Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire's Ex-wife Is a Brilliant Lawyer: Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

Bella’s POV I did not go back into the sitting room. I stood in the doorway with my blazer folded over one arm while Margaret’s last sentence worked its way through everything I had already decided I did not believe. “Agnes carried Evelyn?” Margaret nodded. “Yes.” “Was that unusual?” “No. Staff and family attendants moved between the rooms all morning.” “Then why does it matter now?” She looked uncomfortable. “It may not.” Mr. Ashford came closer. “You remembered something?” Margaret pressed her lips together. “She was nervous.” “Agnes?” I asked. “Yes.” “How?” “She kept saying we needed to leave quickly.” Mr. Ashford frowned. “My wife had been discharged.” “I know.” “Then why would that seem unusual?” Margaret looked at him. “Because Mrs. Ashford was not ready.” He stared at her. “What do you mean?” “She was still weak. The doctor had said another hour would be better. Agnes kept insisting the car was waiting and that everything had already been arranged.” “Why di

Bella’s POV Chloe said it quietly, but there was nowhere sensible for me to hide from the suggestion. I looked through the glass panel of Mum’s hospital room. Sophie had moved her chair closer to the bed, and Mum was talking with one hand raised as though whatever argument they were having required evidence. “That would answer one question,” I said. “It would answer the important one.” “It would tell me whether Mr. Ashford is biologically related to me. It would not tell me what happened at that hospital, who moved which baby, or why Agnes received that payment.” “No, but it tells you whether any of those questions belong to you.” I looked at Chloe. “You’ve thought about this too much.” “I work for you. It is becoming contagious.” My phone remained in my hand. I could call Mr. Ashford. I disliked how obvious the next step had become. “If I do this, Evelyn cannot know.” “Agreed.” “Neither can Alex.” Chloe’s eyebrows lifted. “What?” “You are representin

Bella’s POV The results arrived the following afternoon while I was sitting beside Mum’s hospital bed pretending to read an email. She had been awake for almost an hour and had spent most of it complaining about hospital tea, which I considered encouraging. “You are not listening to me,” she said. “I am.” “What did I just say?” “That the tea is terrible.” “I said that five minutes ago.” I looked up from my phone. She smiled. “You have been caught.” “I have work.” “You always have work.” I put the phone away. “How are you feeling?” “Old.” “You said that when you turned fifty.” “And I was correct then too.” I reached over and adjusted the blanket near her feet. She watched me do it. “You flew all the way back from New York for court and came here without sleeping properly.” “I slept on the plane.” “That is not sleep.” “You sound like Daniel.” “Daniel is sensible.” “Traitors surround me.” Her smile remained, but her eyes stayed on my face. “What is wrong?” “Noth

Bella’s POV Sophie had read the laboratory report three times before she finally put it down.She had not said much since I told her. She kept returning to the same page, running her finger beneath the numbers as though the result might change if she looked at it long enough.“This is insane,” she said eventually.Mum adjusted herself against the hospital pillows. “You have said that already.”“Because it is still insane.”“Sophie.”“What am I supposed to call it?” She picked up the report again. “Yesterday, Bella was my sister. Today, apparently, she is Mr. and Mrs. Ashford’s biological daughter because somebody switched babies in a hospital more than thirty years ago.”“I am still your sister.”“I know that.”“Then stop looking at me like I might disappear.”Sophie dropped the report onto her lap.“I am not looking at you like that.”“You have been looking at me like that since I told you.”“I am trying to understand.”“So am I.”She shook her head and turned to Mum. “And you are s

Bella’s POV Harris gave me the address twice. The second time, I wrote it down in the notes app on my phone even though I had already memorised it. “Are you sure?” I asked. “As sure as I can be without knocking on the door myself.” “And you have not contacted her?” “No. You told me not to.” “Good.” “She has been living there for years, Bella. The property is registered in her name.” “Send me everything you have.” “I already did.” I looked down the corridor toward Mum’s room. “Thank you.” “Do you want me to come?” “No. Stay available.” “All right.” I ended the call and stood there for another few seconds. For days, the name had existed only in fragments of old employment records, forgotten references and questions nobody had thought to ask thirty years ago. Now Harris had given me a house number and a postcode. Possibly the person who had carried one baby out of her rightful life and placed another in it. I went back into Mum’s room. Sophie was still beside the bed.