Semua Bab The Billionaire’s Vengeful Heiress: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Elena's Pov"Mr. Crane?" I called Leo's name, pulling him out of his thoughts. Shock had drained the color from his face, leaving his skin waxen under the conference room lights.I let the silence stretch between us, savoring every second of his confusion. His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air, but no words came out.With deliberate slowness, I took my seat at the head of the table. Leo and Lydia sat adjacent to me, close enough that I could see every flicker of emotion crossing their faces. I had arranged the seating myself. I wanted to watch their realization unfold. Every moment of recognition. Every second of their carefully constructed world crumbling to dust.Crystal chandeliers cast warm light across the polished mahogany table. The boardroom breathed wealth and power, the kind designed to intimidate. To remind visitors exactly who held the upper hand.Leo's chair crashed backward as he shot to his feet. The sound exploded through the quiet room like a thunde

Chapter 13"I don't need therapy."Leo's words dropped into the conference room like stones into still water. The muscle in his jaw twitched, once, twice, a rhythmic pulse beneath skin pulled too tight.His eyes burned into mine.I met his gaze without flinching. The old Elena would have looked away, apologized, shrunk into herself. But I wasn't her anymore."I suppose.." He leaned forward, elbows on the table, fingers steepled. "..since you've never been married, Miss Roberta, you wouldn't understand what it feels like to lose a life partner."The corner of my mouth threatened to quirk upward. I pressed my lips together, forcing my expression into neutral sympathy. Here he sat, the man who had orchestrated my murder, delivering a lecture on loss while mourning the wife he'd tried to kill."Finding my wife.." His voice cracked, “is the same as therapy for me."My nails dug deep into my palms beneath the table. Perhaps if I didn't know about the two-hundred-million-dollar insurance pol

His hands still gripped the table firmly, knuckles white and fingers trembling. His face cycled through various emotions— rage, jealousy, confusion, hatred.At me. At Anthony. At the hand on my chair.Leo was never one to put his emotions on display like he did today, not in all the years I have known him. In five years of our marriage, I’d only ever seen the same blank, unreadable expression— which he wore like a perfect mask.It didn't matter if he had just closed a million-dollar deal that could benefit the company, was surprised with an expensive gift, or lost someone precious. He only gives a curt nod in every situation. His employees called him “The ice man” when they thought he couldn't hear. But today? Today, he was coming undone right in front of me.Out of nowhere, he stood slowly, his movement stiff and mechanical.My gaze locked on him. Eager to see his next move. “Leo Crane.” His voice came out rough and forced. “CEO of Grey Jewelry and Co.”He extended his hand, but e

Elena’s POV The sapphire wasn't right yet.I turned the necklace slowly in the afternoon light, watching the stones fracture the sunlight into scattered blues across the workshop ceiling. I’d spent three days on this particular piece, and still, something about the setting fought the stones instead of serving them. Sapphires this clean deserved a frame that disappeared around them so they could breathe. What I'd built was too rigid. Too controlling.I tilted it once more."Roberta!"The necklace nearly slipped from my fingers.I spun around. Sophia stood in the doorway with one hand braced against the frame, curls wild around her face, chest rising and falling like she'd taken the stairs too fast. She looked exactly the way I'd stored her in memory, same restless bright eyes, same energy vibrating beneath her skin like she was always a half-second from bursting into motion.For a moment I genuinely couldn't speak."Sophia?"She didn't wait. She crossed the workshop in four strides an

Roberta's POVI walked into the reception area, my spine straight and my expression carefully neutral. The click of my heels against the marble floor echoed through the space, each step measured and deliberate. Leo stood near the windows, and the sight of him sent a jolt of satisfaction through my chest.He looked terrible. Worse than terrible. His suit was wrinkled like he'd slept in it, or more likely, hadn't slept at all. Dark circles carved deep shadows under his bloodshot eyes, making him look ten years older than the last time I'd seen him.He looked like a man drowning. Like a man who'd run out of options and was gasping for his last breath.Good.Our plan was definitely working. Ray had opted to send those threatening texts the day the collaboration got finalized. I'd had doubts at first, wondering if it was too soon, if we were moving too fast. But then I'd watched Leo's face go pale after seeing that first notification. Right in front of me. Right there in that chair during