Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me novel Chapter 118

Chapter 118 Cornered On The Glass Bridge

The drive back to the safe house offered no comfort.

I sat in the back of the black sedan and watched the frozen landscape blur past the tinted windows. I destroyed Vanessa Cole. I stripped away her career, her. reputation, and her luxury loft. I left her crying on a white leather sofa, surrounded by the wreckage of her own greed.

The revenge tasted like ash. It did not heal the scars from three years ago. It did not erase the nights I spent crying in a dark, unheated apartment. It only confirmed the brutal reality of my past. I survived a war zone, and the casualties included everyong I used to trust.

Marcus steered the car down the long, winding road leading to the secure property. Tall pine trees cast long shadows across the pavement. The heavy iron gates parted, allowing the vehicle to enter the secluded driveway.

I stepped out into the freezing wind. Eduardo Valdez stood on the front porch. He held a digital tablet in his hand. His face was a mask of tense concentration.

“The local networks remain quiet,” Eduardo reported. He closed the heavy front door behind me and engaged the steel deadbolts. “Tristan Johnston pulled his private investigators out of Port Sterling this morning. The sudden withdrawal is suspicious.”

“He is regrouping,” I said. I unbuttoned my wool coat and handed it to Lucia. “He knows the clinic records are a dead end. He is changing his strategy.”

“We need to stay ahead of him,” Eduardo warned. He tapped the screen of his tablet. “But we have a logistical issue. Elias is due for his scheduled pediatric checkup. He needs his standard immunizations today. The clinic called an hour ago to confirm the appointment.”

I closed my eyes. A dull ache throbbed behind my temples.

I wanted to cancel the appointment. I wanted to keep my son locked behind iron gates and armed guards until Tristan Johnston forgot we existed. But I could not let my paranoia compromise my child’s health.

“We use the Sterling Medical Center,” I decided. I opened my eyes. “It is a private facility. Aegis funds their burn unit. We hold high-level clearance. Call ahead and secure the underground VIP entrance.”

Eduardo nodded and lifted his phone to his ear.

I walked into the living room. Elias sat on the thick woven rug, playing with a set of wooden trains, He wore a dark blue sweater and soft gray trousers. He looked up, his face breaking into a bright, innocent smile.

“Mama!” he cheered. He held up a wooden train car.

I knelt on the floor and pulled him into a tight embrace. I buried my face in his dark, curling hair. He felt warm and solid against my chest. He was a perfect, living piece of my heart, completely unaware of the billionaires tearing the city apart to claim him.

“We are going to see the doctor, my love,” I told him. I smoothed the hair back from his forehead. “You get to be a brave boy today.”

“The private elevator is out of service,” Eduardo announced. A sharp edge of irritation clipped his words. “Maintenance initiated an emergency recalibration. They locked the doors.”

My chest tightened. “How do we get back to the garage?”

“We have to use the secondary VIP exit on the opposite side of the building, Eduardo explained. “It requires us to cross the second- floor mezzanine.”

I did not like changes to the security plan. I liked controlled environments. But the facility was restricted. The public lacked access to this wing.

“Keep a tight formation,” I instructed.

We walked toward the end of the fourth-floor corridor. We took a restricted stairwell down two flights of stairs.

We emerged onto the second-floor mezzanine. It was a wide, open walkway constructed entirely of reinforced glass and white steel. The mezzanine stretched across the center of the building, suspending us directly over the main hospital atrium.

Massive skylights filtered the afternoon sun, casting bright, geometric patterns across the glass floor.

Elias let out a delighted gasp. He loved the bright lights and the open space. He pulled against my grip, wanting to run across the smooth surface.