The headlines came faster than I expected. I scoffed as I scrolled through the articles, gripping my phone tighter. They had found me. My location was still hidden, but my name was everywhere.
And Elias? He had done nothing to stop it. He and Sabrina let the media paint me as a criminal. Instead of correcting their false accusations, they pinned the blame entirely on me.
It wasn’t enough that they had already ruined my life. Now, they wanted me erased completely.
I stood, my hands shaking, my breathing uneven. “This isn’t happening.”
Across the room, Brandon watched me calmly.
“You expected them to clear your name?” he asked. “After everything?”
I turned to him, my jaw tight. “I expected Elias to do something.”
Brandon raised a brow. “And why would he?”
I didn’t answer. Because deep down, I knew the truth. Elias had never protected me before. Why would he start now?
Brandon took a sip of his coffee, completely unfazed. “Lucky for you, I have news.”
I turned my head slightly, narrowing my eyes. “What kind of news?”
He pulled out his phone, tapped on the screen, and then held it up.
A video. A grainy, black–and–white surveillance clip. I took a step forward, watching intently. It was footage from a parking garage.
Two figures stood by a car–one was a man in a suit. My breath caught.
Sabrina.
The clip had no sound, but the conversation was clear.
She was paying him.
Handing over a thick envelope of cash. Brandon clicked to another video. This time, Sabrina was outside a building, speaking into her phone. The subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen.
‘I don’t care. Make sure they both die from the accident so do it better. I want Veronica and that baby gone.”
The blood in my veins ran ice cold. My heart slammed against my ribs.
I looked at Brandon, barely able to form words. “How did you find this?”
He slipped his phone back into his pocket, his expression unreadable. “I have my ways.”
“That’s not an answer,” I said, my voice hoarse.
Brandon met my gaze. “I told you before–I’m willing to do everything for you.”
Something in his tone made my stomach twist. This man–this dangerous, frustrating man–had just handed me the proof I had dreamed of.
Solid evidence.
Sabrina had wanted me dead. Sabrina had wanted my child dead. She had planned everything.
5:30 pm
DDD
I gripped the edge of the table, my breath uneven. “I can end her with this.”
Brandon smirked. “Exactly.”
But before I could process what this meant, he spoke again.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
I lifted my gaze. He slid a document across the table.
I picked it up slowly, my hands still shaking from the video. The first thing I saw was the name of the company- Raines Corporation.
Confusion filled me. “Why are you showing me-”
Then I saw the signature at the bottom. Brandon Morrison.
My head snapped up. “Why is your name on Elias’s company paperwork?”
Brandon leaned back in his chair, completely at ease. “Because I own it now.”
My mouth went dry. “You what?”
Brandon’s smirk deepened. “During Elias’s financial collapse, I bought majority shares. Quietly. Anonymously.”
The room spun. Elias’s business–his empire–was now under Brandon’s control? My ex–husband’s biggest rival? I couldn’t believe it.
Brandon was one of the most dangerous businessmen out there. Ruthless. Cold. And now, he had the power to destroy Elias with a snap of his fingers.
“And,” Brandon added, standing up and adjusting his watch, “tomorrow morning, I’ll be making an
announcement.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What announcement?”
He smirked.
‘Our engagement.”
Silence.
I blinked.
I stared.
Then I laughed.
Out loud.
Brandon had to be joking. But the look in his eyes told me otherwise.
“You’re insane,” I said, shaking my head. “I never agreed to that.”
Brandon didn’t flinch. “You will.”
I scoffed. “No.”
He stepped closer, his voice turning serious. “Then tell me, Veronica–what’s your plan?”
I swallowed, but I didn’t answer.
“You’re a fugitive,” he continued. “A national criminal now. How do you plan to disappear wher the entire country is looking for you?”
I clenched my fists.
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5:31 pm
Brandon took another step, lowering his voice. “You don’t have a plan, do you?”
I hated that he was right. Brandon leaned in slightly, his tone dangerously smooth. “But I do.”
I forced myself to breathe. “And what’s that?”
Brandon smirked. “I clear your name.”
frowned. “How?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “By making you my wife.”
sucked in a breath.
You’re not a criminal, Veronica,” he murmured. “Not if you’re married to me. Then you’re just m vife. A woman caught in a business war.”
stared at him, my heart pounding.
Think about it,” he said softly.
didn’t want to think about it.
But I had to.
Because the truth was-
had no other choice.
The hospital room was quiet except for the steady beep of Patty’s heart monitor. Elias sat beside
er bed, running a gentle hand through her hair.
Sabrina stood near the window, arms crossed, staring at the city lights. “She’s safe now,” sh nurmured.
Elias nodded, but his mind was elsewhere.
The bomb. The fear. The helplessness he had felt.
Veronica had done that. She had made him feel that. He clenched his jaw.
A nurse walked in, switching the TV on.
Elias wasn’t paying attention–until Sabrina gasped.
Elias,” she whispered. “Look.”
He turned his head. His heart stopped.
BREAKING NEWS: Veronica RAINES CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES!
The headline ran across the screen. Elias sat up, his body rigid. The newscaster continued. Shocking evidence has surfaced, proving Veronica Raines was not behind the kidnapping of Patty Raines. New reports suggest she was framed, and an anonymous source has provided substantial proof that Sabrina orchestrated a planned attack against Veronica prior to her accident-”
Sabrina let out a choked breath.
Elias turned to her, his mind spinning. “Is this true?”
Sabrina’s face went pale.
But before she could answer-
Chapter 12
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5:31 pm
The screen changed. And Elias’s entire world shattered.
A picture flashed across the TV.
Veronica. Standing beside Brandon Morrison.
The headline read:
“Veronica Raines Engaged to Business Tycoon Brandon Morrison!”
Elias’s blood ran cold.
Of all people-
Brandon.
His rival.
His competition.
And the one man he had always been jealous of.
Elias gripped the arms of his chair, his knuckles turning white.
He had to find her.
