All Chapters of Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

The truce in the hospital room had been fragile, a piece of spun sugar in a thunderstorm.Now, three days later, it was dissolving.Liam Cross stood in the foyer of the AVA penthouse. He had been discharged that morning, his shoulder still heavily bandaged, his arm in a sling. He had come straight here.He wasn't here for a "family meeting." He was here because the world outside was burning.The "Secret Heir" scandal had mutated. Vanessa Leigh, from her cell, had managed one final, desperate strike. She hadn't leaked the "breakdown" records—Liam had blocked that—but she had leaked something else.A rumor. A whisper campaign.Did Aurora Vale blackmail Liam Cross? Did she use the child to force a merger?It was ugly. It was insidious. And it was working.AVA’s stock, which had soared after the "Fortress" launch, was wobbling. The investors were nervous again.But Liam wasn't here about the stock. He was here about the boy sitting on the living room rug.Ethan was building a Lego castle.

The penthouse of the Cross Empire tower was not built for silence. It was built for power, for parties, for the noise of success. But tonight, it was a mausoleum. Liam Cross stood in the center of the living room, the lights off, the only illumination coming from the city that lay at his feet like a conquered, glittering beast. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand. The ice had melted hours ago, diluting the amber liquid into something pale and tasteless. He hadn't drunk it. He hadn't moved. He was replaying the last twenty-four hours on a loop. The arrival at the beach house. The sandcastle. The way Ethan had hugged him. The way Aurora had looked at him on the deck—guarded, terrified, but there. And then... the departure. I can't wear that, Liam. That ring belongs to a girl who doesn't exist anymore. She had given it back. The diamond. The promise. He reached into his pocket. His fingers brushed the cold, hard edges of the ring. It felt like a stone he had swallowed. "You

Sophia arrived at the beach house like a hurricane in a black trench coat.She didn't knock. She burst through the front door, her arms full of grocery bags, a laptop, and a bottle of vodka.She stopped in the living room, taking in the scene.Aurora was sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, her eyes red-rimmed. Ethan was playing on the floor with his blocks, humming quietly to himself."Okay," Sophia said, dropping the bags on the kitchen counter with a heavy thud. "Triage time."She walked over to Aurora. She didn't ask "How are you?" She knew the answer. She sat down, pulled Aurora into a hug that was fierce, tight, and smelled of expensive perfume and loyalty."I'm sorry," Aurora whispered into her shoulder. "I accused you. I thought...""You thought I sold you out," Sophia said, pulling back. "It's fine. In your position, I would have suspected me too. I'm a PR agent. Lying is my day job."She smoothed Aurora’s hair."But I'm also your best friend. And I would never, ever hu

The world outside the Cross Empire tower was a maelstrom of rumors. Did she forgive him? Are they back together? Who is the boy? But inside Liam’s office, the silence was absolute. Liam sat at his desk, his arm still in the sling, his gaze fixed on the man sitting opposite him. James Blackwood looked uncomfortable. He was a man who dealt in secrets, in shadows, in the dirty laundry of the elite. He was not used to being summoned for a performance review. "You found her," Liam said. His voice was calm, devoid of the rage that had fueled him five years ago. "You found Ariane Rousseau. You found the partner. You found the timeline." "We did," Blackwood said, shifting in his chair. "It was solid work, Mr. Cross. Given the circumstances." "It was," Liam agreed. "But you missed something." He slid a folder across the desk. Not the dossier Blackwood had given him. A new one. Blackwood opened it. Inside was a copy of Ethan’s birth certificate. The real one. The one Liam’s lawyers ha

Liam Cross sat in the dimly lit study of his private residence, the silence heavy around him. The digital clock on his desk read 2:00 AM, but sleep was a distant memory. In front of him lay the "Secret Heir" article, the black text glowing ominously on his tablet screen. It had been two days since the revelation, and the world was still reeling. But for Liam, the chaos of the press was a distant storm. The hurricane was inside him. He had a son. The words echoed in his mind, a mantra of joy and devastation. Ethan. A boy who loved tigers and dragons. A boy who had his eyes and Aurora's chin. A boy he had never held as a baby, never comforted after a nightmare, never watched take his first steps. I missed everything. He stood up, the leather chair creaking in the quiet room. He walked to the window, looking out at the city skyline, but his eyes were focused on the reflection of a man he barely recognized. A man who had been so consumed by ambition, so terrified of vulnerability, t