جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 190

CHANDLER The clock on my office wall ticked past 3 a.m., but sleep was the last thing on my mind. I had spent the entire night dismantling the Rodriguez empire piece by piece, and I wasn’t stopping until it was nothing but rubble. Roland sat across from me at the long conference table, his laptop open and multiple screens displaying financial charts, legal documents, and real-time market data. My own tablet was flooded with updates from our legal team, investment partners, and private investigators I had activated hours earlier. This wasn’t about threats anymore. This was about action. Real, irreversible action. I leaned back in my chair and stared at the main monitor where a live chart tracked the Rodriguez family’s holdings. Their flagship real estate development in the city had already dropped 28% in after-hours

DIANA I stood frozen near the doorway of the hotel suite, my arms wrapped tightly around myself as if that could somehow hold me together. The sound of shattering glass and my mother’s furious screams still echoed in my ears even after she had finally stopped throwing things. The room looked destroyed—broken lamps, scattered magazines, a cracked television screen, and pieces of expensive hotel decor littering the floor like the aftermath of a storm. And in the middle of it all stood my mother, breathing hard, her perfectly styled hair now slightly disheveled and her eyes wild with a rage I had never seen directed at me before. I was scared. Truly scared. Ever since that moment in the restaurant bathroom when I had slapped Roxette and then shoved her when I had fo

ROXETTE I didn’t rush to meet the man my mother claimed was my father. After everything that had happened in Paris and the emotional whirlwind of the last few days, I couldn’t bring myself to add another layer of uncertainty on top of it all. My mother had been excited, almost glowing when she told me, but I needed time. I needed to process the fact that the father I had grown up believing didn’t exist was suddenly real and apparently wanted to meet me. Part of me was curious, but a bigger part was cautious. I had spent my entire life without him. I had made peace with that absence. Now that he was here, I didn’t want to jump in headfirst while my emotions were still raw from the fall, from seeing Calvin again, and from that horrible photo of Chandler and Dahlia. Instead, I waited for Chandler.&

ROXETTE The warm water in the bathtub had long since cooled, but I didn’t mind. Chandler’s arms were still wrapped around me, holding me close against his chest as we both caught our breath. The gentle sex we had just shared left me feeling completely satisfied, my body humming with a delicious, lingering pleasure that made every muscle feel loose and content. He had been so careful with me. So slow and attentive, always checking in with his eyes and his soft words.  Every thrust, every touch had been full of love rather than urgency, and I had enjoyed every single second of it. The way he had moved inside me, the way his hands had caressed my skin under the water, the way his lips had whispered sweet promises against my ear… it all made me feel cherished in a way I had never experienced before. Even with the

ROXETTE I sat across from Valentino Atkinson at the restaurant table, my hands folded in my lap as I tried to steady my breathing. The place was quiet and elegant, with soft lighting and the smell of fresh coffee and pastries in the air. My mother sat beside him, her smile still wide and glowing like she was watching her favorite movie unfold in real time. Valentino had this gentle, patient expression on his face that made it easier to talk, even though my heart was still racing from the shock of meeting him. “So… where have you been all these years?” I asked, my voice coming out softer than I intended. I leaned forward a little, unable to hold back the flood of questions that had been building since yesterday. “I mean, my whole life, Mom always said I didn’t have a father. She never mentioned you. Not