All Chapters of Claimed by my ex husband’s uncle : Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

The Stranger Who Saved MeLucien’s POVI hated charity galas.They were nothing more than expensive lies wrapped in crystal chandeliers and designer suits. People smiled for cameras while stabbing each other in the back the moment those cameras turned away.The Blackwood family had perfected that art.I stood alone on the private balcony overlooking the ballroom, a glass of whiskey untouched in my hand. From up here, I could see everything without being seen.Exactly how I preferred it.I hadn’t attended a Blackwood event in nearly eight years.Tonight was an exception.Business had forced me here.Nothing more.I had no interest in speaking to my sister Margaret or her spoiled son, Adrian. The less I dealt with my family, the better my life remained.Then I saw her.Elena.She stood beside Adrian in a silver gown that caught the light every time she moved. She wasn’t the loudest woman in the room or the one trying hardest to be noticed.She never was.She simply stood quietly beside

The Woman Who VanishedLucien’s POVSunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but I had already been awake for nearly an hour.Sleep had never come easily to me.Last night had been no different.I stood in front of the living room window with a cup of black coffee in my hand, staring at the city below. Cars filled the streets, people hurried to work, and life continued as though nothing had happened.As though one woman’s entire world hadn’t collapsed.My thoughts drifted to Elena.After our kiss, neither of us had spoken.She had looked as shocked as I felt.I had wanted to tell her it shouldn’t have happened.Instead, I had simply wished her goodnight.It had been safer that way.For both of us.The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts.Damien walked into the suite carrying a tablet.“You’ve been awake all night again.”“I slept enough.”He gave me a look that clearly said he didn’t believe me.“You have a board meeting in an hour.”“Cancel it.”His eyebrows r

THE CONTRACTELENA'S POVThe paper sits on the desk between us like a living thing, and I have read it three times now, which means I have read every word of it three times and I still cannot quite make it feel real.Gerald Marsh, my lawyer, has spread four pages of dense legal text across the polished mahogany surface of Lucien's dining room table. He is a neat man in his early sixties with silver reading glasses and the particular patient voice of someone who has spent a long career delivering complicated news to people who were not ready to hear it. He arrived forty minutes ago and has been walking me through clause by clause, which is the correct and professional thing to do, and which I deeply wish he would stop.Lucien stands at the window with his back to both of us, one hand resting in his trouser pocket, watching the city below. The afternoon light cuts across the room in long flat lines. He has barely spoken since Gerald arrived. He signed the draft last night and had it sen