جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 210

The pain reached Gideon's chest. He pressed a hand to his heart, his eyes filled with bitter disappointment.The young delinquents took one look at the situation, sized up Gideon and Otto, and sensed from their bearing alone that these were not men to provoke. Without a word, they slipped away one by one.Rayne knew she was at fault. She had barged in without knowing the full story and let them destroy the place. Even so, she refused to admit it.Covering her face, she broke into sobs. "Otto didn't come home all night. I figured he had to be with someone. You were the one who told me you seriously suspected something was going on between him and Lucille. That they were having some kind of emotional affair. I believed you and came to check. I—"Fury consumed Gideon. He lashed out with a kick that caught her in the side. "So you rounded up a pack of thugs and stormed in to smash everything? That was your solution?"Rayne, until today, I never realized how ugly you become when you th

Lucille made the connection just as quickly. "Ms. Davies mentioned her grandson more than once. A natural talent, she said. Exceptionally sensitive to line and form from childhood, admitted straight through on recommendations, famous at a young age, with remarkable buildings bearing his name all over the world. That was you all along."Otto laughed and held out his hand. "It seems we share the same roots. No wonder every design you submitted had a quality I recognized but couldn't quite place. You were shaped by the same hand that shaped me."Lucille shook his hand, and the weight Rayne had left behind melted away. In its place came the easy warmth of two people who understood each other."It's a pleasure to meet you properly. I can't keep calling you Otto. I should call you Senior."Otto laughed again. "Call me whatever you like. What matters is that we were always meant to find each other."Lucille nodded with a smile, and she meant every word.They slipped into stories about M

Elaine did not dare let her thoughts go any further. Her head buzzed as though something had exploded inside it.Wendy clapped a hand over her mouth in shock."Wait... How could Connor not be Otto's? Are you saying Rayne..." Her voice cut off.She stared at Rayne in disbelief before lunging forward and grabbing her by the throat. "Rayne! What have you done? Are you out of your mind? How could you have another man's child and tell everyone it was Otto's? You..."The words caught in Wendy's throat. Her face turned scarlet as an asthma attack struck, leaving her gasping for air.Elaine hurriedly searched through her bag, found Wendy's inhaler, and gave it several firm pumps. Only then did Wendy manage to catch her breath.Rayne's mind had gone completely blank. She muttered, "That can't be right. It can't be such a coincidence."Impossible. This is impossible. How can this be possible?"Giddy! Go check! Could the babies have been switched at the hospital? How could the child possi

Wendy's voice rose with every word. The realization that Rayne's catastrophic mistake could destroy her standing in her husband's family finally snapped the last of her restraint.She slapped Rayne hard across the face, then raised her hand to strike again.Before she could, Elaine caught her wrist and stepped between them. "Enough, Wendy! It's done. Hitting her won't change anything. What we need right now is to figure out how to fix this. The Westbrooks won't keep that child. What do we do from here?"Elaine had barely finished speaking when Rayne's phone rang. The caller was Connor's nanny, Lisa Coombs.Rayne answered with trembling hands. "Lisa...""Mrs. Westbrook, Madam Westbrook had me take Connor out first thing this morning. She told me to bring him to you and have you make arrangements. She also said... you can take the child wherever you like, but the new house and the old mansion are both closed to you now. What... What am I supposed to do?"Rayne froze. Her phone slip

Lucille looked up and found both men looking back at her.A few seconds passed before she drew a quiet breath and steadied herself.Gwen was still talking in her ear, but Lucille had to cut her off. "Gwen, I have to go. I'll send you a photo in a minute. I promise, this time you won't just have a hundred things to say. You'll have ten thousand.""What?" Gwen sounded confused.Leaving her in suspense, Lucille hung up.She rose to her feet and faced the two men before her. One wore white, the other blue. Both had the kind of faces that could stop a room.Heat crept into the tips of her ears, and she forced a stiff smile. "Otto, this must be..."Otto smiled as he made the introduction. "Charles Grant. One of Coasthaven's most formidable attorneys, known for his razor-sharp arguments and outstanding track record. He's a senior partner at Damon Law Firm. From now on, he'll serve as Riverrun Studio's legal counsel and your personal attorney."Lucille's mind went blank. 'It's him. Cha