All Chapters of Apocalypse Reborn: My Family Begged But I Shut The Gates: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

“No!” Katie answered too quickly. She forced a nervous laugh, hoping to make the question sound less serious than it was. “Of course not. I only mean that perhaps there is a way to handle this privately.”“Privately?” he repeated, his eyebrows rising. “What exactly do you mean by that?”Katie swallowed. She had come to the hotel hoping the manager would be willing to listen, perhaps help her make the problem disappear. She had not expected him to question every word she said. “I mean that I don't want trouble for anybody,” she explained. “You have your job, and I have my life. Surely we can find a way to make sure this doesn't become a problem for either of us.”Marcos leaned back in his chair. “Miss Katie, if you are worried about something recorded or a footage during your stay, you should speak to a lawyer. That is the advice I can give you.”Katie stared at him.A lawyer. That word made her stomach tighten. Lawyers charged money, and money was precisely what she did not have enou

Katie met with Eric at home. He leaned back against the sofa, his expression tightening. “I thought you said you set up the meeting?" Katie folded her arms. “Darius leads the group. He doesn't send his people into something without knowing who's paying them or what they're getting into.” Eric gave a short, irritated laugh. “So now I have to beg some street criminals to do what I’m paying them for?” “Then find someone else.” Her answer came too quickly. Eric looked at her, and Katie immediately regretted it. She needed this arrangement to work. If Eric abandoned the plan, she would have to find another way to deal with Amanda. Worse, Raymond was still pursuing the matter of the photographs, and Katie had no idea how much evidence he possessed. She couldn't afford another problem. Eric stood and walked toward the window. “When does he want to meet?” “Tonight. Somewhere private.” “Fine. Arrange it.” Katie studied him. “Before you agree to anything, you need to understand that

Raymond's father appeared in the hallway. His expression changed the moment he saw Amanda.“You?”Amanda held her handbag more firmly. “Good evening, sir.”He ignored her greeting and looked at the envelope in the housekeeper's hands. “What are you doing here?”“I only came to return something that belongs to Raymond.”“Is that so?” He gave a cold laugh. “And you expect me to believe that?”Amanda frowned. “I'm not sure what you mean, sir.”“Don't pretend you don't understand.” He stepped closer, his voice growing sharper. “Do you honestly think my son is going to marry you?”The question struck her so suddenly that she couldn't answer immediately. Raymond's father looked her up and down, his contempt plain on his face.“Look at yourself. You have no name, no influence, and no wealthy family behind you. What exactly do you think you can offer a man like my son?”Amanda felt heat creep into her cheeks, but she refused to lower her eyes.“I didn't come here to discuss marriage.”“Then wh

Raymond had never found it difficult to face a difficult situation, but standing outside Amanda's gate, he suddenly questioned whether coming here had been the right decision. He had rehearsed his apology throughout the drive, yet every sentence sounded inadequate now.He glanced at the gate and exhaled slowly. “You can do this, Raymond. You're apologizing, not negotiating a business deal.”The gate remained stubbornly closed.He pressed the intercom. “Who is it?” Amanda's voice came through the speaker, making his heart beat a little faster.“It's Raymond.”Silence followed. He waited, hoping she would say something, anything, that would give him a reason to believe she hadn't decided to shut him out completely.Finally, she answered, “What do you want?”“To speak with you.”“About what?”“Yesterday.”“There's nothing to discuss, Raymond. I returned your folder. Your father received me, and I left. Everything is settled.”“Not everything.” Raymond said sounding concerned.“That's you

"You came back."Marcos stood in the doorway of his office, his expression caught between irritation and something else that looked almost like hope. Katie smiled. It was a careful smile—small, fragile, designed to make him feel needed."I did. We weren't finished."The Starlight Hotel was quiet at this hour.The lobby lights were dimmed. The reception desk was empty. Everyone had gone home except for the night manager—Marcos—who worked late every evening, reviewing paperwork, checking security logs, doing whatever it was that lonely men did when they had nowhere else to be.Katie had learned his routine over the past few days. She had watched him. She had noted the time he arrived, the time he left, the way he walked to his car alone. She had studied him like a hunter studied prey.Tonight, she was ready.She had dressed carefully.The dress was black—simple, elegant, nothing flashy. But it hugged her curves in ways that were impossible to ignore. Her hair was down, curled softly aro