Chasing The Wife He Discarded のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

Lysander's POV​Dr. Anh set a grease-stained paper cup on the dashboard of my car. Rain hit the windshield in heavy, uneven slaps, blurring the red glow of the diner sign across the asphalt.​"The money didn't start in the Vale account," she said. She didn't look at me. She was busy wiping a splash of drip coffee off her coat sleeve with a wad of yellowing napkins. "Seraphina's father is sloppy, but he isn't that sloppy. The Vale account is just a trough. Somebody else keeps filling it."​"Who?"​"Anders Cole Maritime Holdings." She tossed the wet napkins into the floorboard. "Cayman registration. Three layers of nominee directors."​The name sat between us, cold and heavy. ​"Maritime?" I picked up the folder sitting on my lap. The edge of the cardboard was damp from the rain outside. "What does a shipping firm have to do with an obstetrician in Geneva?" ​"Nothing," Anh said. "Which is why I checked it twice. Three transfers into Whitfield's account over eighteen months. Every sin

Lysander's POV​My tie was choking me. I had put it on this morning the exact same way I always did, but somewhere on the drive to the Hendricks gala, it decided to strangle me. I kept trying to loosen it without Seraphina noticing. It wasn't working.​"Stop touching it," Seraphina whispered. Her hand gripped my arm hard. "You look nervous."​"I'm not nervous."​"You've fixed your tie eight times." She flashed a huge, fake smile at someone passing by. "Relax. We're just here to be seen."​Right. Just here to be seen. As if I didn't have a folder from Dr. Anh stuffed inside my jacket pocket, holding proof of attempted murder. It pressed against my ribs, making it hard to breathe.​The ballroom was exactly what you’d expect. Too much crystal, too much gold. Near the entrance, a giant ice sculpture slowly melted, leaving dark puddles on the shiny marble floor. A waiter kept rushing over to wipe it up before anyone important noticed the mess.​People kept coming up to talk to me about bu

Nerissa's POVThe twins didn't wake up when we got home. Lucien carried Nicole, I carried Nicholas, and we passed each other on the stairs without saying a word, both of us moving quiet and careful, like the house itself might wake them if we weren't.I pulled Nicholas's shoes off and tucked the blanket up to his chin. He mumbled something about grape juice and rolled over.I stood there a minute longer than I needed to.He look more like his father every month. I used to think it would fade as he grew, the way baby faces sometimes do. It hadn't. If anything, it was getting worse.Lucien was waiting for me in the hallway when I came out, tie completely undone now, sleeves pushed up."He's out cold," he said. "Nicole read him the shark chapter for six minutes before he stopped answering her.""That's a record.""She's very proud of herself."We walked down to the study together. Neither of us switched on the main lights, just the lamp by the window, and Lucien poured two glasses of som

Lysander's POVI was about to close the door of the car when my phone rang.Unknown number. I picked it up."Hello. Who's this?""Mr. Blackwood." A man's voice, clipped, awake despite the hour. "This better be good.""Who is this?""Étienne Rousseau." "Your lawyer called me twenty minutes ago sounding like the building was on fire. I don't get calls like that at two in the morning for nothing, so here I am, calling you myself.""I didn't expect you to call tonight.""Neither did I. But Desmond Cho doesn't panic, Mr. Blackwood. That's not a compliment I give him easily, so when he panics, I pay attention." Papers shuffled on his end. "He said you have something. He wouldn't say what.""I do.""Then tell me.""Not over the phone."A short, humorless laugh. "You people and your phones."Can we meet? Tonight."Silence for a second. "There's an office two streets off the Rue du Marché," Rousseau said finally. "Small building, no sign on the door. I'll text you the address.""I'll be ther

Nerissa's POVRousseau took the chair by the desk, Lucien stood by the window with his arms crossed, and I stayed standing over the folder, flipping through pages I didn't want to be reading at three in the morning.Maintenance logs. Wire transfers. A blood panel with careful handwriting in the margin.I set the last page down and looked at Lysander."So Seraphina faked her pregnancy. Five years ago.""Yes." He didn't flinch from it. "She used the explosion as the excuse. Said she lost the baby from the shock. Nobody questioned it, not with everything else going on that night.""Everyone believed her," I said. "Your parents. Talia. You.""I believed her most of all."Lucien shifted by the window, not saying anything, but I felt his eyes on the side of my face, watching for the moment I stopped holding this together."How is it you're only finding this out now?" I asked. "Five years, Lysander. Five years of you being with her and you're only just now finding out?""Because she tried to