Todos os capítulos de She was never his to own: Capítulo 31 - Capítulo 40

The explosion echoed in my ears long after the sound faded.I stood outside the building, Sofia in my arms, watching smoke pour from the garage entrance. Flames flickered below. Firefighters ran past me. Sirens screamed from every direction.But Alexander was still down there.Marcus had run back in. I'd watched him disappear into the smoke. Now I stood frozen, holding our daughter, waiting for someone to emerge."Mama, cold." Sofia's small voice cut through my terror.I looked down at her. She was shivering in her pajamas, Mr. Fluffy clutched tight, her eyes wide and confused. She didn't understand what was happening. She only knew she'd been pulled from sleep and now stood in a cold parking lot with sirens all around."Rosa." I turned, searching. "Rosa, take her."My mother appeared beside me, her face gray with soot and fear. She took Sofia without a word, wrapped her in her own coat, carried her toward the police cars where it was warmer.I turned back to the building.Smoke poure

"Kill her."The words hung in the air like smoke.Alexander stared at his father. For a moment, he didn't move. Didn't breathe. Then his hand tightened on mine."No."Vincent smiled. "I thought you'd say that. Which is why we have options." He nodded toward the man holding Sofia. The man's hand moved to my daughter's throat."One word from me, and she dies. Your choice, Alexander. Elena's life or Sofia's life. You can't save both."I started shaking. "Vincent, please—""Quiet." He didn't even look at me. His eyes were fixed on his son. "Decide, Alexander. The woman you love or the daughter you barely know. Who lives? Who dies?"Alexander's face was gray. His body trembled with rage and fear and something else—something broken."There has to be another way.""There's always another way. But I'm not offering it." Vincent pulled a gun from his jacket. Held it out. "Take it."Alexander didn't move."Take it, or the girl dies now."Alexander took the gun.---My heart stopped.He held it l

I stood frozen in the abandoned train station, Alexander reaching for me, Christina's words echoing in my mind.Someone died. The next day. I always wondered."Elena, please." Alexander's voice was desperate. "I've never lied to you. Not about anything that matters."I looked at him. At the man I'd learned to trust. At the father of my child."Did you make that phone call?"He closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were full of pain."Yes."The word hit me like a physical blow."I made a call that night. To my father's head of security. I told him to handle the leak. To make sure it stopped." His voice shook. "I didn't know what he would do. I didn't ask. I just wanted the problem to go away.""And a man died.""Marcus investigated it years later. After the amnesia, when I was trying to understand who I'd been. The man—his name was David Chen. He had a history of drug problems. The overdose was real. There was no evidence of foul play.""But you don't know that for sure.""No." He

The familiar smell of lavender and vanilla wrapped around Elena as she settled into the blue chair. The same chair she'd sat in for three years. The same tissues on the end table. The same striped light through the blinds.But she was not the same woman.Dr. Reeves waited, patient as always, her kind eyes watching Elena with quiet attention."I found Christina," Elena said. "The woman from the train station. The one who sent the texts about Alexander."Dr. Reeves nodded. "Tell me."Elena told her everything. The warehouse. Christina's confession about working for Vincent. The recordings—years of them, hidden on a small device. Vincent's cold voice plotting against Alexander, against Elena, against anyone who got in his way."And there's more," Elena said quietly. "A man died. David Chen. He worked for Vincent. He died the day after Alexander made a phone call—a call to Vincent's head of security, asking him to handle a leak." She pressed her palms together. "Christina said she always

The nursing home smelled like medicine and old flowers.Elena walked down a long hallway, her footsteps soft on the linoleum. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. Elderly residents sat in wheelchairs along the walls, some sleeping, some staring at nothing, a few watching her pass with curious eyes.Room 114. She stopped at the door.Inside, an old woman lay in a hospital bed near the window. She was small—smaller than Elena expected. Frail bones under papery skin. White hair thin against the pillow. But her eyes, when they turned toward the door, were sharp as glass."You're the one who left notes." Her voice was scratchy but clear.Elena stepped inside. "Mrs. Chen?""Come in. Sit." The old woman gestured to a chair beside the bed. "I don't get many visitors. Most people who knew me are dead."Elena sat. The chair was hard plastic, uncomfortable. She didn't move.Mrs. Chen studied her for a long moment. "You're not what I expected.""What did you expect?""Someone harder. Angrier. The