Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire's Forgotten Bride : Kabanata 171 - Kabanata 180

Chapter 172The sharp *tap* of Ethan’s knuckle against the reinforced glass echoed through the interior of the Mercedes like a gunshot. Julian Pierce shrank back against the leather upholstery, his breath hitching. The arrogance that had fueled him in the burning penthouse was entirely gone, replaced by a primal, suffocating terror. He raised his pistol, his hands shaking so violently the barrel rattled against the glass. Ethan didn't flinch at the sight of the gun. He didn't duck for cover. He simply stared at Julian, his storm-gray eyes flat, dead, and entirely devoid of mercy. He reached out with his uninjured right hand and effortlessly yanked the heavy car door open. Arthur Sinclair’s driver had already disengaged the internal locks. "Shoot me, Julian," Ethan challenged, his voice a low, gravelly hum that vibrated in the cold morning air. He stepped directly into the doorway, presenting a massive, unmoving target. "Pull the trigger."Julian stared at the man who had ruined hi

Chapter 174The sterile, blinding white of the hospital waiting room felt like a torture chamber.Zara sat frozen on the hard plastic chair. She hadn't washed her hands. The blood had dried into a dark, rusty crust over her skin, creeping under her fingernails. It felt like a sick, twisted metaphor. No matter how far she had run over the last five years, Ethan’s life force was still inexorably bound to her.How did it come to this?Victor Vance was supposed to be behind bars. The man who orchestrated Ethan's accident, the man who manipulated Chloe into drugging Ethan to steal his empire, had been caught. But the hitman in the alley proved one terrifying truth: Victor wasn't working alone."Mommy?"Zara’s head snapped up. Standing at the end of the corridor was four-year-old Leo, clutching the hand of Zara’s head of security, Marcus. Leo’s messy dark hair and sharp gray eyes a carbon copy of the man currently bleeding out in surgery made fresh tears well up in Zara’s eyes.She leaped u

Chapter 176The buzzing of the fluorescent lights suddenly sounded as loud as a chainsaw.Zara’s eyes remained glued to the glowing screen of her phone, the image of the sniper's crosshairs burning into her retinas. The message was clear. It wasn’t a warning; it was a demonstration of absolute power. They could have killed her right then and there. They chose not to."Mommy?" Leo tugged at the hem of her jacket, sensing the immediate, rigid shift in her posture."Get down!" Zara shrieked, breaking her paralysis.She didn't hesitate. She threw herself over Leo, tackling him to the cold linoleum floor just beneath the sightline of the massive observation window at the end of the hall.Marcus, a veteran of underground security, didn't ask questions. He saw Zara drop and instantly drew his sidearm, screaming into his earpiece. "Code Black! Active sniper threat! Kill the lights on floor four! Now!"Click. Click. Click.The hallway plunged into absolute darkness, save for the eerie, dim red

Chapter 178Silence dropped over the boardroom like an anvil.The directors stared at the document in shock. Ethan Cole had a son? A four-year-old heir? The implications were staggering.Agatha stared at the document, her hands trembling with rage. She looked like she might have a stroke. "This... this is a forgery! A cheap trick by a gold-digging tramp!""Read the signature at the bottom, Agatha," Zara said coldly. "It’s signed by Ethan himself. Dated three weeks ago."Agatha’s eyes darted to the bottom of the page. There, in bold black ink, was Ethan’s unmistakable signature.Zara felt a tight squeeze in her chest at the sight of it. Three weeks ago, when Ethan was desperately cooking for them and sleeping in his car outside her apartment just to make sure she was safe, he had secretly drawn up this document with his lawyers. He had secured Leo’s future without ever using it as leverage to win her back.You stupid, arrogant man, she thought, her heart aching. You always have to be o

Chapter 180The penthouse at the top of the Cole Tower was exactly as Ethan had left it on the morning of the shooting.Zara stepped out of the private elevator, her heels sinking into the plush, charcoal-gray carpet. The massive apartment was silent, bathed in the orange hues of the setting sun filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows.She had ordered Marcus to stay at the manor to oversee Ethan’s transfer and guard Leo. She needed to do this alone.Julian Thorne had called her a Sinclair. He knew her bloodline, which meant Victor Vance had known too. If Victor knew, there was a high probability that Ethan had uncovered it during his underground investigation into his amnesia.She walked past the minimalist living room and pushed open the door to Ethan’s private study.The room smelled intensely of him—cedarwood, black coffee, and old paper. Zara felt a fresh wave of grief tighten her throat, but she swallowed it down. Now was not the time for tears.She walked behind his massi