Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

ARIA'S POV“Mr Cross, please remain in the office.” The investigator's words came seconds after James told me he loved me. I hadn't even had time to understand what I felt before everything changed again.“Of course,” James replied. His face became unreadable. The warmth I'd seen minutes earlier disappeared, and his voice became calm and careful. He suddenly looked like a man I had never met.The lead investigator opened a file. “A dormant investment account connected to the original missing funds became active three years after you left Valère. Money was transferred from that account to Evelyn Cross.”“I wasn't aware the account had any connection to the missing money,” James said. “It remained part of a larger investment portfolio managed by my advisers.” The investigator frowned. “You expect us to believe you didn't know?”“I expect you to check the records,” James replied. “I won't guess about something I can't prove.” I watched him closely. This was the James who had survived Val

ARIA'S POV“This is not a coincidence anymore.” I stood beside the couch, staring at James. “Daniel used a Valère card inside Marcus's family hotel. Tell me the investigators are contacting Marcus.”James rubbed his jaw. “The transaction only proves Daniel was at the hotel. It doesn't prove Marcus met him or even knew he was there.” I glared at him. “Why do you always talk like a lawyer when things get serious?”“Because assumptions are how I was blamed five years ago.” His answer stopped me. I looked away and forced myself to calm down. He was right, even if I hated it.“Marcus makes it hard for me to think clearly,” I admitted. “Every problem connected to him always became worse than I expected.” James watched me. “Do you want to stop looking into this and let the investigators handle it?”“No,” I answered immediately. “Julian knew about Lily. Someone took pictures outside my apartment. Daniel's name is in documents from my marriage. This stopped being your family scandal the moment

ARIA'S POV“Aria, are you even listening to me?” Tayo asked. I stared at Daniel Mercer's name beneath the photograph on my phone. I had stopped hearing him somewhere between his complaints about the children's collection budget and the cost of new fabric.I quickly turned my phone face down. James noticed. Of course he did. “Was that another journalist?” he asked. I shook my head. “I just need a minute to think.”James stared at me. “You do realise that's exactly what people say when they're avoiding a question?” I looked at him. “James, please.” His eyebrows rose. “Less than twenty-four hours ago, you accused me of deciding which truths you deserved to know.”The irony annoyed me because he was right. Tayo dropped his pen on the table. “Can both of you stop turning every conversation into relationship therapy and tell me what happened?”I picked up my phone and showed them the screen. James read the message first. His entire face changed. “No.” I folded my arms. “You haven't even ask

JAMES'S POV“Something is wrong.” I stared at the tracker on my phone for what had to be the tenth time. Aria's location had not moved from the photography studio in almost twenty minutes. The financial investigators were still outside waiting for permission to enter, and Daniel kept telling me to stay where I was. I had agreed to Aria's conditions. I had promised to respect her decision. But every minute that passed made that promise harder to keep.“James, don't do anything stupid,” Daniel warned through the phone. “The investigators are handling it.” Before I could answer, one of Aria's security officers approached me. “Sir, we saw movement near the rear exit.” That was all I needed to hear. I ended the call and headed towards the building. Daniel shouted my name through the phone before the call disconnected, but I was already inside.I found Aria standing beside a table covered with financial documents. She was alone. “Did he hurt you?” I crossed the room quickly, checking her fa

ARIA'S POV“Wait. You have a missing son?” I stared at Evelyn, certain I had misunderstood her. We had spent days talking about Valère, Julian and eighteen million dollars, yet nobody had mentioned a child. “How has this never come up?”Evelyn wiped her face. “His name is Noah. He disappeared twelve years ago when he was four.” The room went completely quiet. “Julian and I were separating. The official investigation said he took Noah out of the country and placed him with relatives.”“Did you ever speak to those relatives?” I asked. Evelyn shook her head. “No Cross family member admitted having him. Julian kept saying Noah was safe, but he refused to tell me where unless I went back to him.”I looked at James. His face had gone pale. Suddenly, his story about Evelyn made more sense. “You told me Noah was in Switzerland,” he said. His voice was low. “You said Julian kept moving him between family homes.”“I lied.” Evelyn's voice broke. “I was ashamed.” James stared at her. “Ashamed of