All Chapters of Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

Gideon pushed the phone toward me with one finger. “It’s in. Dismissal, full record, costs. Court has it.” David’s confirmation was already open on the table when I came back from the hallway. Elias stood at the counter with the exhibits in a neat stack, tapping the edges square even though they were already square. “Their counsel gets formal notice today. Then the fourteen days start.” I sat and wrapped my hands around the glass of water I’d left earlier. It was lukewarm. “They’ll try to stretch it.” “Of course they will,” Elias said. “He doesn’t need to win. He just needs the question to stay alive long enough to keep costing us time and energy.” Gideon dropped into the chair across from me and stretched one leg out so his foot rested close to mine under the table. He left it there. “You’re still going to the hotel tomorrow.” “Yeah.” “Good. One thing that isn’t this.” Elias glanced at the sideboard where the original motion was still buried under the post. “David thinks they’

The message was already open on the phone in front of me. ‘Urgent note filed and accepted. Bribery evidence is now on the formal record alongside the challenge. Court has been notified of the bad faith. I’ll update once the listing is updated.’ - David I read it through twice. Elias stood at the counter checking the same update on his own phone. Gideon leaned against the fridge with his arms folded. “It’s properly in,” Elias said. “The bribery evidence sits right next to the challenge now. They’re no longer just asking for a new test. They’re asking for it while trying to manufacture evidence.” I kept both hands around the mug. “How fast does something like this usually move?” “Faster than the original challenge. David will push for the court to deal with the bad faith before it spends any more time on the request for a new test. Judges don’t like being treated like fools when the evidence is this clear.” Gideon pushed away from the fridge and sat in the chair next to me. His kn

Security rang while I was still standing in the kitchen with the affidavit confirmation open on my phone. The neighbour’s call changed the shape of the afternoon. Gideon took the call, listened without interrupting, then put the phone down and looked straight at me. “He knocked on the door two houses down. Asked if they had seen you. Asked if you still lived here. Asked if anyone else was staying at the house. They told him nothing and called the number security gave the street.” Elias had only just walked back in from filing the affidavit. He stopped in the doorway when he heard the last part. “He is speaking to the neighbours now,” I said. “Yes,” Gideon answered. “One door so far. It is logged. David already has the report. It goes into the conduct file with the rest.” I put my phone face down on the counter. The paper side of the case was finished. The affidavit was filed. The bundle was complete. What had just arrived was not paper. It was Shane standing on the actual street,

Gideon came up the stairs with his phone in his hand. "The security log updated a few minutes ago. He was at the end of the road just after first light. Same short stop as before, no contact with any of the neighbours." I was sitting on the floor with the court bag open, sorting through what still needed to go in. I looked up. "They're putting extra passes on the street through the mornings and early evenings until Thursday," he went on. "David already has the note." "Does that change when we leave on Thursday?" "The route stays the same. David wants us at the building twenty minutes earlier than we planned so he can do a final check of the bundle order before we go in. No new signatures. Just eyes on the sequence." Elias stepped into the doorway behind him. "Earlier's better than trying to do that check in a rush. I'm fine with it." Gideon rested his shoulder against the doorframe. "I'm keeping the downstairs arrangement going until the hearing's finished. No gaps at nig

David was already inside with the full bundle tucked beneath one arm, and he checked the corridor before motioning us through. Gideon stayed half a step behind me while Elias walked at my right. His hand hovered near my back when I slowed at the courtroom doors, then settled there for a brief moment as I stepped inside. The room was smaller than the one I had built in my head during the night. Shane was already seated beside his counsel, his attention fixed on us now. His eyes dropped to Elias's hand. Elias removed it before we reached our seats. David pulled out my chair. I lowered myself into it and shifted until the pressure across my stomach eased. Elias sat beside me. Gideon took his place near the wall, close enough to see both tables. The judge entered, and everyone rose. Once we were seated, David began. He moved through the certified DNA result, Shane's challenge, the parking-lot meeting, the matching cash withdrawals, the footage, the neighbour's statement, and the labora