All Chapters of It’s Your Loss, Ex, Your Uncle Is Mine: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Maximo’s POVThe heavy rain had stopped, leaving the morning sky a pale, sickly gray. I stood inside the narrow hallway of Bella’s apartment building, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped beast.My intelligence team had called me thirty minutes ago. They told me about the roadside ambush near the state line, the broken glass, and the blood on the asphalt. I had driven across town like a madman, breaking every traffic law in existence to reach her door.I did not bother to knock. I used my master key to unlock her apartment door and shoved it open.Bella stood near her small kitchen table. She wore a thin white shirt that was stained with dark red blood and dried mud. Her hair was damp and wild, and a deep purple bruise was already forming along her jawline. Her hands were wrapped in white gauze, but fresh blood was seeping through the cloth around her knuckles.The sight of her broken, bleeding body hit my chest like a cannon shell."Bella," I growled, my voice dropping i

Maximo’s POVThe media smear campaign was only the opening move. I knew how Mrs. Kingsley operated when she was cornered. She was a bitter woman who used corrupt system levers to destroy her enemies.By three o'clock in the afternoon, my men confirmed my suspicion. Mrs. Kingsley had called in her final political favors with the state treasury board. She had arranged for an emergency tax audit against the Riley-Ross Textile Mill. A team of state auditors was scheduled to freeze Bella's commercial bank accounts by nine o'clock the next morning.If those accounts were frozen, Bella would be unable to buy raw materials or pay her factory workers. Her supply chain would grind to a sudden halt, breaking her contract with Sterling Enterprises.Bella was planning to fight them in a courtroom with her clean financial books. She believed the legal system was fair. She did not understand that corrupt politicians did not care about clean books. They only cared about orders from the people who pai

Bella’s POVI stood tall under the bright crystal lights, my shoulders straight and my chin held high. The scarlet silk dress draped over my body like liquid fire, standing out sharply against the sea of pale muted colors in the room. The deep red shade matched the bold lipstick on my lips. I did not look like a woman who was hiding from scandal. I looked lethal, radiant, and utterly unbroken."Keep walking, Bella," Garvin whispered softly beside me, his voice steady despite the intense stares. "You own this room."We descended the wide marble staircase into the main hall. Whispers erupted instantly in our wake. People leaned in close to their companions, muttering behind their hands, pointing at my face, and referencing the newspaper articles from two days ago. I paid them no attention, moving through the crowd with quiet, effortless grace.Suddenly, the crowd parted near the center fountain.Victoria stepped into my path, her face twisted with pure venom. She wore an icy blue design

Maximo’s POVMy chief security officer, Anton, stepped into my study late the following evening. He set a thick black folder on my mahogany desk, his face grim."Victoria has lost her mind, sir," Anton said quietly. "She is no longer trying to protect her family business or buy up cotton. She wants blood."I picked up the folder, opening it slowly under the dim light of my desk lamp. "What has she done now?""Yesterday morning, she paid off a clinic archivist to track down old records from two years ago," Anton explained, pointing to a copy of a signed release form. "She retrieved the old emergency room assessment from the night she pushed Bella down the stairs."My jaw tightened, my thumb pressing hard against the paper. I remembered that horrible night all too well. Two years ago, when Victoria pushed Bella down that long flight of concrete stairs, Bella had been bleeding and broken. But when I reached into my pocket to call an ambulance, Bella had dragged herself off that cold floo

Bella’s POVI tightened my grip on her robe, pulling her slightly off her feet."I will personally drag you to the top of those same concrete stairs," I promised her softly, my eyes locking onto hers with unbroken, deadly intent. "And I will throw you down myself. And I guarantee you, Victoria, you will not survive the fall."Victoria stared at me, her face completely drained of color. The icy arrogance that she had worn like armor for years crumbled into dust. She remembered the blood on those stairs, and looking at my cold posture now, she realized in that terrifying second that I was no longer a victim she could push around.I was a survivor, and if she pushed me too far, I would become a killer.Victoria shrank back into her chair, her body trembling violently as she pulled her wet robe around herself, weeping in genuine terror. She could not speak. She could not look me in the eyes anymore.I let go of her robe, letting her slump back against the leather seat. I adjusted my dark