A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother novel Chapter 361

Today

Amber POV

The children found us before we could find them.

Jason and I were still sitting at the breakfast table, surrounded by coffee, half-eaten toast, and enough international criminal evidence to ruin several governments, when I heard running footsteps upstairs.

Then more footsteps.

Then-

“Mom!”

I barely had time to turn.

Alice slammed into me.

I caught her instinctively, laughing as she wrapped both arms around my neck.

“Careful, sweetheart.”

She immediately loosened her grip.

“The babies!”

“They’re fine.”

Alex arrived seconds later.

Unlike Alice, he didn’t throw himself at me.

He stopped.

Just stood there staring at us.

Jason immediately pushed his chair back.

“Hey, buddy.”

Alex’s lower lip trembled.

“You came back.”

That destroyed me.

I opened one arm.

“Of course we came back.”

He crossed the room so quickly that I barely saw him move.

One second he was standing there.

The next, his arms were around me too.

Jason joined us, wrapping himself around all three of us.

“We’re here,” he whispered.

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Iris and Rose appeared next.

Rose ran straight toward Jason.

Iris didn’t.

She stood in the doorway.

Trying very hard to look composed.

Then she walked over and hugged both of us.

Hard.

Nobody said anything for several minutes.

Nobody needed to.

Eventually Alice pulled away.

“You’re not going anywhere today.”

I smiled.

“Good morning to you too.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I,” Alex added.

Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t you two have school?”

Four horrified faces stared at him.

“No,” Alice said.

Jason looked at me.

I looked at him.

“Technically,” he began-

“Don’t,” Iris warned.

I covered my mouth to hide my laugh.

Rose crossed her arms.

“We thought you were going to die.”

That ended the humor immediately.

Jason crouched in front of her.

“We’re okay.”

“But you almost weren’t.”

气

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“No,” he admitted. “We almost weren’t.”

Alice tightened her grip around my hand.

“So we’re not going to school.”

I should have argued.

Education was important.

Routine was important.

Normalcy was important.

But after everything that had happened, I couldn’t bring myself to force them away from us.

I looked at Jason.

“Family day?”

His answer was immediate.

“Family day.”

Alice screamed.

Alex smiled. 1

Rose cheered.

Even Iris looked relieved.

I pointed at all of them.

“One day.”

“Two,” Alice negotiated.

“One.”

“One and a half.”

“How exactly do you attend half a school day tomorrow?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

Jason laughed.

“She’s definitely your daughter.”

we did absolutely nothing important.

No investigations.

No Vincents.

No island.

No governments.

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At least, that was the rule.

phone went into a drawer.

Jason turned his off completely.

Mrs. Sun nearly applauded when she saw us do it.

We ate breakfast together.

Alice insisted on making pancakes and produced something that looked like fried cement.

Alex beat Jason at chess.

Twice.

Jason demanded a rematch.

Alex beat him again.

Rose dragged us into the gardens.

Iris pretended she was too old to participate in whatever ridiculous game the younger children invented, then became the most competitive person there.

For several hours, the world became small again.

Just us.

The castle.

Our children.

No explosions.

No helicopters.

No murder islands.

It was wonderful.

That afternoon, I found Jason staring at me.

“What?”

He continued staring.

“Jason.”

“Doctor.”

I frowned.

“What about one?”

“I want you to see one.”

“I’m fine.”

“You were trapped on an island.”

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“So were you.”

ouring a category-five hurricane.”

“Underground.”

“After hiking through a jungle.”

“I took breaks.”

“Amber.”

I sighed.

“I’m fine.”

His eyes dropped toward my stomach.

I was almost five months pregnant now.

There was no hiding it anymore.

The twins had apparently decided subtlety wasn’t a family characteristic.

Jason placed his hand against my stomach.

“I know you feel fine.”

“Then-”

“But I want to know that you’re fine.”

His voice softened.

“And that they’re fine.”

I stopped arguing.

The island had been stressful.

Physically and emotionally.

I’d climbed a mountain.

Spent days underground.

Barely slept.

Survived explosions.

And somehow, in the middle of all of it, I’d almost forgotten that my body was already doing something incredibly demanding.

I covered his hand with mine.

“Okay.”

Jason looked suspicious.

“Okay?”

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“I’ll make an appointment.”

Today.”

“Jason.”

“Tomorrow.”

I laughed.

“Tomorrow.”

He kissed my forehead.

“Thank you.”

“You realize you’re also getting checked.”

His smile disappeared.

“What?” 1

“You spent twelve hours driving without stopping before this whole disaster, then ran around an island while people shot at you, survived a hurricane, and barely slept.”

“I’m fine.”

I smiled sweetly.

“Interesting.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t.”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

“Amber.”

“Doctor.”

He sighed.

“Fine.”

Marriage was beautiful.

Our peaceful family day lasted until approximately four in the afternoon.

A guard contacted us from the castle entrance.

“Mrs. Sun?”

“Yes?”

“There’s a young man here asking for Iris.”

I looked toward Iris.

She froze.

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“Who?”

The guard checked.

“Franklin Owen.”

I slowly smiled.

Iris immediately pointed at me.

“No.”

“I haven’t said anything.”

“Your face said it.”

Jason looked between us.

“What am I missing?”

“Nothing,” Iris said quickly.

The guard continued.

“He says she didn’t arrive at school today and he was worried.”

My smile widened.

Iris groaned.

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“I still haven’t said anything.”

“You were going to.”

“Absolutely.”

Jason looked delighted now.

“Franklin?”

Iris covered her face.

“Can everyone stop?”

Alice appeared from nowhere.

“Is Iris’s boyfriend here?”

“HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!”

Rose shouted from the hallway.

“Franklin’s here?”

Iris looked toward the ceiling.

“I hate this family.”

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“No, you don’t,” I said.

She glared at me.

Then immediately started fixing her hair.

I raised an eyebrow.

She stopped.

“Don’t.”

I smiled innocently.

“Didn’t say anything.”

A few minutes later, Franklin walked into the sitting room.

He looked genuinely worried.

Until he saw Iris.

Then his entire body relaxed.

“You’re okay.”

Iris blinked.

“Of course I’m okay.”

“You weren’t at school.”

“My parents just came back from an island where people tried to kill them.”

Franklin paused.

“Fair.”

He looked toward Jason and me.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t,” Jason said.

I smiled.

“We’re having a family day.”

Franklin nodded.

“I’ll leave.”

Iris spoke immediately.

“You can stay.”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

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I turned toward Jason.

Jason turned toward me.

Alice’s mouth fell open.

Rose started smiling.

Alex wisely looked away.

Franklin stared at Iris.

“Really?”

Iris’s face turned red.

“I mean… you’re already here.”

“Right.”

“And it would be stupid to drive all the way back.”

“Obviously.”

“Exactly.”

Franklin smiled.

“Then I’ll stay.”

I leaned toward Jason.

“Not her boyfriend.”

He whispered back.

“Clearly.”

Iris threw a pillow at us.

And somehow, surrounded by laughter, children, terrible pancakes, an embarrassed teenager and her absolutely- not-boyfriend, I realized something.

This was what we had almost lost.

Not companies.

Not islands.

Not fortunes.

This.

A ridiculous afternoon with the people we loved.

Tomorrow, I would go to the doctor.

Tomorrow, the investigation would continue.

Tomorrow, the Vincents would still exist.

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school

Amber POV

Franklin had barely been inside the castle for twenty minutes when Jason finally asked the question that had

apparently been bothering him.

“Why were you at school?”

Franklin stopped with a cookie halfway to his mouth.

“What?”

Jason stared at him.

“You were on an island three days ago.”

“So were you.”

“I wasn’t at school this morning.”

“You’re also not eighteen.”

I covered my mouth.

Jason narrowed his eyes.

“That’s not the point.”

Franklin ate the cookie.

“What is the point?”

“You participated in an international military exercise that turned into an actual massacre, survived a category- five hurricane, spent three days trapped on an island, and then went back to school?”

When he put it that way…

Yes.

It sounded ridiculous.

Iris looked at Franklin.

“Actually, why did you go?”

Franklin shrugged.

“My mom made me.”

I blinked.

“Excuse me?”

“My mother woke me up this morning and told me I had already missed enough classes.”

Alice frowned.

“Doesn’t she know you were on the island?”

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Franklin suddenly became very interested in the plate in front of him.

Jason noticed immediately.

“Franklin.”

“What?”

“Does your mother know you were on the island?”

Silence.

I sat straighter.

“Franklin Owen.”

He sighed.

“No.”

Iris’s mouth fell open.

“What?!”

“I didn’t tell her.”

“You participated in a military operation without telling your mother?”

“It was supposed to be a competition!”

“That isn’t better!”

Franklin held up both hands.

“She wouldn’t have let me go!”

I stared at him.

Something wasn’t adding up.

“Wait.”

Everyone looked at me.

“You turned eighteen the day the competition started.”

Franklin nodded.

“Yes.”

I slowly narrowed my eyes.

“Did you…”

Jason understood at exactly the same moment.

“You ran away.”

Franklin grimaced.

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“I wouldn’t call it running away.”

What would you call it?” Iris demanded.

“Leaving without obtaining parental authorization after becoming legally old enough to make my own decisions.”

Jason stared at him.

“That’s running away with extra words.”

I burst out laughing.

Franklin pointed at him.

“I was eighteen.”

“For approximately five minutes!” Iris exclaimed.

“Still counts.”

Apparently, the moment Franklin officially turned eighteen, he had left home, met his military contact, and disappeared to participate in the competition without bothering to inform Mrs. Owen.

Then he’d returned after surviving a massacre and a hurricane.

And because he hadn’t told his mother where he’d gone in the first place, she hadn’t believed his explanation.

“She thought I was lying,” Franklin explained.

I stared at him.

“You came home after disappearing for days and told your mother that you had secretly joined an international military competition, got trapped on an island where people were being hunted, survived a category-five hurricane, and were evacuated by the military.”