Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Antidote To His Ruin : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

Suzan’s POVI woke up the next morning with a decision already made.Emerald was going to meet Eleanor.I had spent half the night arguing with myself in the dark, turning every possible consequence over in my mind until exhaustion finally won. But beneath all the fear, the guilt, and the complex web of secrets, there was one simple truth, Eleanor deserved this.And perhaps, selfishly, I needed it too.By the time Emerald came skipping into the kitchen, dressed in her favorite green dress, I had barely finished my first cup of coffee. On the counter sat a small, elegant box wrapped in lavender paper, a cashmere shoulder wrap that we had came with from maine while the decision to take her to see Eleanor was made late we are sure not going empty handed, so i had sarah packed some, something warm, gentle, and comforting for an eighty-year-old recovering in a sterile room.“Mama, where are we going?” she asked, balancing precariously on her tiptoes.I crouched down in front of her. “To s

Draven’s POVThe door clicked shut behind Suzan, leaving a suffocating silence in its wake.I stared at the dark wood long after her quick, light footsteps had faded down the marble corridor. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. The image of that little girl was burned into my mind with agonizing, inescapable clarity.Emerald.Her dark gray eyes. Her sharp, stubborn expression. The way she had looked at me with that innocent, bright familiarity, until the exact moment the realization dawned on her that Sir D was the man her mother had talked about. Her mother’s ex-husband.What if she is my daughter?The thought struck out of nowhere, raw and unbidden. I tried to push it back into the dark immediately.No. It’s impossible. It has to be.“Draven.”Grandma’s frail, raspy voice pulled me back into the room.I turned slowly. She was watching me from her hospital bed, but the tired amusement she’d worn during Emerald’s visit was gone, replaced by an expression so intensely serious that somet

Suzan’s POVThe message was still glowing on my phone when I walked back into the laboratory.YOU WERE WARNED.I stared at the words for several seconds.There was no name. Only recognized pattern Threat-filled words.My thumb hovered over the screen before I locked the phone and slipped it into the pocket of my lab coat.I refused to be intimidated.Not now.Not when we were this close.Not when thousands of people were depending on us to get this right.I turned toward the central workstation.The molecular model rotated slowly on the largest monitor, the digital strands glowing beneath the sterile white lights.97.9%.I exhaled.“Let's finish this.”The words sounded steadier than I felt.I pulled on my gloves, adjusted my protective glasses, and moved toward the testing station.The threat could wait.The drug couldn't.The first validation run failed.Not catastrophically.But enough.I stared at the report while the automated system displayed the result.Stability variance: 1.8

Suzan’s POVThe moment Edward and I stepped into the open expanse of the living room, I stopped.Building blocks were scattered everywhere across the floor, Emerald had somehow converted half the living room into a complex miniature laboratory. Brightly colored plastic pieces were arranged across the plush rug, each carefully labeled with tiny, neat handwritten amino-acid abbreviations on masking tape. A few pieces had even been put together into what resembled a molecular chain.And right in the dead center of the chaos sat my daughter.She was wearing a soft two-piece cream cashmere outfit, her little legs tucked cross-legged beneath her as she concentrated fiercely on connecting two stubborn blue blocks.Then she looked up.The moment her charming gray eyes landed on me, her entire face lit up like a sunrise. "Mama!"She abandoned her molecular structure, scrambled to her feet, and sprinted across the room. I barely had time to drop my leather handbag onto the entry table before s

Suzan’s POVThe day finally arrived.I woke to pale morning sunlight filtering through the curtains, and for the first time in days, I didn't feel as though my head had been trapped inside a vise. There was still a faint ache behind my eyes, but compared with the previous day's migraine it was almost nothing.I lay there for a moment, enjoying the quiet and the unfamiliar sense of relief that came with knowing I wasn't expected to rush anywhere.Today, Emerald was leaving for Maine with Sarah.I was supposed to stay behind with Edward for a little longer, finish the remaining work at Sterling, and join them later. The plan was simple, and for once, I had allowed myself to look forward to it.A few days away from laboratories, corporate meetings, suspicious transactions, and the constant pressure surrounding the company sounded almost too good to be true.I had just closed my eyes again when my bedroom door opened.Sarah stepped inside."Suzan?"Something in her voice made me open my e