Semua Bab FORSAKEN WIFE, NOW A BILLIONAIRE'S GREATEST REGRET: Bab 61 - Bab 70

The name hung in the air between us, a ghost made sound. Isabella. The world, so solid and peaceful a moment before, tilted on its axis. The gentle lapping of the waves below the deck now sounded like a relentless, mocking tide.“Your… what?” The words were ash in my mouth. My heart was a frantic, trapped bird beating against my ribs. This wasn’t happening. This was a cruel joke, a nightmare clawing its way up from a past we had buried deep.Arthur didn’t move. He just stared at the phone in his hand as if it had transformed into a venomous snake.“Arthur!” My voice was sharper now, frayed with a panic I hadn’t felt in a lifetime. “Talk to me. Who was that?”He blinked, slowly, and his gaze lifted to meet mine. The shock in his eyes was being rapidly replaced by a dawning, sickening horror. “It was a woman. Her voice… she sounded young.” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “She said… ‘Tell Arthur Gonzalez that Isabella is calling. His daughter.’”“That’s impossible,” I stated

Arthur’s hand hung in the space between them, a silent, desperate plea for a connection that was fifty years too late. Isabella looked at it, then back to his face, her expression unchanging. She did not reach out. The moment stretched, taut and excruciating, until Arthur’s hand slowly fell back to the table, the rejection hitting him with a visible, physical weight.“There are practicalities to discuss,” she said, her voice returning to its businesslike calm. She reached into her bag again, and this time, she withdrew a simple, cream-colored business card. She placed it on the table next to the velvet box. “My contact information. I’m staying at The Regency downtown. I’ll give you time to… process.”Process. As if the resurrection of his dead child was a corporate merger.She stood, smoothing her coat. “I know this is a shock. But the past cannot be changed. Only the future can be managed.” Her eyes swept over both of us, finally lingering on me. “I look forward to speaking with you

The silence in the living room was absolute, broken only by the frantic hammering of my own heart. The grainy, silent image of Isabella’s lips forming those three damning words—It is done—was burned onto the back of my eyelids.Arthur made a sound, a low, wounded animal groan. He buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking. This wasn't just a threat anymore; it was a personal, intimate betrayal. The daughter he had just begun to mourn and celebrate in the same shattered breath was a viper we had invited to our table.I stood up, my body moving on autopilot, the adrenaline sharpening my focus to a fine point. "Michael!" I called out, my voice cutting through the heavy air.He appeared from the hallway. "The sweep is in progress, Mrs. Gonzalez. Nothing so far.""It doesn't matter," I said, shoving my phone into his hands, the video still frozen on Isabella's cold, triumphant face. "She's part of it. This was a setup from the beginning."Michael's eyes scanned the video, his profe

The voice from the shadows held a casual, almost bored authority that was more terrifying than any shout. It was the man from the phone, the architect of this nightmare. But my eyes weren't on the darkness behind us. They were locked on Isabella.That flicker in her gaze—it wasn't just complicity. It was ownership. The way she stood, the slight, almost imperceptible tilt of her chin as the man spoke… she wasn't just following orders. She was giving them."Chloe, baby, it's going to be okay," Arthur whispered, his voice thick with a desperate, futile reassurance. He took a step forward, his hands raised.Isabella moved with fluid, startling speed. She didn't pull a gun. She simply placed a hand on Chloe's small shoulder, her long, manicured fingers resting there with a possessive weight that made my blood run cold. Chloe flinched, a muffled sob escaping the gag."That's far enough, Arthur," Isabella said, her voice echoing softly in the cavernous space. "We wouldn't want anyone to get

The shrill, digital beeping was a frantic heartbeat in the dead silence of the warehouse. 00:00:05.Lorenzo’s cool composure shattered. "You lying bitch!" he roared, lunging not at us, but at Isabella, his hand snapping out to grip her arm. "A double-cross? After everything we gave you!""I swear, I don't know what that is!" Isabella shot back, her own mask of control crumbling into genuine, wide-eyed panic. She tried to pull away, her gaze darting between the timer and Lorenzo's enraged face. "Why would I sabotage this?"00:00:04.The unified front of our enemies had fractured in an instant. They were as trapped and terrified as we were.Arthur didn't waste a second. While their attention was divided, he scrambled forward, his surgeon's hands frantically working at the ropes binding Chloe to the chair. The gag came first. "It's okay, sweetheart, it's okay," he murmured, his voice a desperate mantra.00:00:03."Gwen, the ropes!" he yelled, his fingers struggling with the tight knots.