บททั้งหมดของ Runaway Heiress: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Bride: บทที่ 171 - บทที่ 180

The Parent-Teacher Conference at L’École Internationale de New York was less of a meeting and more of a summit.Aurora sat on a small, ergonomic chair in Madame Dubois’s classroom, surrounded by finger paintings and the faint smell of chalk dust. She was wearing her "engagement armor"—a cream-colored suit that softened her edges but still screamed CEO.Liam wasn't here. He was in Tokyo, closing the final logistics for the "Alliance" distribution. He would be back tonight."Ethan is a delight," Madame Dubois said, adjusting her glasses. She was a stern, kind woman who had seen generations of Manhattan’s elite pass through her doors. "He is bright. Creative. His vocabulary is... advanced.""He listens," Aurora said, smiling. "Usually when he shouldn't.""He is also... very observant," Madame Dubois said. Her tone shifted. It became careful.She pulled a piece of paper from a folder."We did an exercise yesterday. 'My Three Wishes'. It’s a standard prompt. Most children wish for toys. Or

The apartment in Queens was a tomb of dead ambitions.Vanessa Leigh sat on the floor, surrounded by the debris of her life.Cardboard boxes filled with expensive clothes she could no longer wear. Stacks of legal notices she couldn't pay. A half-empty bottle of cheap vodka that tasted like gasoline.The television was on, the volume low. It was tuned to a celebrity news channel.And there they were.The Golden Couple.Liam Cross and Aurora Vale, walking out of the L’École Internationale auditorium. Holding hands. Smiling. The "Boring Family" narrative was in full swing, and the world was eating it up."Look at them," Vanessa whispered, her voice a scratchy rasp. "Look at how happy they are."She threw the remote at the screen. It bounced off Liam’s smiling face with a dull thud.She hated them.She hated Aurora for being the "Phoenix." For rising from the ashes Vanessa had so carefully arranged. For stealing the narrative, the sympathy, the win.But she hated Liam more.She hated him f

The penthouse smelled of lavender and fear.It was a Sunday evening. They had been gone for three hours—a "mandatory family outing" to the Botanical Gardens to see the holiday train show. It was supposed to be a distraction, a moment of peace in the siege.But the moment they stepped out of the private elevator, the peace shattered.The door to the apartment was unlocked.Not broken. Just... open. A sliver of darkness visible between the heavy wood and the frame.Liam stopped instantly. He put his arm out, blocking Aurora and Ethan."Stay here," he said, his voice dropping to the low, dangerous rumble of the "Wolf.""Liam," Aurora whispered, clutching Ethan’s hand. "The alarm didn't go off.""I know," he said.He pulled out his phone. He hit the panic button on his security app. Then he stepped forward, pushing the door open with his foot.The apartment was dark."Graves!" Liam shouted into the void. "Report!"Silence.Liam turned to Aurora. "Take Ethan back to the elevator. Go down t

The Plaza Hotel suite was a gilded cage.It was 10 AM on a Monday. The city outside was bustling, alive with the start of a new week. But inside the penthouse, time felt suspended, thick with the residue of fear.Aurora sat on the velvet sofa, her laptop open but ignored. She was watching Ethan.He was sitting on the floor, playing with a set of hotel-provided coloring books. He looked small in the opulent room. Too small for the size of the threat that was hunting him."Maman?" he asked, not looking up. "When can we go home?""Soon," Aurora lied. "They're... fixing the heater.""Did the bad lady break the heater?"Aurora flinched. "No, baby. Just... maintenance."Liam walked in from the bedroom. He was wearing a fresh suit—delivered by his assistant—but his eyes were hard. He looked like a man preparing for war."Graves found the breach," he said, his voice low. "She used a cloned keycard. Probably from her time as VP. The security firm is being replaced.""That doesn't help us now,"

The morning after the fire, the world smelled of ash and ozone.Liam and Aurora stood in the ruins of the Montauk beach house. The deck was charred black. The siding was scorched. But the structure—the bones of the house—had held."It can be fixed," the contractor said, kicking a piece of blackened wood. "Structurally, it's sound. We'll have to replace the deck, the siding, maybe some of the framing. But the house... the house is still here.""Fix it," Liam said. "Whatever it costs."Aurora didn't speak. She was holding Ethan’s hand so tight her knuckles were white. Ethan was staring at the burnt wood, his face pale."Did the dragon do this?" he whispered."No," Liam said, kneeling down. "A bad person did this. But the police caught her. She's in a cage now.""A dragon cage?""A police cage," Liam said. "Stronger."But Aurora wasn't so sure.Her phone rang. It was Adrian."Liam," she said, handing him the phone. "It's your brother. He sounds... urgent."Liam took the phone. He listene