جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 130

Serena My heart weighed heavy in my chest as I stared at Desmond. God, if someone had told me Desmond could stand in the same place with the Wellington's, let alone letting Catherine into my office, I wouldn't have believed it. "Ethan," I said quietly. "Call security." "Serena, please," Desmond said, his eyes going wide with panic. "Please don't. I'll do anything. I'll testify against Victoria. I'll tell the board everything. I'll fix this. Just please, don't fire me. I need this job. Susan needs the insurance." "You should have thought of that before you betrayed me," I said, my voice cold now. Ethan pulled out his phone and made the call. "I need security in Desmond Miller's office immediately," he said. "We have a situation that needs to be handled." "Please," Desmond begged, coming around his desk toward me. "Serena, please. I made a mistake. A terrible mistake. But I can fix it. Let me fix it." "Stay back," Ethan said sharply, stepping between Desmond and me.

Ethan Ashford The moment we got home from the board meeting, I knew I needed to act.Serena was upstairs, exhausted and emotionally destroyed.She had changed into comfortable clothes and was lying on our bed, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.I had brought her tea, tried to get her to eat something, but she just shook her head."I just want to rest," she whispered. "Just for a little while."I kissed her forehead and left her alone.But I couldn't rest.I couldn't sit still.Someone had declared war on my wife, and I am going to end them.I went to my office and started making calls.First, to my legal team."I need everything you can find on Victoria Wellington," I told Richard, my head attorney. "Financial records, phone records, property records, everything. I want to know where she's getting her money, who she's working with, and where she's hiding.""I'll get started immediately," Richard said.Next, I called Daniel, my head of security."Any updates on the investigation?

Serena I woke up slowly, consciousness returning in fragments.The first thing I noticed was the cold.I was freezing.My entire body was shivering.The second thing I noticed was the darkness.Not complete darkness. There was a faint light coming from somewhere, but it was dim and flickering.The third thing I noticed was the smell.Damp. Musty. Like old concrete and mildew.And then I noticed the pain.My wrists hurt. Badly.I tried to move my hands and realized they were tied behind my back.Zip ties. Tight. Cutting into my skin.My ankles were tied too.Panic surged through me and I jerked upright.Too fast.My head spun and I felt nauseous.The sedative was still in my system.I blinked several times, trying to clear my vision and make sense of where I was.As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, details started to emerge.I was in a large, empty room.Concrete floor. Concrete walls. High ceiling with exposed pipes and beams.The only light came from a single bare bulb hanging fro

Serena "Victoria, please," I said, trying to keep my voice calm even though I was terrified. "You don't have to do this. If you kill me, you'll go to prison for the rest of your life. Is revenge really worth that?""Yes," Victoria said simply. "It is. Because even if I go to prison, I'll know that I had made you pay. I'll know that I destroyed you and Ethan both. And that will be enough."She walked over to a bag in the corner that I hadn't noticed before.She reached inside and pulled out a gun.A real gun.My heart stopped."Where did you get that?" I asked, my voice shaking now."My benefactor provided it," Victoria said, checking to make sure it was loaded. "Along with very specific instructions on how to make this look like Dave did it."She pointed the gun at me.I closed my eyes, unable to look at it.This is it. This is how I die."I'm sorry, Ethan. I'm so sorry." I whispered in my mind.Then I heard something.Distant at first, then louder.Sounds from upstairs.Footsteps. H

Ethan Ashford "Is she going to lose the baby?" I asked, my voice breaking."We don't know yet," Dr. Mitchell said honestly. "We've given her medication to try to prevent a miscarriage. Hormones to support the pregnancy. We're monitoring her closely. But the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are critical.""What can I do?" I asked desperately. "There has to be something I can do.""The best thing you can do is be with her," Dr. Mitchell said. "She needs rest, calm, and support. No stress. No physical exertion. Complete bed rest for at least two weeks, possibly longer depending on how her body responds."Two weeks.Two weeks of not knowing if our baby would survive."Can I see her?" I asked."Of course," Dr. Mitchell said. "Follow me."She led me through the emergency room doors, down a hallway, to a private room.And there she was.Serena.My wife.She was lying in a hospital bed, covered in a thin white blanket.She looked so small. So fragile.Her face was pale. There were dark