บททั้งหมดของ The billionaire who tried to erase my fiancé : บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

Mason’s words played on every screen in the city.Daphne has returned home.Warren stood in the centre of Sterling Studio, staring at the television as reporters shouted questions outside Harbourline Tower. Mason answered none of them directly. He did not need to.He had already given the world the version of Daphne he wanted them to believe.Fragile.Emotional.Safe under her husband’s care.A woman too overwhelmed by pregnancy and family scandal to understand what she was doing.Warren knew the truth.Daphne had not returned home.She had been taken back.His hands were clenched so tightly at his sides that his nails cut into his palms.Evelyn stood near the drafting table, her face drawn with worry. Nico remained by the studio door, looking toward the street below as though he expected Mason’s people to arrive at any moment.“They are controlling the story,” Evelyn said quietly.“They are controlling her,” Warren replied.The television cut to footage of Harbourline’s glass exterio

Arthur’s proxy documents sat in the centre of the glass table like a threat made physical.No one touched them.The emergency meeting room had gone silent after his announcement. Rain pressed against the windows high above the city, turning Arkett’s skyline into a blurred field of silver and grey. Daphne remained standing at the head of the table, her hands resting on the back of the chair that had once belonged only to her father.I still control the majority through proxies.Arthur had said it without raising his voice.As if he had not just lost his executive authority.As if the board’s vote had been a minor inconvenience, not the first fracture in the empire he had ruled for decades.Margaret Sloan reached for the top document.“Those proxies will need to be independently verified,” she said.Arthur’s eyes shifted to her.“Of course.”“And until that review is complete,” the lawyer added, “they cannot be used to reverse the board’s appointment of an acting CEO.”Arthur smiled fai

By the time Daphne returned to Arkett headquarters, the city had decided she was a scandal.Her photograph appeared on every financial news channel beside Mason’s statement about their unborn child. Commentators who had never met her discussed her pregnancy as though it explained everything: her decision to challenge Arthur, her escape from Harbourline, her appointment as acting CEO, her refusal to stand beside her husband while Sonwells collapsed under investigation.None of them called it what it was.A warning.Mason had announced the baby because he wanted the public to see Daphne as fragile before they saw her as dangerous.But as the lift rose toward Arkett’s executive floor, Daphne stood straight despite the nausea curling low in her stomach.Margaret stood beside her, reading messages from the legal team.“Three directors have requested this meeting be postponed,” she said.“Because of the press?”“Because Arthur’s proxies have been verified enough to create a problem.”Daphne

The report lay beneath the conference-room lights like a wound that had finally been uncovered.Arthur Beckett’s signature.Black ink on yellowing paper.A decision made fifteen years ago, written in one decisive stroke of a pen, followed by a collapse that had crushed homes, futures, and entire families beneath concrete that should have held.Daphne stared at the page without touching it.Across from her, Mara Ibekwe sat very still, one hand resting on the worn leather satchel that had protected the files for more than a decade. Her eyes were dry now. The tears had passed, leaving something steadier behind.“I told them it was unsafe,” Mara said. “I told my supervisor. I told the project engineer. I told the Arkett representative who came to the site.”“Arthur,” Daphne said.Mara nodded.“He asked whether I was qualified to make structural judgments.”Daphne’s fingers curled.“What did you say?”“I told him I was qualified to read an inspection report.” Mara’s mouth tightened. “He sa

The photograph remained on the kitchen table long after everyone stopped speaking.Victor Hale stood between Arthur and Mason beneath a clear sky, one hand resting on Mason’s shoulder as though he had made something worth claiming. Arthur’s expression was controlled, familiar. Mason looked younger, but the coldness in his eyes was already there.Daphne had stared at that image until the men’s faces blurred.Victor Hale.The hidden partner.The person Arthur had paid for years through offshore accounts. The man who had taught Mason how to make people disappear without leaving proof behind.By midnight, the safe house had gone quiet.Margaret and the lawyer had moved to the study to coordinate with investigators. Nico had taken security aside to discuss the photograph and every location connected to Hale’s old network. Lila had finally fallen asleep upstairs after insisting that Daphne promise not to leave without waking her.Daphne had made the promise.Then she stood alone in the dark