All Chapters of Contracted by the billionaire : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

VivienneThe look on Roman's face told me everything before he even spoke.Something had changed.Something big.I sat up immediately as he entered our bedroom.It was barely seven in the morning."What's wrong?"Roman closed the door behind him."We need to talk."My stomach dropped.Nobody ever said those words when the news was good.I climbed out of bed."Tell me."Roman sat beside me.His expression was serious."Nathaniel confirmed it."I frowned."Confirmed what?""Edward Ashworth had a son."The room suddenly felt cold.I stared at him."What?"Roman explained everything.The security footage.The man meeting Iris.The resemblance to Edward.Nathaniel's reaction.Every detail.By the time he finished, my head was spinning."No."I shook my head."There was never a son.""That's what everyone believed."I stood and started pacing.My entire life had become one endless lie.Every answer uncovered three more questions."Who is he?"Roman's jaw tightened."We don't know."That sca

VivienneI stared at the screen for a long time.My mind refused to process what I was seeing.Iris.Julian.Married.A child.A hidden heir.Nothing made sense anymore.The woman who had helped me from the beginning was somehow connected to the people destroying my life.Delia looked just as shocked."No way."Carter rubbed his forehead."This has to be fake."I wanted him to be right.I really did.But the evidence was sitting right in front of us.Roman closed the laptop."We don't know the full story."His voice was calm.Steady.The only thing keeping me grounded.I looked at him."You saw the footage.""I did.""Then how can you still defend her?"Roman met my eyes."Because something feels wrong."The room became quiet.The truth was I felt it too.Nothing about the video looked like a hostage situation.But nothing about Iris being our enemy felt right either.For months she had helped me.Protected me.Guided me.If she was working against me, why help me win the inheritance?

VivienneI couldn’t move after seeing the photograph.The basement.The chair.Me as a child.And Margaret holding a gun.My throat went dry.This wasn’t just betrayal anymore.This was something worse.Roman took the photo from my hands.His jaw tightened.“This is real.”I shook my head immediately.“No. It can’t be.”But even as I said it, my voice sounded weak.Delia stepped closer.“Okay… someone needs to explain why your mother is pointing a gun at you as a kid.”Nobody answered her.Because nobody had answers.Carter flipped through the files again.“There’s more.”I looked at him sharply.“Stop finding more.”But he didn’t listen.He opened another document.A report.Doctor Mercer’s handwriting was at the top.Subject A: Vivienne Ashworth.Subject B: Clarissa Ashworth.My stomach twisted.Clarissa and I were in the same report.Same experiment.Roman leaned in.“Read it.”Carter nodded and started.“Memory suppression procedure was successful. Childhood trauma sealed.”My bre

VivienneMy mother looked terrified.That was the first thing I noticed.Not the ropes around her wrists.Not the chair.Not even the fact that Edward Ashworth was standing beside Clarissa like a ghost who had stepped out of the grave.Margaret Ashworth looked afraid.For as long as I could remember, my mother had never been afraid of anything.She had controlled every room she entered. She had manipulated people with a smile and destroyed lives without raising her voice.But the woman on the screen looked broken.The live feed crackled.Clarissa stepped closer to the camera.Her blonde hair was pulled back neatly, and she wore a dark coat. She looked calm while the rest of us were barely holding ourselves together."Now you finally have everyone's attention."My heart pounded."Clarissa."She smiled when she heard my voice.For a brief second, I saw the sister I grew up with.Then it disappeared."You should have listened to me years ago."I gripped the edge of the table."You tried t

VivienneThe sound of Victor Crane's voice made my skin crawl.For a moment, nobody moved.The study felt frozen in time.Rain battered the windows while thunder rolled somewhere in the distance. The old estate suddenly felt smaller, as if the walls themselves were closing in around us.Victor stood in the doorway looking perfectly relaxed.Like he wasn't supposed to be in prison.Like he hadn't spent years helping destroy countless lives.Like he wasn't standing in the middle of the biggest disaster my family had ever created.Roman immediately stepped in front of me.His body blocked part of my view.Protective. Possessive.Ready for a fight.Victor smiled."Still doing that, Steele?"Roman's voice was ice cold."You should be dead to the world by now."Victor chuckled."And yet here I am."Julian slowly lowered his gun.Not completely.Just enough to show his attention had shifted."What are you talking about?"Victor looked at him.For the first time since entering the room, his s