A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother novel Chapter 357

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Congratulation

Congratulations

Amber POV

We were far enough from the island that I had finally stopped watching it.

That was when the explosion came.

Even through the roar of the helicopter blades, we heard it.

A deep, violent sound that seemed to travel across the ocean itself.

Everyone turned toward the windows.

“What was that?” I asked.

Mr. Stait was already speaking into his headset.

“All aircraft, report.”

One by one, the pilots responded.

Nobody had been hit.

Then Jason pointed through the window.

“Amber.”

I looked.

A massive cloud of smoke was rising from the island.

From the direction of the beach.

My stomach twisted.

“That was bigger than the others.”

Secretary Peterson stared at the smoke.

“Much bigger.”

Mr. Stait said something quietly into his radio before looking at us.

“The beach.”

Nobody needed him to explain further.

The place where the bodies had been.

The evidence.

Possibly the people responsible.

Gone.

Jason tightened his hand around mine.

“At least we’re not there anymore.”

+15 Bonus

1/10

+15 8cnus

I rested my head against his shoulder.

once, I had absolutely nothing sarcastic to say.

It took hours before we reached the mainland.

By then, I was exhausted enough that all I wanted was a shower, food, and approximately three days of sleep.

Apparently, the universe disagreed.

The moment the helicopter doors opened, flashes exploded in my face.

Reporters.

Dozens of them.

“Mrs. Sun!” 1

“President Sun!”

“How many people died?”

“Was Evermore responsible?”

“Is it true people were being hunted?”

“What happened on the island?”

“Mrs. Sun, did the competition become a military attack?”

I stared at Mr. Stait.

“You couldn’t clear the landing area?”

He grimaced.

“We tried.”

Jason climbed down first and immediately reached for me.

I accepted his hand.

The moment my feet touched the ground, another reporter shouted something that made me stop.

“Mrs. Sun! Have you seen the island owner’s final statement?”

I turned.

“Final statement?”

Mr. Stait’s phone rang.

He answered.

His expression changed almost immediately.

“What?”

Secretary Peterson approached him.

2/10

Congranagram

Mr. Stait listened for several seconds.

Then he lowered the phone.

“The island owner is dead.”

Silence. 1

Even some of the reporters stopped shouting.

“What happened?” Jason asked.

Mr. Stait looked toward the smoke still visible on the horizon.

“He took his own life.”

My stomach dropped.

“And before he did,” Mr. Stait continued, “he released a prerecorded statement.”

One of the journalists held up a tablet.

“It’s broadcasting everywhere.”

I looked at Jason.

He nodded.

So we watched.

The old man appeared on the screen.

He looked completely different from the cheerful host who had welcomed us to his island.

Older.

Exhausted.

Empty.

“You were told this was a game.”

His voice was remarkably calm.

“It was.”

“But the soldiers were never the ones being tested.”

The camera moved closer.

“The game was for your governments.”

The reporters around us fell completely silent.

“I wanted to know which countries protected their people when there was nothing to gain.”

My chest tightened.

Then documents appeared beside him.

+158gnus

3/10

Military records. 1

Photographs.

Death certificates.

“Evermore took my son.”

More documents appeared.

“And then they took my grandsons.”

Two photographs appeared.

Children.

Tiny children.

My hand flew toward my mouth.

They couldn’t have been older than toddlers.

“They were three years old when they were placed into a special military program.”

Someone behind me whispered, “Jesus.”

The old man’s expression didn’t change.

“I asked for them back.”

Another document appeared.

“They returned them to me in urns.”

Nobody around me moved.

I had known pieces of the story.

I had read the files.

I had seen the reports.

But hearing it from him was different.

Facts became people.

Documents became children.

And suddenly the madness on that island had a face.

Not justification.

Never justification.

But pain.

He continued.

Country after country.

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4/10

He showed evidence of what had happened to his family.

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The son who died after an ambulance couldn’t reach a hospital because protesters had blocked the road.

The couple killed by a truck driver whose punishment amounted to almost nothing.

The family murdered in Starlight, whose killer walked free because the investigation had been destroyed by incompetence.

Gene Vincent.

The name appeared on the screen.

I felt Jason stiffen beside me.

Then the old man changed subjects.

“But governments were not the only ones who used my island.”

My attention sharpened.

Pictures appeared.

Private jets.

Boats.

People arriving at night.

Some faces were blurred.

Others weren’t.

“For years, wealthy families used this island as a hunting ground.”

The crowd erupted.

“What?”

“Hunting what?”

The old man answered before anyone could process it.

“People.”

My blood went cold.

“Men. Women. Sometimes children.”

Jason’s jaw clenched.

“They paid for access.”

Bank transfers appeared.

“And I accepted their money.”

At least he admitted it.

“Sometimes because I was greedy.”

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Congratulations

He paused.

Sometimes because I was afraid.”1

More documents appeared.

“Eventually, I was told very clearly that if I refused them access, I would lose my life as well.”

The video continued.

Names.

Dates.

Payments.

Families.

Not everything was there.

But enough.

Enough to start investigations.

Enough to destroy reputations.

Enough to make governments ask questions they could no longer ignore.

Then the old man leaned toward the camera.

“I have one final decision to announce.”

A document appeared.

Property transfer.

I barely looked at it.

Until Jason squeezed my hand.

Hard.

“Amber.”

“What?”

“Look.”

I looked.

Then blinked.

AMBER ASHER SUN.

“No.” 1

Jason stared at the screen.

“Apparently yes.”

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6/10

Congratulate

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“No.” 1

Stait looked suspiciously amused.

I pointed at the tablet.

“No.” 1

The old man’s prerecorded voice continued.

“After considerable thought, I decided that no government will inherit my island.”

I stared at the document.

“None of you deserve it.”

That caused an uncomfortable reaction among the government officials present.

“Instead, ownership will transfer to the only person on that island who reminded me that genuinely good people may still exist.”

My mouth fell open.

Jason started laughing.

“This isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny.”

“Jason!”

The old man’s face returned.

“Amber Asher.”

Every camera around me immediately turned in my direction.

Wonderful.

“You discovered the truth.”

I stopped breathing.

“And when you did, you could have protected only yourself.”

Images appeared from the communications system.

My messages.

My warnings.

The teams I had contacted.

“You could have warned River City and abandoned everyone else.”

Another transmission played.

My voice telling Francis to warn the other teams.

“You could have protected your husband and your own country.”

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Another.

telling the Starlight team that the beach was compromised.

“Instead, you warned everyone you could reach.”

Cloud Country.

Snake City.

Lake View.

Sum.

Starlight.

Everyone.

“Even people you considered enemies.”