บททั้งหมดของ The Rise Of The Betrayed Wife: บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Isla's POV:The judge delivered her ruling in a tone that left no room for argument.“This petition is denied,” Judge Harrison said, looking at my father over the top of her reading glasses. “I find no evidence whatsoever of incompetence or coercion. What I do find is significant evidence of a father attempting to use the legal system to control an adult daughter who has made choices he disapproves of.”She paused, letting the words settle in the quiet courtroom.“Mr. Brennan, if you are genuinely concerned about your relationship with your daughter, I suggest you focus on repairing that relationship through honest communication rather than attempting to legally dominate her. This court exists to protect vulnerable individuals, not to enable family members who refuse to respect adult autonomy. Petition denied.”The gavel came down with a sharp crack that felt final.My father's face went rigid with fury but he stayed seated. Margot's hand was on his arm, probably keeping him from sayi

Isla's POV:It was three days until the board meeting.The tension in the penthouse was thick enough that even Rosie seemed to sense it.Callum had been working late every night this week, his home office door closed for hours while he reviewed evidence and took calls with his legal team.I'd hear his voice through the door sometimes, controlled and focused, discussing strategy and timelines and presentation order.The stakes were enormous. Not just for him personally but for hundreds of employees whose jobs depended on Thorne Industries staying independent and stable.If Gerald Hutchins succeeded in his takeover attempt, Apex Corp would gut the company and sell it in pieces.I sat in my room Wednesday morning reviewing my own timeline memories, trying to make sure everything was unfolding the way I remembered.In my previous life I'd been dead by this point, bleeding out on a glass table while Declan and Sienna walked away.But before that happened, I'd seen news coverage about a maj

Callum's POV:The board meeting started at exactly nine in the morning.Fifteen board members sat around the massive conference table in the room we used for these quarterly gatherings.Dark wood, leather chairs, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Everything designed to look expensive and important.Gerald Hutchins sat two seats to my right, looking confident, almost smug.He'd positioned himself close to me like always, playing the role of trusted advisor and loyal board member.The man who'd supposedly helped build Thorne Industries into what it was today.If I didn't know better, I'd never suspect he was planning to destroy everything.Marcus Reid's seat was empty. My head of security had escorted him out of the building two days ago when the evidence of his embezzlement became too obvious to ignore.Hutchins had tried to spin it as me overreacting, suggested I was being paranoid about a few accounting irregularities.But the board had agreed that keeping someone under

Isla's POV:I arrived at the coffee shop twenty minutes early because I couldn't sit still at home any longer.The place was quiet on Saturday morning, just a few people scattered at tables with their laptops and coffee.I chose a table in the back corner where I could see the entrance and waited, my hands wrapped around a cup of tea I wasn't actually drinking.My nerves were completely on edge. After months of anonymous messages and evidence and warnings from someone I'd never met, I was about to find out who they were. Who had been helping me this entire time. Who hated my family enough to risk everything to take them down.At exactly ten o'clock, a woman walked through the door and looked directly at me.She was in her fifties, well-dressed in a simple gray suit, with dark hair starting to gray at the temples.She looked professional but not flashy. She had kind eyes that looked nervous. Her hands fidgeted with her purse strap as she walked toward my table.She sat down across from

Callum's POV:Rosie had been asking more questions about family lately.They started small and got bigger.First it was things like whether Isla would come to her piano recital next month.Then whether Isla would help her pick out a Halloween costume.Then this morning over breakfast she'd asked when the wedding was actually going to happen and whether she could be a flower girl.Each question was harder to answer than the last.I watched them now from the kitchen doorway, Isla and Rosie working together on some baking project that had flour covering most of the counter.Rosie was chattering away about her friend Emma while Isla nodded and smiled and occasionally pointed at ingredients they needed.Their communication was completely seamless.No awkwardness, no frustration, just easy understanding that had developed over weeks of spending time together.Rosie had learned basic sign language from library books she'd made me check out. Isla had learned to read Rosie's expressions and an