บททั้งหมดของ The Billionaire’s Contract Wife: HE Fell First : บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

Chapter 11Rain lashed against the reinforced glass of the armored SUV, blurring the neon streetlights of downtown Seattle into violent streaks of red and blue. Inside the cabin, the heavy scent of copper and wet wool choked the air. Maya sat rigidly in the backseat, her hands clenched so tightly in her lap her knuckles ached. Beside her, Julian was ruthlessly efficient. He hadn't spoken a word since they left the burning estate. He had stripped off the ruined shreds of his suit jacket. Using a tactical trauma kit Cross had tossed into the back, Julian blindly packed his own puncture wound with hemostatic gauze. He didn't gasp. He didn't curse. He simply gritted his teeth, his jaw locking tight enough to crack bone, and bound his torso with thick medical tape. Maya watched his bloody hands work. It was terrifying. He was treating a lethal injury with the clinical detachment of a mechanic changing a tire. "Julian," she whispered, her voice cracking. He didn't look up. He pulled th

Chapter 13The warehouse was chaotic shouting medics, flashing tactical lights, the sharp crackle of radios but for Julian, the entire world narrowed down to the terrified, betrayed expression on Maya’s face. His hand remained suspended in the freezing air between them. Her flinch had felt like a physical blow, a blade slipping directly between his already shattered ribs. He lowered his hand slowly, clenching it into a bloody fist by his side. "Maya," Julian started, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "Don't touch me," Maya choked out, pulling Lily’s limp body tighter against her chest. Her dark eyes were wide, wildly searching his face for a lie, for a denial. She found nothing but a devastating, suffocating silence. "Did you know?" Maya demanded, her voice rising above the din of the approaching paramedics. "Tell me the truth, Julian! Did my father do it?"Julian squeezed his eyes shut for a fraction of a second. When he opened them, the pale gray irises were stark and resolute.

Chapter 15The heavy thud of the magnetic deadbolts sliding into place vibrated straight up through the soles of Maya’s boots.She stared at the thick, tempered glass of the ICU door. On the other side, Elias Thorne stood perfectly still under the harsh fluorescent lights of the corridor. The grandfatherly warmth he usually projected had completely vanished. His face was a mask of cold, calculating ambition.A sharp burst of static crackled from the speaker mounted in the corner of the ceiling."I really did try to put you on that plane, Maya," Elias’s voice echoed through the sterile room. He sounded genuinely disappointed. "You were supposed to take the money and disappear. It would have been clean. Now, you’ve made things incredibly messy."Cross didn't hesitate. The security chief dropped the encrypted tablet, drew his sidearm in a fluid blur of motion, and fired three rounds directly at the center of the glass.The deafening gunshots ripped through the enclosed space. Maya covere

Chapter 17The guttural roar that ripped from Julian’s throat didn't sound human. It was the sound of pure, primordial wrath.He didn't hesitate. He didn't pause to let the catastrophic trauma in his chest register. Moving with a blinding, lethal speed that completely defied the bags of blood hanging above him, Julian twisted the wrist of the downed mercenary until a sickening snap echoed over the shrieking heart monitors.He ripped the assault rifle from the screaming man's hands."Julian!" Elias backed away, the mask of the calculated mastermind violently shattering into raw panic.Julian didn't say a word. He didn't offer a monologue. He swung the heavy rifle, burying the steel stock directly into the face of the second mercenary who was turning to aim at Maya. The man dropped like a stone, his tactical helmet cracking against the linoleum.The remaining two guards raised their weapons, their laser sights painting Julian’s ruined chest.A deafening barrage of gunfire erupted.But i

Chapter 19The radio transmission hung in the sterile air, a toxic cloud suffocating the fragile peace of the recovery room.Elias Thorne is gone.Julian’s pale gray eyes snapped entirely open. The raw, shattered vulnerability that had just anchored him to Maya vanished in a microsecond. The man in the bed ceased to be a broken patient. He was the apex predator of Sterling Global, and a threat had just breached his territory.He reached up, his bruised fingers digging into the edge of his oxygen mask to rip it off."Don't you dare," Maya ordered. She didn't hesitate. She grabbed his wrists, pressing his hands firmly back against the mattress.Julian fought her grip, his jaw locking in defiance. A sharp, involuntary hiss of pain escaped his lips as the movement pulled his torn abdominal stitches. The heart monitor beside his bed immediately shrieked in protest, charting a chaotic, elevated rhythm."Julian, stop!" Maya leaned over him, her dark eyes flashing with absolute authority. "Yo