All Chapters of Reborn as the Ruthless Heir’s Contract Wife: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

The lights died before I could answer Caelan’s call.Mara seized my arm and dragged me behind the thick stone wall beside the staircase. Gideon dropped behind the overturned dining table with his gun raised toward the shattered windows.Lucien remained on his knees in the center of the foyer.“Move!” I shouted.He threw himself sideways just as another bullet entered through the broken window. It struck the marble floor where he had been kneeling.“That shot came from inside the grounds,” Mara said.Her voice remained calm, but her free hand was already pressing the alarm button on her watch.Mercer House had emergency generators. They should have activated within three seconds.Five seconds passed.Then ten.The house remained dark.“They disabled the generators before cutting the main supply,” Gideon said. “Someone was already here.”Footsteps moved on the upper floor.Slow.Deliberate.Mara signaled to the two guards near the front entrance. One moved toward the stairs while the ot

Lucien’s plan was simple enough to be dangerous.Crowne believed my separation from Caelan had created an opening. Lucien wanted to make that opening appear wider.“You want people to think I’m returning to you?” I asked.“Not returning. Listening.”“That is already too much.”We sat in Gideon’s study with Mara, Ronan, Helena Ward, and Caelan. My husband had returned from Voss Tower after identifying two attackers as former Arden employees.He stood beside the fireplace, separated from me by the length of the room.Lucien occupied the center like a man giving a business presentation instead of proposing that we exploit the collapse of my marriage.“Crowne will not believe Elara has forgiven me,” Lucien said. “They will believe she is angry enough at Caelan to use me.”Caelan’s expression was cold. “You seem comfortable with that role.”“I’ve played worse.”“That is not a defense.”“I’m not defending myself.”Helena tapped the table. “Explain what this gains us.”“Access. Octavian’s me

The first truth Lucien ever told me did not free him.It condemned him.For years, he claimed that Crowne deceived everyone. He blamed Octavian, Edmund, Darius, Selene, and the hunger created by being raised between two families.Those things influenced him.But they did not sign the documents.They did not forge my name.They did not stand beside me at Gideon’s funeral while knowing my father’s coffin might be empty.Lucien did those things.And for once, he admitted it.“I knew you were innocent,” he repeated. “I let the board blame you because removing your voting power gave me control.”I remained seated before the computer.“What did they accuse me of?”“You authorized transfers through the Mercer relief fund.”“I never had access to that account.”“I created access under your name.”“And when the investigation began?”“I deleted the records connecting me.”“You testified against me.”“Yes.”The memory returned.A long table.Mercer directors refusing to meet my eyes.Lucien seat

Lucien wanted to leave immediately.Caelan stopped him at the library door.“If you go alone, you die before reaching Selene.”“If I wait, they kill her.”“They want you emotional.”“I am aware of what the file said.”“Then stop proving it correct.”Lucien shoved Caelan’s arm away.For one dangerous second, both brothers looked ready to return to the rivalry Crowne had spent years feeding.I stepped between them.“Lucien, look at the photograph.”“I saw it.”“No. Look.”I enlarged the image of Selene.She sat bound to a wooden chair in a dark room. The silver crown across her chest reflected a narrow line of light.“What do you see?” I asked.“Selene.”“What else?”His patience cracked. “This is not the time for a lesson.”“That response is why Crowne can still control you.”He forced himself to look again.“The crown is covering her hands,” he said.“Yes.”Her wrists appeared tied behind the chair, but the angle of her right shoulder was wrong. One hand was likely free beneath the si

We replayed the recording from the beginning.Not because we failed to hear Octavian.Because none of us wanted to accept what he claimed.Crowne did not control the returns.I did.“That could be another manipulation,” Caelan said.“It probably is,” I replied.But my memories were already moving through every event.My death beneath the bridge.Caelan selecting my name.The machine locking onto our joined hands.My return at 7:13 on my wedding morning.Octavian might not control the process, but he understood enough to frighten us with the possibility that I did.Ronan examined the audio.“The recording is genuine. No signs of editing.”“That proves Octavian said it,” Mara answered. “Not that it is true.”Lucien remained near the door.“What does Crowne gain by convincing Elara she controls time?”“Responsibility,” Caelan said.I looked at him.“If I believe every altered timeline comes from me, every death becomes my fault.”“And every person who wants another chance will try to con