Semua Bab Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil: Bab 91 - Bab 100

Elias tapped his fingers against the steering wheel and pulled the car onto a quiet, tree-lined road. "Change of plans," he announced. "The Nile is too crowded." Gideon shifted in the jump seat. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Where are we going?" "The Blackstone conservatory," Elias replied. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "It is quiet. The glass walls block the wind. No paparazzi." Gideon uncrossed his arms. He looked at me. "Are you comfortable with that?" I nodded. The heavy exhaustion of the morning pressed against my shoulders. A quiet, enclosed space sounded perfect. "Take me there," I said. The car rolled to a stop in front of a massive glass structure. The iron gates slid open. Elias parked the car and stepped out. He opened my door. I took his hand and stepped onto the gravel path. A cool draft swept through the entrance. Gideon stepped in front of me immediately. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. The heavy fabric swall

Sleep felt impossible because the deposition notes burned a hole in my brain. A sharp chime echoed from the front gate, and my body bolted upright. My thumb checked the security monitor, and a familiar figure stood under the yellow streetlight. My feet hit the cold floor, and my hand grabbed the banister while the wooden stairs creaked under my weight. Gideon stepped out of the kitchen, and his dark eyes tracked my movement. "Who is here?" he asked. My throat swallowed hard. "My mother," my lips murmured. Gideon’s posture shifted, but he just nodded and stepped back to give me space. The front door opened, as the cool night air rushed inside. My mother stood on the porch with shaking shoulders, and her hands clutched a worn leather purse. My eyes traced the lines of exhaustion on her face, and the heavy knot of resentment from the phone call softened into a dull ache. My mother stepped forward, and my arms wrapped around her waist. The familiar warmth of her embrace

The examination room was colder than the hallway, and my hands rested over my stomach while the nurse finished arranging the paperwork on the desk. A blood pressure cuff lay beside the monitor, a small tray of supplies waited near the examination table, and everything looked clean, ordinary, controlled. That helped more than I expected. “Whenever you are ready.” My fingers moved slowly over the curve beneath my sweater. The baby had been moving on and off since we arrived, small rolls and gentle pushes that made the fear feel less distant without making it disappear. My mother had stayed in the waiting room. Gideon and Elias were outside the examination room, close enough to reach me if something went wrong, but neither had tried to follow. The nurse looked at the form. “Before we begin, I need to ask you a few questions.” A nod was all I gave her. “Any pain?” “My lower back aches sometimes.” “How severe?” “Not severe. More uncomfortable than painful.” She wrote it d

A different folder was sitting on the hand of the lawyer as he entered the room, and I knew before she sat down that the second half would be worse. The recess had given me ten minutes to breathe, but not enough time to forget the way my own voice had sounded when I said Shane hit me. Elias had stayed in the hallway until David told him to wait outside. The last thing I had seen before returning was his face, calm and attentive, as if there was nowhere else he needed to be. I sat beside David again and placed both hands flat against my thighs. The opposing counsel opened the folder. "We will continue." David adjusted his glasses. "Before we begin, I want the record to reflect that my client has requested reasonable pacing following the previous line of questioning." "Noted," she replied, already pulling out a document. "Ms. Bennett, are you familiar with psychological evaluations?" My voice came out steady. "Yes." "Have you ever received one?" "Yes." "Have you ever bee

The screen filled with the Grand Crescent lobby, and a timestamp appeared in the corner of the recording. The date matched one of the dates listed in the hotel records David had submitted. I stared at the screen as a younger version of me walked through the lobby carrying a clipboard against my chest. My hair was tied back, and I was wearing the dark work clothes I had lived in during those months. David stood beside the monitor. "This is footage from Grand Crescent's internal security system," he told the judge. "The hotel has confirmed the recording system, the dates, and the original storage records. Marcus Hale and Samuel Reed have also submitted sworn affidavits identifying what they personally witnessed during this period. The hotel employment records correspond with the footage and their statements." Shane's lawyer rose. "Objection. The footage does not establish the allegations against my client." David turned toward him. "It is corroborating evidence, not the entirety o