Semua Bab Chasing The Wife He Discarded: Bab 91 - Bab 100

Lysander's POVMy mother hadn't called me in four days. That was longer than she'd ever gone without calling me, even during the worst stretches of the divorce, even after the gala photos leaked.I drove out to the house instead of waiting for her to break first.My father answered the door himself, which told me something before he even said a word. He looked older than he had a month ago, gray at the temples that hadn't been there before, or maybe I just hadn't noticed until now."She's in the garden," he said, not quite meeting my eyes.I found my mother sitting on the bench near the roses, hands folded in her lap, staring at nothing in particular."Mom."She didn't look up right away. "I keep thinking about the day she was born. Talia. Your father was so nervous he dropped the camera twice trying to get a picture.""Mom""I don't know how to hold both things at once," she said, finally turning to look at me, eyes red and exhausted. "I love my daughter. I also watched a judge call

Lysander's POVDesmond called before I'd even finished my coffee."We have a problem.""What kind.""The kind where three of our shipping contracts got cancelled overnight, all citing the same vague clause about 'unforeseen reliability concerns.'" Papers shuffled fast on his end. "Two of them were with partners we've worked with for over a decade. This isn't a coincidence, Lysander."I sat up straighter. "Rousset.""I can't prove that yet. But the timing's hard to ignore, given you just handed Rousseau your father's old case files on tracing exactly this kind of network."My stomach tightened. "He knows I'm helping.""If this is him, then yes, he knows. And he's telling you he doesn't like it."I hung up and called Rousseau immediately, pacing my kitchen while it rang."Three contracts," I said, the second he picked up. "Cancelled overnight, no real explanation. Desmond thinks it's Rousset sending a message."Rousseau was quiet a moment. "That would track. Priya flagged unusual accoun

Lysander's POVLucien called at nine thirty, voice clipped in a way that told me something had already gone wrong before he said a single word about it."Rousset called Nerissa directly tonight."I sat up so fast I nearly knocked my coffee off the counter. "What?""His own voice. No proxy, no fake lawyer, no message relayed through someone else. He called her himself, told her exactly how much he knows, and made it very clear he's not worried about either of you.""Is she okay?""She's angry. Scared, though she'd never say that word out loud to you or me." Lucien exhaled slow. "He mentioned you specifically. The contracts, the case files. He wants her to know exactly why he's coming after your company."Something cold settled in my chest. "Because of me.""Because you handed her a shortcut through years of careful work he'd rather nobody ever found. Yes. Because of you, partly." Lucien didn't soften it, and I respected him more for not trying. "I'm not calling to blame you. I'm callin

Nerissa's POVMarcus arrived within twenty minutes, jacket half zipped, like he'd pulled it on in the car on the way over."Tell me everything," he said, and Priya walked him through it fast, the personnel file, the payment, the six years of fabricated history sitting behind Dario's name.Marcus's face didn't change much, but his hands curled into fists at his sides as he listened."He's on shift right now," he said, once Priya finished. "East gate, alone until four.""We need him contained," I said. "Quietly. Before he has any idea we know.""Agreed." Marcus pulled out his phone, already dialing. "I'll bring three men down with me. We approach it like a normal shift change, nothing that spooks him early. Once we're close enough, we take him without giving him room for anything.""You're sure three is enough.""Three is enough to contain one man." Marcus met my eyes. Lysander stood near the window, arms crossed, jaw tight. "I'm coming down there.""No," Marcus and I said it at the sa

Nerissa's POVThe house was quiet when we got in, security doubled again at every door, the kind of quiet that felt earned rather than peaceful.Lucien met us in the front hall, still awake, phone in hand. He crossed straight to me, pulling me into a hug before I'd even gotten my coat off."Marcus is stable," I said into his shoulder. "Out of surgery.""I know. I've been on the phone with the hospital myself." I went upstairs, and Lucien came with me, the two of us easing Nicole's door open together the way we had a hundred nights before this one. She was curled around her shark, one foot hanging off the mattress, completely unaware that anyone had bled onto her front lawn a few hours ago. Lucien fixed her blanket while I stood there just breathing, his hand finding the small of my back, steady, familiar.Nicholas was the same, sprawled sideways, book still open on his chest. Lucien closed it gently, marked the page, and eased the door shut."They're okay," he said quietly, once we w