Married to the wrong twin, loved by the other のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

Victoria looked back at me, her hand still on the door handle. She didn't speak, but her raised eyebrow asked the question clearly enough.I wanted to tell her to slam it shut. I wanted to lock the deadbolt, turn up the television, and pretend the man on the other side of the door didn't exist. But the memory of his face in the penthouse—the way he had looked so utterly hollowed out when I walked away—refused to leave me alone."Five minutes," I said, my voice flat.Victoria opened the door fully. Julian stepped inside, and the sight of him was almost enough to break my resolve. He wore the same rumpled suit from the night before, now creased beyond saving. Dark shadows carved hollows beneath his eyes, and his hair stood on end as though he had spent hours dragging his hands through it."Thank you," he said, his voice scraping against the silence."Don't thank me yet." I crossed my arms, planting myself in the center of the room like a fortress. "You have five minutes. Start talking."

Morning light spilled through the cabin’s dusty windows, painting the wooden floor in pale gold. I hadn’t slept. The ledger sat open on the armchair beside me, its secrets burning holes in my mind.Project Nightfall.I had spent the last six hours reading and rereading every entry connected to it. The pattern was undeniable. For fifteen years—long before Adrian and I had ever met—money had been funneled into something at the Blackwood estate. Millions of dollars, moved in increments small enough to avoid suspicion but frequent enough to fund something massive.And then, six months ago, the entries had stopped.Six months ago. Right around the time Adrian and I had gotten engaged.My phone buzzed on the side table. Julian.Board meeting in two hours. Marcus is briefing me now. We’re going to push for a vote of no confidence on Adrian’s remaining proxy seats. It’s risky. If it fails, he regains control.I typed back quickly. It won’t fail. I need you to do something for me.Anything.Be

The car hummed along the dark highway, the city lights of Manhattan still miles away. Victoria was asleep in the back seat, her head resting against the window, exhausted from the adrenaline crash. Marcus drove in focused silence, his eyes darting to the rearview mirror every few seconds to ensure the black SUV hadn't reappeared.I sat in the passenger seat, my fingers trembling as I unfolded the thick, yellowed paper from the envelope.Richard Blackwood’s handwriting was sharp and unforgiving, the pen strokes pressed so hard into the paper that they had nearly torn it.“If you are reading this, I am dead. And I suspect you know who killed me.”My heart hammered against my ribs. I read on, the words spilling out in a cold, calculated confession.“I built Project Nightfall to protect this family. To ensure that no rival, no government, and no enemy could ever destroy the Blackwood empire. It was a weapon of absolute control. But I made a fatal error in my final years. I taught my son h

The private jet banked sharply, dropping through a thick ceiling of gray clouds. Below us, the Scottish Highlands stretched out like a rugged painting—emerald hills, dark lochs, and ancient stone. It was wild, desolate, and utterly breathtaking.“We’re beginning our descent,” the pilot announced over the intercom. “Prepare for landing.”I looked across the cabin at Julian, who was sitting with a bag of ice pressed to his bruised ribs. He had refused to let the medic on the jet look at him until I had checked the hard drive three times to make sure it wasn't damaged.“You should have let the doctor examine you,” I said, moving to sit beside him.“I’ve had worse,” he replied, wincing as he shifted. “Besides, the adrenaline hasn’t worn off yet.”Victoria and Marcus were sitting across from us, both hunched over their laptops. The moment we hit Wi-Fi range over the Atlantic, Victoria had started drafting the expose, while Marcus worked on securing our digital footprint.“The landing strip

The highlands wind howled against the stone walls of the manor, but inside the great room, it was dead silent.Julian stared at me, the realization dawning on his face like a slow-acting poison. "The kill-switch wasn't just to destroy the servers. It was to lock Adrian out of them."Marcus was already on his feet, typing furiously on the secure laptop. "If Adrian still has access to Project Nightfall, he doesn't need his personal bank accounts. The project has its own dark pool of funds. If he triggers the algorithm, he can crash the global markets overnight just to buy himself a distraction and a way out."Victoria looked at me, her face pale. "How long does it take to trigger the protocol?""Minutes," Julian said, his voice hollow. "Maybe less. If he's desperate, he'll do it. He'll burn the whole world down just to watch us burn with him."I stood up, my hands balled into fists at my sides. "Then we need to use the kill-switch. Now.""The hard drive is here," Marcus said, holding up