Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 29

Sarah's POV The car jerked as Valerie slammed her foot on the brake. My chest pressed hard against the seatbelt, and the luxury shopping bags in the back slid and toppled with a loud rustle. We both froze, our eyes scanning the street like trapped animals. "Don't answer it," I hissed, reaching out as my trembling fingers brushed against Valerie’s hand. My heart pounded loudly in my ears. "I have to," Valerie whispered, her expression hardened. "If I don’t answer, he might get suspicious. Stay quiet, Sarah. Don’t even breathe." She pressed the button on the steering wheel. Sean's voice flooded the car… but it wasn’t the voice of the man who had slapped me the night before. This one was smooth, polished. "Hey, babe," Sean said. This wicked man would usually call me ‘Sarah… Sarah’ like my name meant something he enjoyed hearing. But now… the way he said ‘babe’ to Valerie, his voice dripping with sweetness, made my skin crawl. I had to bite down hard on the inside of my cheek to sto

Sarah's POV Sean’s stare pressed against my skin like a living flame, but I refused to shrink beneath it. “Sean… I’m working, right? I’m not jobless,” I said finally, my voice steadier than I’d expected, even as my heart hammered against my ribs. “Work, indeed!” he shot back, gritting his teeth. “Yeah… work!” Sean’s eyes darkened, the anger in them deepening into something raw and unsettling. Jealousy always twisted him like that—ugly, consuming, impossible to hide. And the worst part was how much he seemed to feed on it, as if someone else feeling small somehow restored his own sense of control. To him, every inch of my improvement was a slap in the face. “Well, it doesn’t matter where the money came from… What matters is that you abandoned your kids, all because of a mere argument with me.” “You call that mere?” He stepped forward, the heels of his shoes clicking sharply against the floor. "Yes…" "You slapped me, Sarah!" "You hit me first!" I yelled back, the words tear

Sarah's POVI turned away quickly, blinking hard, trying to pull myself together. My fingers crushed the paycheck in my fist. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me like this—outside the boutique I just got thrown out of, and mascara down my face, looking exactly like the disaster Sean had described to Ms. Harlow."Sarah."His voice was closer than I expected. I quickly pulled a small towel from my bag, dabbing at my face before turning to him, slow and deliberate. He stood a few feet away, his dark eyes studying me the way they always did."Mr. Adrian," I said, forcing steadiness into my voice. "Good morning."His gaze flicked to the boutique doors behind me, then to the crumpled paper clenched in my hand, before returning to my face.“Are you okay?”“Yes–yes, I’m fine,” I said too quickly.“Sure?”I nodded sharply.He studied me for another second, then nodded once, accepting it without pushing. "I was coming to pick up a watch I’d engraved at the jeweler next door," he sai

Sarah's POV He didn’t answer. Instead, he waved it off like it didn’t matter. “Mmm?” I persisted. “That’s a discussion for another day, Sarah,” he said with a faint smile. I shot a quick glance at Valerie. She looked just as confused as I felt. When I looked back at him, his eyes were still fixed on me. Does that mean he knows Sean? I parted my lips to speak, but he beat me to it. “So… do you have the documents? The proof of how he gained control in the first place.” I gave a small nod. He tilted his head slightly, like that wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. “She has them,” Valerie cut in, giving me a pointed look—like she could tell I didn't catch up. “Oh–right. Yes, I do,” I said quickly. “Good.” Valerie uncrossed her legs and faced Adrian fully. “So what do we do with them?” Adrian rose to his feet and walked over to the window, clasping his hands behind his back as he stared out at the city below. "First, we build the case properly," he said. "Then,

Sarah's POVThe question hit before I even reached him—sharp, immediate, cutting through the hallway like he’d been holding it in his teeth the entire time he waited.Had he seen me step out of Adrian’s car? Or had someone who knew us spotted me and called him?“A colleague,” I said, managing the lie with steady ease, not breaking my stride. “Someone I met through a job contact. He offered me a ride. That’s all.”"A colleague," he repeated, the word turning ugly in his mouth, as his eyes stayed fixed on my face."You don't have a job anymore, Sarah. Remember? So what kind of colleague exactly?""Someone I'm networking with," I said flatly. "Since you destroyed the only income I had, I have to find another way. Or would you prefer I sit at home and starve with the children?"His jaw tightened. "Watch how you speak to me.""I'm just stating facts, Sean."I tried to move past him, but he stepped slightly to the side, blocking my way to Mrs. Asher’s door. I glanced at the door, only a fe