. The connections. The money. I could have tracked you down in a few hours if I really wanted to. But I did not. Do you know why? Because I respected your decision. Because I gave you the space you asked for. Because I love you more than I love myself. And your happiness matters more to me than my own."He laughed. But it was not a happy sound. It was broken. Painful. Like a sob trying to disguise itself as laughter."That is all I do, Shayla. All I have ever done. Love you. Respect you. Try to be better for you