บททั้งหมดของ The Billionaire’s Lost Family: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

I could not sleep. The safe apartment felt like a cage. The walls pressed in on me while the clock on the wall ticked louder with every minute. Twenty four hours. That was all the time I had before they hurt Damien. Or worse.Sophia stayed awake with me. She made tea we both barely touched. The kids slept soundly in the next room. Their peaceful breathing was the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.“I have to do something” I whispered. “I cannot just sit here.”Sophia looked at me with worried eyes. “The police are working on it. You have protection. The kids are safe here.”“But Damien is not.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. Even after all the lies. Even after the betrayal. I still cared. I hated myself for it but the feeling was there.My phone sat on the table like a bomb. I picked it up and stared at the last video. Damien’s bloody face. His voice telling me to save myself and the children. The partner’s cruel smile.I played it again. This time I

The hospital waiting room smelled of coffee and worry. I sat in the same chair for hours while doctors worked on Damien. Sophia had brought the kids and they were sleeping in a quiet room down the hall. I could not sit still. I paced the floor until my legs ached.A doctor finally came out. His face was tired but calm. “He is stable. The bullet missed major organs but he lost a lot of blood. He is going to need time to recover but he should be okay.”Relief washed over me so strongly I had to sit down. Tears came fast. I cried quietly into my hands while the doctor patted my shoulder.“Can I see him?” I asked.He nodded. “Just for a few minutes. He is still groggy.”Damien lay in the hospital bed. Machines beeped around him. His face was pale but when he saw me his eyes softened. He tried to smile.“You came” he whispered. His voice was rough.I sat beside the bed and took his hand. “Of course I came. You took a bullet for me again. You idiot.”He chuckled weakly then winced in pain.

One year laterThe backyard glowed with string lights and laughter. Balloons in soft pink and gold floated lazily in the evening breeze. Rose’s second birthday party was in full swing. Liam ran around the grass with a toy sword, pretending to be a brave knight protecting his little sister. Rose toddled after him on chubby legs, giggling every time he made a silly face. Their joy filled the air like music.I stood near the long picnic table watching them. The cake I had baked myself sat in the center, covered in pink frosting and messy handprints from the kids helping decorate it. My father sat in a lawn chair talking with Sophia. They both looked relaxed. Peaceful. Something I never thought I would see again after everything we had been through.Damien stood at the grill flipping burgers. He wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans. No expensive suits today. Just a man enjoying time with his family. He caught my eye across the yard and smiled. That soft, real smile that reached his eyes.

The house was quiet in a way that felt wrong. Damien had taken the kids to the zoo for the day so I could have some time alone to write. I sat at my desk with a fresh cup of coffee, staring at the blinking cursor on my laptop. The words were not coming today. Something felt off. A heavy feeling in my chest I could not name.My phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number.Check your mailbox. You have been lied to for years.I stared at the screen. My hands started shaking. I walked outside to the mailbox with my heart pounding. Inside was a thick envelope. No return address. Just my name written in neat black ink.I carried it to the kitchen table and opened it slowly.Photos spilled out. Dozens of them.Damien with a woman I had never seen before. Not Elena. Someone younger. They were in different cities. Different hotels. Different years. The dates on the photos went back to before Rose was born. Even during the time he claimed he was trying to win me back.A letter was clipped to

Everything went black for only a second.The gunshot rang out loud between the warehouses. I waited for the pain. For the darkness. For it all to end right there on the cold ground with Damien’s blood on my hands.It never came.Instead the man with the gun dropped like a stone. A red stain spread fast across his chest. Behind him stood Sophia. She held a gun with both hands, her arms shaking so hard I thought she might drop it. Her face was pale. Her eyes wide with shock.“I followed you,” she whispered. Her voice cracked. “I could not let you face this alone. I could not…”I crawled to Damien. He was still breathing but barely. Shallow, wet gasps. Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth. I pressed my hands against the wound on his chest. Warm blood kept coming. Too much blood.“Damien,” I sobbed. “Stay with me. Please. You do not get to do this. You do not get to leave me after everything. Not now. Not like this.”His eyes fluttered open. “Lila… I am sorry… for all of it… I love yo