All Chapters of The Billionaire's Ruthless Reclamation : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The countdown on Margaret's phone continued.Elena stared at the photograph until the image blurred before her eyes. The man standing outside the small house had more gray in his hair than she remembered, and his face was thinner, but there was no mistaking him.Her father.Daniel Vance.Alive.For years, she had carried the pain of his supposed death like a wound that never healed. She had imagined his final moments, wondered whether he had suffered, and hated herself for not being able to protect him. Now, in less than a minute, everything she believed about his disappearance had been thrown into question.“Let me see it again,” she whispered.Alexander took the phone from Margaret and enlarged the photograph. He studied the background, the man's clothing, and the shadows beneath his feet.“Marcus, save the image. I want the original file traced, not a screenshot.”“Already doing it.”Elena reached for the phone.“Victor said my father is alive. We have to go to him.”Alexander caug

Elena knew something was wrong the moment Alexander stepped out of the SUV.He didn't look at her immediately. Instead, he crossed the pavement toward Marcus, who stood beside the surveillance vehicle holding a small envelope. His expression was grim, and the way he gripped the envelope made Elena's stomach tighten.“Where is he?” Alexander demanded.Marcus shook his head. “He disappeared around the corner. The team searched the surrounding streets, but we lost him. He knew we were following him.”Elena hurried toward them.“You saw my father?”Marcus turned to her. “Yes, ma'am. We confirmed his identity through the photographs you provided. He was alive, conscious, and moving without assistance.”“Then where is he?” Her voice cracked. “How could you let him disappear?”“I'm sorry. We were trying not to frighten him into running.”Elena looked down the empty street, hoping to see a familiar figure emerge from behind one of the buildings. Nothing moved except a delivery truck turning o

The gunshots echoed through the underground archive.Elena flinched as Alexander pulled her behind the steel desk, shielding her with his body. Emergency lights flickered on overhead, bathing the room in a dim red glow.“Stay down,” he ordered.“Marcus is upstairs.”“I know.”Another burst of gunfire crackled through Alexander's earpiece, followed by a man's strained shout. Then the connection dissolved into static.Elena grabbed Alexander's arm. “We have to help them.”“We will. But if we walk into an ambush, we won't help anyone.”He checked the door, then scanned the archive for another exit. The recording had stopped, leaving only the hum of the ventilation system and the distant pounding of footsteps above them.Elena's gaze returned to the small screen on the desk.IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO YOUR MOTHER WAS, OPEN CABINET SEVEN.Her entire life, she had known so little about her mother. Daniel rarely spoke about her, and when Elena was young enough to ask questions, he always gave t

The envelope lay on the chair, its white surface stained with fresh blood.For several seconds, Elena could only stare at it.Her mother had been standing in front of her moments ago. She had spoken her name, called her baby, and looked at her with the kind of love Elena had spent her entire life imagining. Then a gunshot had shattered the window, and Isabelle had disappeared.Again.“Alexander, she's gone!” Elena cried, pushing herself away from him. “We have to find her!”“Stay down!”He grabbed her arm as another shot struck the metal railing outside. Glass crunched beneath their shoes. Alexander pulled her behind the thick central column while Marcus and the guards returned fire from the staircase.“Marcus, secure the exits!” Alexander shouted into his radio. “Nobody leaves this property. I want every vehicle checked, every road watched, and every person accounted for.”“Understood!”Elena tried to look toward the broken window, but Alexander caught her shoulder.“You'll get yours

The message remained on Elena's phone as the car sped north toward Northwick Facility.YOUR FATHER IS WAITING. COME BEFORE MIDNIGHT.Beneath it, the location marker showed an isolated property surrounded by woodland, far from the nearest town. Marcus had confirmed that the facility's official records described it as a closed rehabilitation center, but the financial records told a different story. Someone had continued paying its expenses for years.Someone had also paid to keep an unidentified person hidden.Elena stared through the window, turning the possibilities over in her mind. Her father might be alive. Alexander's father might be alive. Her mother had appeared at the lighthouse and vanished before Elena could reach her.And now there was a third person.“Do you think the additional dependent is connected to my mother?” she asked.Alexander sat beside her, reviewing the scanned financial records on his tablet.“I think the three of us are connected to the same secret. But until