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32. The Last Gala Part 2
Veröffentlichungsdatum:
15.07.2026 20:46:08
Aktuellstes Kapitel
The Wife He Chose Too Late 39. The Truth
Third POVDamien stared at Olivia as though he'd forgotten how to breathe.The hallway suddenly felt impossibly small.Employees continued walking past in the distance, phones rang somewhere on another floor, and the elevators opened and closed with their usual quiet chime, but every sound seemed muffled beneath the pounding of his own heartbeat."What do you mean?" His voice was barely audible.Olivia lowered her head for a moment, pressing trembling fingers against her forehead as if trying to steady herself before answering. She had spent an entire week holding this secret inside, waiting for the right moment, and now that it had finally arrived, the words refused to come.Behind them, the conference room door opened.Emma stepped into the hallway, intending to give them privacy, but the look on Olivia's face stopped her in her tracks.She knew something was terribly wrong and neither of them noticed she was there.Olivia slowly lifted her eyes to Damien and for several long moment
The Wife He Chose Too Late 38. The Memorial
One week had passed.The headlines had changed, but the story hadn't.Every news station in New York carried the same update, though the urgency that had consumed the city during those first desperate days had long since faded. The live broadcasts from the Hudson River had disappeared, the helicopters no longer circled overhead, and the rescue boats that had spent days combing the water had finally returned to their docks.The search was over.Authorities had searched every section of the collapsed Ferris wheel. Divers had descended beneath twisted steel until it became too dangerous to continue. The Coast Guard had expanded the search through the Hudson River, into New York Harbor, and along miles of surrounding shoreline. Every possible lead had been followed. Every recovered victim had been identified.Every family had been given answers except one. Claire Laurent remained the only passenger who had never been found.Officially, her status now read:Missing. Presumed dead.No body
The Wife He Chose Too Late 37. Missing
Damien's POVMorning arrived without anyone noticing.The darkness that had hidden the wreckage gave way to pale grey skies, revealing the full devastation left behind. What had once been a Ferris wheel now lay scattered across the waterfront and submerged beneath the Hudson. Twisted steel protruded from the river at impossible angles while cranes, rescue boats and Coast Guard vessels surrounded the collapse like silent sentries.The search hadn't stopped.It had simply grown larger.Police boats patrolled farther downriver while Coast Guard cutters swept across the Hudson toward New York Harbor. Rescue helicopters circled overhead, their blades chopping through the morning air as cameras from news helicopters hovered at a distance, broadcasting the tragedy to millions of people who had gone to sleep believing the Laurent Foundation Gala had been a success.Now every television station carried the same headline.Ferris Wheel Collapse at Charity Gala.Multiple Fatalities Confirmed.One
The Wife He Chose Too Late 36. The Long Night
Damien's POVThe first rescue boat reached the wreckage within minutes.Its powerful spotlight swept across the collapsed Ferris wheel, illuminating twisted steel jutting from the Hudson like the broken bones of some enormous beast. Firefighters climbed carefully over the mangled framework while rescue divers stood at the edge of the boat, fastening oxygen tanks onto their backs before disappearing beneath the black water one after another.The moment the first diver surfaced, every person waiting behind the police barricades held their breath. He shook his head and nobody spoke as he disappeared beneath the water again.The waterfront no longer resembled the place where hundreds of people had laughed and celebrated only an hour earlier. Music had been replaced by sirens. Champagne glasses had been replaced by shattered concrete covered in broken steel and glass. The warm lights from the gala had given way to floodlights so bright they turned the night into an eerie imitation of dayl
The Wife He Chose Too Late 35. The Collapse
Damien's POV"No!"The word ripped itself from my throat just as another deafening crack split the night.Time seemed to slow.One of the Ferris wheel's massive support columns folded inward with a scream of twisting steel, and for one impossible heartbeat the entire structure hung suspended, balanced between standing and falling. Every person on the waterfront stopped moving. Hundreds of eyes lifted toward the towering wheel as though willing it to remain upright.Then gravity won the Ferris wheel lurched forward and people screamed.The enormous structure groaned under its own weight as gondolas swung wildly through the air, smashing into one another with explosions of shattered glass. Steel twisted like paper, bolts fired from the framework and ricocheted across the pier, and the sound of tearing metal swallowed every other noise around us."Claire!"I tore free from the operator and ran. Someone shouted behind me and another person grabbed for my arm but I threw them off without e
The Wife He Chose Too Late 34. One Last Ride Part 2
Claire’s POVI should have walked away.The thought crossed my mind more than once as Damien and I made our way toward the Ferris wheel with the last group of guests.The waterfront looked beautiful at night. Strings of warm lights reflected across the river while soft music drifted from the ballroom behind us. Couples strolled hand in hand, children laughed as they ran between their parents, and the giant Ferris wheel turned slowly against the Manhattan skyline.For a few moments, it almost felt peaceful.Damien glanced sideways at me. "You still have time to change your mind."I looked up at the enormous wheel towering above us and sighed."I've been trying to change my mind since we left the ballroom."A quiet chuckle escaped him. "I knew you'd say that.""I wasn't joking.""I know." His smile lingered. "You'll survive."I looked at him. "If I don't, I'm haunting you."He laughed properly this time, the sound warm and effortless. "I suppose I'd deserve it.""You definitely would."
The Wife He Chose Too Late 10. The First Attack
Claire's POVThe problem with Tiffany Morgan was that she never did anything obvious because if she had openly flirted with Damien, I could have been angry if she had insulted me in front of other people, I could have defended myself and if she had behaved like the villain I wanted her to be, at le
The Wife He Chose Too Late 9. The First Encounter
Claire's POVBy noon, I had accomplished almost nothing. On paper, my morning had been productive. I had answered emails, approved schedules, finalized travel arrangements for three executives, and reorganized next week's board meeting agenda.In reality, I couldn't have told anyone what half of th
The Wife He Chose Too Late 8. Back In His World
Claire's POVI barely slept again but the difference was that this time I wasn't staring at an empty side of the bed. Damien had eventually come upstairs sometime after midnight. I knew because I heard him moving quietly through the bedroom while he assumed I was asleep.Neither of us had spoken an
The Wife He Chose Too Late 7. The Explanation
Claire's POVDamien stood in the foyer for a moment as though he wasn't entirely certain he wanted to be there and the sight alone told me more than I wanted to know.His suit jacket was gone. His white shirt was creased in places that suggested he had been wearing it far longer than intended. Dark
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