Lahat ng Kabanata ng She Left With Nothing and Built Everything: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

Roza POV“What kind of help,” I said, gripping the phone tighter.“I have contacts in banking. People who know things about Vane Meridian’s actual financial position, things that have not made it into any headline yet.” Vivienne’s voice stayed smooth, unbothered. “There are irregularities, Roza. Serious ones. The kind that, if surfaced properly during a custody hearing, might make a judge think twice about a man’s overall stability and judgment, especially one already under this much public scrutiny.”“What kind of irregularities?”“I am not simply going to hand you that for free.” She let out a small laugh, easy and warm, the same tone Soren had once described to me, designed to make a room relax around her. “I want Harbor House’s next funding round routed through my firm. Full advisory role. Given how badly your last two backers rattled after the press coverage, I imagine you could use a partner with deeper pockets and steadier nerves.”I sat very still, the phone pressed hard again

Roza POVFiona met us outside the courtroom that afternoon, her face tighter than I had seen it since the hearing began.“I want you both to understand where we stand,” she said quietly, walking us toward a side hallway away from the crowd. “Without that recording, we have no direct evidence of Helena’s coercion. We have Edward’s own account, which Croft will characterize as an unreliable witness recanting under unclear motives. It is not nothing, but it is far weaker than what we lost.”“Croft knows this,” I said.“Croft absolutely knows this.” Fiona’s jaw tightened. “She will come after you harder today because of it. When one line of attack strengthens, counsel presses it. Prepare yourself.”She was right.Croft rose within minutes of the session resuming, her voice calm and merciless. “My Lady, given the court’s ruling on the excluded recording, I would like to return to the pattern of behavior already established. Miss Wren left her marriage abruptly. She entered a new relationsh

Callum POVI called her four times before I stopped expecting an answer. The townhouse was empty when I arrived that evening, the housekeeper informing me, with visible discomfort, that Mrs. Vane had instructed her to pack a single case that morning and had left for the airport shortly after the recess in court.“Which airport,” I asked. “Which flight?”“She did not say, sir. Only that she needed to attend to family matters abroad and would be unreachable for some time.”I stood in the empty drawing room where she had coached me only days earlier on posture and tone, the same room where Reyes had gloated over my collapsing merger, and felt something cold and unfamiliar settle into my chest. Abandonment. My own mother, disappearing the moment her carefully built leverage crumbled in open court, leaving me to face the wreckage entirely alone.I tried her phone once more. It rang out, then clicked to a message informing me the mailbox was full. I sat in that drawing room for a long time,

Callum POVI showed Croft the photograph the next morning, watching her face carefully for any flicker of recognition.“Someone sent me this last night,” I said, sliding my phone across the table. “Unknown number. I want to know if this is Reyes trying to demoralize me, or something coming from inside your own office.”Croft studied the image with a coolness that unsettled me more than any reaction would have. “Interesting.”“That is your response. Interesting.”“I do not know who sent it, Callum. I would suggest, however, that whoever did clearly want you demoralized enough to abandon the case entirely.” She slid the phone back across the table, entirely unbothered. “Which, given how expensive this fight has already become for you, might not be the worst outcome for either of us, depending on how you look at it.”“Excuse me.”“I am simply being honest.” She folded her hands. “You paid a significant retainer last night to continue this fight. I intend to honor that by fighting as hard

Roza POVFiona called us into an emergency meeting the morning the change was announced, her face carrying an expression I had not seen from her before, cautious optimism mixed with genuine confusion.“Callum has replaced Croft,” she said, sliding into her chair. “New counsel. Rebecca Sorrell. I know her by reputation, and it is a very different reputation from Croft’s.”“Different how,” I asked.“Sorrell does not fight dirty. She is thorough, sharp, but she operates in good faith. If she is representing Callum now, something has shifted significantly in his strategy, or in him.” Fiona’s tone stayed careful. “She has requested a settlement conference this afternoon. A genuine one, apparently, not a procedural stalling tactic.”I sat back, my hand resting against my stomach, exhaustion and suspicion warring inside me in equal measure. “I do not trust it.”“I understand why you would not.” Fiona’s voice softened. “But I think we should attend, at minimum. If it is genuine, it could save