All Chapters of Betrayed By My Husband, Bagged A Billionaire And An Empire: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Marcus’s phone was practically vibrating off the hook by early the next morning, and when he saw the caller ID, he knew that it wasn’t just a nice good morning call he was going to be having with her. And when he finally answered, Isabella’s voice lashed through the receiver, loud and sharp with disbelief. “Marcus!” her voice cut sharply through the line, already brimming with offense and disbelief, “I come back to New York, only to find out from outsiders that my son attended the gala in this city, in person, and did not think it necessary to inform me? And that he’s moved with my grandchildren too,” she was demanding an explanation. Marcus exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a brief second as he leaned against the edge of his dresser, already knowing this would not end quickly. “It wasn’t planned that way,” he said calmly. “I finally made up my mind as you have been persuading and here we are,” he shrugged lightly, reasoning that she should be glad he was finally agreeing to ret

Hilary had not known peace since the news of ESPLEN surfaced online the day before, and the next day, she resumed work fast and sat glued to her monitor, her eyes bloodshot from stalking every major news outlet. Her laptop screen was filled with open tabs of news outlets, business blogs, and insider forums with each one refreshed repeatedly as though something new might suddenly appear if she just checked one more time, but the public feed was entirely blank on vendor recruitment. If indeed ELLIGATE was backing them, then it meant it was legit. But she found nothing to relieve her at all, and there was no official call for suppliers. And that was what made it worse. Frustrated, she pressed the intercom and ordered with irritation in her face, “Bring Francesca from marketing into my office. Right now.” A minute later, a young woman stepped into the office, dressed in a simple peach colored dress, her hair packed in a pretty ponytail. She tried to maintain composure as her eyes

The private suite on the VIP floor of Jude Arvat, one of the top hospitals in the city, felt more like a five-star hotel than a medical ward. The walls were lined with polished walnut panels, a plush velvet sofa sat in the corner, and a massive flat-screen television played a muted luxury campaign. Ten-year-old Brittany sat propped up on a mountain of Egyptian cotton pillows and was wearing a custom silk pajama set, while aggressively scrolling through her phone with her left hand, her right arm resting on a bedside table, entirely ignoring the gourmet soup tray her mother had been trying to coax her to eat. Following a frantic, raging exit from the school, Hilary had personally brought her daughter straight to the hospital, and the academy administration had apologized profusely, promising to cover the entirety of the medical bills just to keep the family pacified. Dressed in a flawless Sysha Lique tweed suit, her face was twisted with blind maternal rage and aristocratic panic

Sasha’s eyes were still wide with disbelief, her gaze moving from the sleeping children back to Jules as though she needed to confirm what she was seeing. “You have kids?” she repeated, her voice rising slightly. “Keep your voice down,” Jules whispered sharply, her hand instantly flying over Sasha’s mouth as she shot a cautious glance toward the living room before dropping her hand, “They aren’t my kids.” She then let out a small breath, already moving to pick up the blanket that had slipped halfway off Eric. Sasha blinked away her tears, her dramatic heartbreak momentarily paused by sheer confusion, “Then whose? Family? Did a long-lost cousin drop them off?” “A friend's kids,” Jules replied smoothly, her tone clipping the sentence short in a way that screamed the topic was closed. Sasha, who had known Jules long enough to read her micro-expressions, rolled her eyes, knowing that she wouldn't get a single detail more out of her tonight. So instead of pushing further, she exhaled

By Monday morning, inside the plush leather interior of the luxury Lexus, a private chauffeur navigated the smooth city streets as Hilary sat rigidly in the back seat, her jaw clamped tight as she stared blankly out the window. She was dressed in a luxurious red sequin dress that didn’t brighten her face as it usually did, with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail because she hadn’t had time to put in extra effort in her makeup or hair that morning. Beside her, Brittany was entirely engrossed in a movie playing on her tablet, oblivious to the immense tension radiating from her mother. She giggled more than usual at every passing comical scene because she was in a very good mood. She had been riding a wave of smug excitement throughout the weekend ever since her mother had called the Vice Chair of the school board while they were still at the hospital, and was convinced that Eleanor Ellington was going to be thrown out of ELITÉ Academy on the first day of the new week.Hilary,