Alle Kapitel von MY EX-HUSBAND IS ALIVE AND WANTS ME BACK : Kapitel 41 – Kapitel 50

Alessia stared at the three filings on Sienna's screen for a long moment, the implications settling over her with a weight that made the walls of the office feel smaller than they had an hour ago. "I need more than this," she said finally. "This proves a connection. It doesn't prove intent, and it definitely doesn't give me enough to bring to the board before Thursday." "I can keep pulling threads," Sienna offered. "But I'm hitting the edge of what public records can tell us. Anything deeper than this needs someone with actual investigative resources. Forensic accountants. People who know how to trace money through jurisdictions that don't want to be traced." "I know someone." Sienna raised an eyebrow. "Nikolia." "Julian, actually." Alessia was already reaching for her phone. "He's spent five years untangling exactly this kind of network for Nikolia. If anyone can move faster than we can on our own, it's him." She called before she could second-guess it, and Julian answered on th

Alessia left the café with Julian's confession still ringing in her ears and drove straight to Sinclair Global, ignoring three calls from Preston about the board's mounting anxiety over Thursday's deadline. Some things couldn't wait for scheduled conversations anymore.She found Nikolia in his office, mid-meeting with two members of his security team, and didn't wait for an invitation before walking in and closing the door behind her."I need everyone else to leave," she said.Nikolia took one look at her face and nodded to his team without argument. They filed out quickly, exchanging uncertain glances, and the door clicked shut behind them, leaving the two of them alone in a silence that felt heavier than any argument they'd had in weeks."What happened?" he asked, already rising from his desk."I talked to Julian." She watched his expression carefully, watched something guarded flicker across his features at the mention of Julian's name. "About Cassian."Nikolia went very still. "Wh

Nikolia recovered first, his expression sliding back into careful neutrality with a speed that told Alessia exactly how much practice he'd had concealing things from his father over the years."We were discussing the Bellamy Atelier situation," he said smoothly. "Cassian's bid. Nothing that requires your involvement.""Cassian Devereux's bid." Viktor's tone remained even, though something behind his eyes sharpened at the name. "I'd heard rumblings about that. I wasn't aware it had escalated to urgent, closed-door conversations.""It has." Alessia found her voice, steadier than she expected given what she'd just learned moments before Viktor's arrival. "His firm made a formal bid to acquire a significant stake in my company. We were discussing how to respond.""I see." Viktor's gaze moved between them again, lingering a fraction too long on his son's face, some silent calculation playing out behind his composed expression. "And that required Nikolia to clear his entire afternoon, close

Alessia left Rafael's office without another word, his silence following her down the hallway like something physical, one more locked door added to a growing collection she was beginning to feel would never fully open. She didn't cry until she reached her car. She allowed herself exactly three minutes behind the wheel before wiping her eyes, steadying her breath, and driving home to twins who deserved a mother capable of reading bedtime stories without her voice shaking.She didn't expect the following morning to bring anything resembling good news, and for a while, it almost did."This came in overnight," Preston said, sliding a heavy cream envelope across her desk, an uncharacteristic note of excitement in his voice that felt strange after the last several weeks. "I think you're going to want to see this before anything else today."Alessia opened it carefully, and felt something genuine — something unclouded by suspicion or dread — flicker to life for the first time in what felt l

The uneasy alliance between Nikolia and Rafael held, technically, over the following days — clipped emails, shared security briefings, careful professional courtesy maintained through gritted teeth on both sides. Alessia hadn't expected either of them to willingly spend time in the same physical space more than necessary, which was why she was surprised to find Rafael's car already in her driveway when she pulled up from the office that Thursday evening, a scheduled visit day for Nikolia already underway inside.She let herself in cautiously, bracing for tension, and found instead an unexpectedly ordinary scene — Rafael seated at the kitchen table, a set of blueprints spread in front of him, Adrian perched on the chair beside him studying the drawings with rapt fascination."What's going on here?" Alessia asked, setting down her bag."Rafael's teaching me about buildings," Adrian announced, without looking up. "Real ones. Not the drawing kind Mama does. The kind that actually get buil