Lahat ng Kabanata ng THE BILLIONAIRE'S TEMPORARY WIFE : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

I couldn't speak.My mother was alive.The words repeated inside my head, but they refused to become real.For twenty-four years, I had believed she was the one person who had always been honest with me. Even when she was afraid, even when she cried, even when our family had almost lost everything, I had trusted her.Now Sophia was telling me that my mother had been alive all this time.I looked at Charles.“Is it true?”He didn't answer.That was enough.My heart cracked.“You knew?”Charles lowered his eyes.“I suspected.”“You suspected?”My voice shook.“You suspected my mother was alive and you said nothing?”“I didn't know where she was.”“But you knew she could be alive.”“Yes.”I stepped back from him.“How many people knew?”Nobody answered.Adrian came toward me.“Elena…”I raised my hand.“Don't.”He stopped.I was too overwhelmed to hear another explanation.Too tired to hear another promise about protection.Too angry to hear another person tell me that a lie had been nec

I couldn't stop staring at the old security badge in Adrian's hand. AUTHORIZED. His name was printed beneath it. Adrian Blackwood. Twelve years ago. At the same place where my father had supposedly died. My mother's warning kept repeating inside my head. He was there the night your father died. I looked at Adrian. “Tell me the truth.” His eyes remained fixed on the badge. “I don't remember being here.” “That isn't what I asked.” He finally looked at me. “I don't remember that night.” My chest tightened. “You expect me to believe that?” “I know how it sounds.” “It sounds like another lie.” His face fell. “Elena…” I stepped backward. “Don't.” Adrian took one step toward me, then stopped. For once, he didn't try to touch me. “I swear I didn't kill your father.” “You don't know that.” “I know myself.” “But you don't know what happened that night.” He had no answer. Daniel walked toward us. “We need to leave.” Adrian looked at him. “Why?” “The SUV that le

The room went completely silent. Charles's phone continued ringing in his pocket, the name on the screen glowing in the darkness. THOMAS. My heart slammed against my ribs. For a moment, nobody moved. Adrian stood beside me, his gun still raised toward the man who claimed to be Robert Carter. Daniel was watching the phone as if it were a bomb that could explode at any second. Then the call connected by itself. A man's voice filled the room. "Charles." I froze. I knew that voice. Even after all the years, even after everything I had been told about my father, I knew it. "Thomas?" I whispered. The voice on the phone paused. "Elena." My knees nearly gave way. Adrian immediately reached for me, wrapping one arm around my waist to steady me. His touch should have calmed me, but the fear inside my chest only grew. "Where are you?" I asked. "I don't have much time." I swallowed hard. "Are you alive?" Another silence. Then he answered. "Yes." My eyes burned with tears.

“Thomas!”My voice echoed through the chapel as my mother collapsed against me. Adrian caught her before she struck the floor, lowering her carefully onto the wooden boards. For one terrifying moment, I couldn't understand what had happened. Then I saw the blood spreading across her clothes, and the world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.“Mom, please open your eyes.” I pressed my hands against her shoulder, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. “You can't leave me. Not now. Not when you're finally going to tell me the truth.”Her eyelids fluttered, but she barely seemed to hear me.Adrian removed his jacket and pressed it firmly against the wound. “Daniel, call for medical assistance. Tell them we have a gunshot victim. Samuel, check the rear entrance, but don't expose yourself.”Daniel hurried away while Samuel moved cautiously toward the side passage. Adrian remained beside my mother, his expression controlled, but I could feel the tension in his movements.Outside, a man's voice

I read the message again, hoping I had misunderstood it. ASK CHARLES WHY HE IDENTIFIED THE WRONG BODY. For twelve years, the Blackwood family had believed Victor Hale died in the accident. His death had been recorded, his identity confirmed, and his name buried beneath an official report. Yet someone was now telling us that the man Charles identified wasn't Victor at all. If that was true, then someone had built an entire conspiracy around a death that never happened. And Charles Blackwood had been part of it. Adrian stood beside me, staring at the photograph on my phone. His expression had become unreadable, the way it always did when he was trying to control emotions he didn't want anyone to see. "Call my father," I said. "I will." "Now, Adrian." He looked at me. "Elena, if Charles knew the body was misidentified, he might have had a reason. We need to hear what he says before we decide he's responsible." "I'm not deciding anything. I'm asking for the truth." He nodded,