Semua Bab Too Late To Love Me, Mr Billionaire : Bab 111 - Bab 120

KIRA POVTwo hours later, Kira was sitting in a different courtroom on the third floor facing an entirely different opponent. Today has been a freaking stressful day.The New York City Health Department.This one made her more nervous than the Vanessa case. Vanessa was just one person with a good lawyer. The Health Department was a government agency with resources, legal precedents, and immunity protections that made them almost impossible to sue successfully.James had warned her about this repeatedly over the past week.“Government agencies have qualified immunity,” he’d said. “Unless we can prove gross negligence or malicious intent, the case is an uphill battle.”But Kira wanted to try anyway. Because what they’d done to her restaurant, to her reputation, to her livelihood, deserved consequences.The Health Department’s lawyer was a middle-aged man in a grey suit who looked like he’d done this a thousand times before

KIRA POVThe drive to Elijah’s apartment took only twenty minutes. When they pulled up to his building, Kira saw his car parked in its usual spot, she let out a sigh of relief, he was home. She didn’t call or text him to say she was coming prior.“I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave,” she told her driver.“Of course, Ms. Ashford.”Kira got out and walked into the building. She took the elevator to the fourth floor and knocked on Elijah’s door.He opened it a moment later walking sluggishly wearing his sweatpants and a t-shirt. His hair was messy like he’d just woken up from a nap.“Kira? I wasn’t expecting you.”“Surprise. Can I come in?”“Of course.”She stepped inside and Elijah closed the door behind her.“How did the court go? I was going to call you later.” He asked.“We won both cases. Vanessa got eighteen months in prison and has to pay me four hundred and fifty thousand dolla

KIRA POVShe and Adrian had finally worked out a custody arrangement that made sense for everyone, which honestly felt like a miracle considering how messy everything had been before. Adrian was still their father regardless of everything that had happened between him and Kira, and the kids still needed him in their lives.The schedule was simple enough. The kids stayed with Kira Monday through Friday, which meant school days, homework, and their normal routine. Then on Fridays, Adrian would pick them up from school and they’d spend Friday night and all day Saturday at his place. He’d bring them back Saturday evening, usually around six or seven.The kids had chosen Saturdays themselves. Most of their friends lived in Adrian’s neighborhood since that’s where they’d spent the first nine years of their lives. It made sense that they’d want to stay connected to that world even if it wasn’t their primary home anymore.Adrian had been surpris

KIRA POVNight fell quickly before Kira knew it, she’d gotten the kids bathed, fed them a snack, read them both a story, and tucked them into their beds. Lily had fallen asleep almost immediately but Ethan had fought it for another twenty minutes, asking questions about dinosaurs and whether they could get a dog.By the time Kira made it back downstairs, the house was quiet. Her parents had already gone to bed since her mother didn’t stay up late anymore because of her health.Marcus and Sophia were presumably in his room doing whatever couples did on Saturday nights.Kira settled onto the couch in the living room with her laptop balanced on her knees. She’d been looking at potential locations for Phoenix’s second restaurant for the past two weeks, and today she’d finally found one that felt right. A space in Brooklyn that used to be a bistro before the owners retired. Good bones, great location, reasonable price.She was scrolling through the listing photos when she heard it. A fema

KIRA POV Two days had passed since that incident with Sophia, and Kira still couldn’t shake the unease feeling sitting heavy in her chest. It wasn’t that deep. Or maybe it was, she honestly couldn’t tell anymore. On one hand, accusing someone of something without proof was wrong. Investigating someone just because you had a bad feeling about them was invasive and paranoid. Kira knew that. She’d be furious if someone did it to her. But on the other hand, her mother had felt it too. Elena Ashford wasn’t the type to make snap judgments about people. She was warm, welcoming, and gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. So when she’d pulled Kira aside after that dinner and quietly told her to keep her eyes open around Sophia, it had meant something. Sometimes people aren’t what they seem. That’s what her mother had said. And Kira couldn’t stop thinking about it. The Ashford estate was massive. Her parents’ main house sat in the center of the property with its sprawling gardens and per