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Chapter 10 Power Play
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2025-01-13 18:28:35
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Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 11 A Warning
(Lila)Nick had barely driven us off the Baldwin estate when my phone started ringing. Grace’s name flashed on the screen.“Don’t answer it,” Nick said with his eyes fixed on the road.“She’ll just keep calling.”“Let her. After what she pulled back there—”“I have to know what she wants.” I hit accept before he could stop me. “Hello?”“Meet me at Le Café Rouge in thirty minutes,” Grace said without preamble. “Come alone.”“Or what?”“Or I start making calls to every gossip columnist in the city. I’m sure they’d love to hear about the Montgomery heiress’s…complicated relationship with both Baldwin men.”My hand instinctively went to my stomach. “Fine. Thirty minutes.”“Lila,” Nick protested as I hung up. “You can’t seriously be considering—”“Take me to Le Café Rouge.”“No way in hell am I leaving you alone with her.”“Nick.” I touched his arm. “Please. I need to handle this.”He cursed under his breath but made the turn toward the café. “I’ll wait in the car.”“She’ll see you.”“Good
Last Updated : 2025-01-13Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 12 Carried Away
(Lila)I was still shaking when Nick’s car pulled up to the café. He took one look at my face and was out of the driver’s seat in seconds.“What happened?” He cupped my face in his hands, thumbs brushing my cheeks. “Did she hurt you?”“Not physically.” I leaned into his touch without meaning to. “Can we go home?”His hands stilled. “Your home or mine?”“Yours.” I couldn’t face the Montgomery mansion right now. “Please.”The drive was quiet, but Nick’s hand found mine across the console. He didn’t let go until we reached his penthouse.“Want to talk about it?” he asked as we rode the elevator up.“She knows. About the baby.”The elevator dinged. Nick pulled me into his arms as soon as the doors closed behind us.“I’ll handle it,” he said into my hair.“You can’t.” I pushed away enough to look at him. “She’s threatening to expose everything—the pregnancy, my relationship with Ethan, this engagement…”“Let her. We’ll survive the scandal.”“It’s not just about the scandal.” I broke away,
Last Updated : 2025-01-13Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 13 Engagement Party
(Lila)The ballroom of Montgomery mansion looked amazing for the engagement party. My red dress—another one my mother insisted on—made me feel like a warning sign among all the pastels and neutrals.“You look beautiful,” Nick whispered in my ear as we greeted another group of well-wishers. His hand never left the small of my back.“You don’t look so bad yourself.”I smoothed his black tie, letting my fingers rest there. We’d been careful since that kiss, not wanting to risk getting close lest things got out of hand again.“Ms. Montgomery. A word?”Ethan stood behind us, looking dashing in his bespoke suit. The same one he’d worn the first night we met—I wondered if that was intentional.“Actually—” Nick started, but I squeezed his arm.“It’s okay.” I forced myself to smile. “I can handle this.”Nick tried to figure out what I was thinking. “You sure?”“Positive.” I stretched up to kiss his cheek, making sure everyone watching got a good show. “Save me a dance?”“Always.” He shot Ethan
Last Updated : 2025-01-13Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 14 Connecting the Dots
(Ethan)Caroline Montgomery’s words kept repeating in my head like an old nightmare I’d remembered again. Eight years old. An accident. Lost memories.My glass nearly slipped from my fingers as decades-old memories rushed back.“Are you alright?” Grace touched my arm, but I barely felt it. “You look pale.”“I need air.” I set the glass down harder than necessary, ignoring the champagne that spilled from it.“Ethan—”I ignored her. I was already moving, pushing through the crowd toward the terrace where I’d seen Nicholas lead Lila. My mind’s eye saw fragments of a past I’d tried so hard to forget.A summer fair. Cotton candy. A little girl’s laugh.And then…darkness.The dates matched. The age matched. Even the way Lila had always felt familiar somehow, from that first night at the bar...“It can’t be,” I muttered, gripping the stone railing. “It’s impossible.”But was it?I’d spent years searching for that little girl after it happened. I’d lost track of her completely afterwards. No
Last Updated : 2025-01-13Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 15 The Breaking Point
(Lila)Nick led me back into the ballroom from the terrace. The band was playing something classical, and most of the couples were on the dance floor.“A necklace? What was he talking about?”I rubbed my temples as Nick led me toward the bar. The pain behind my eyes wouldn’t stop.“He’s trying to get under your skin,” he said. “Don’t let him.”“But how did he know about it? I never told him about any necklace from my grandmother.”“Lila.” Nick turned me to face him. “Stop. Whatever game he’s playing, it doesn’t matter.”“But—”“There you are!” My mother joined us. “The photographer’s been waiting ages. We need shots for the media reports.”I glanced at Nick. “Mom, I’m not feeling—”“Nonsense.” She grabbed my arm. “This is the social event of the year. The Montgomery-Baldwin engagement must be shown properly.”Nick jumped in front of me. “Mrs. Montgomery, maybe if we—”“The fountain.” She pointed toward the huge centerpiece. “The lighting there is perfect.”She practically dragged us t
Last Updated : 2025-01-13Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 16 A Message from the Past
(Lila)Old Mr. Baldwin barked orders at security while guests split up and ran everywhere, shouting James’s name.“Lock down all exits!” The head of security spoke into his radio. “No one leaves until we find the boy.”“Call the police,” someone suggested.“No!” Grace grabbed the man’s arm. “No police. He was just here, he has to be here somewhere.”My mother came at my side, grabbing my elbow. “Darling, you look awful.”“I’m fine.”“You’re not. Look at you, you’re shaking.” She waved desperately. “Jonathan! Come look at her.”Dad rushed over, leaving his conversation with the security team. “Princess? What’s wrong?”“Nothing.” I tried to pull away from their hovering. “We need to help find James.”“You need to sit down.” Mom put her hand on my forehead. “You’re burning up.”Alexander pushed through the crowd toward us. “Give her space to breathe, Mother. She doesn’t need you smothering her right now.”“But she—”“Is perfectly capable of telling us if she needs help.” He squeezed my s
Last Updated : 2025-01-13Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 17 Questions
(Lila)I bolted upright in bed, gasping. “James!”“Hey, easy.” Nick sat on the edge of the mattress. “You’re okay. You’re in my dad’s home.”I opened my eyes to a strange room and blinked. Everything looked different, but my engagement party dress was thrown on a chair.“How long was I out?”“All night.” Nick poured water into a glass. “Drink.”I gulped it down, my throat raw. Nick took the empty glass. “James. Did they find him?”“No. Security’s still searching. Your brother’s coordinating with private investigators.”“But the message said no investigators.”“Alexander doesn’t care. He says something about this feels wrong.”I pushed back the covers, then realized I was wearing one of Nick’s t-shirts. “Did you…?”“Your mother changed you.” He smiled a little. “Though I offered to help.”“Nick!”I swung my legs over the side of the bed. My knees buckled but I forced myself to stand. “I need to go home.”“You need to rest.”“A child is missing!”“And you passed out cold at your own eng
Last Updated : 2025-01-13Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 18 Answers
(Lila)“We were at the summer fair. My mother let me go with the cook’s daughter—except it wasn’t really the cook’s daughter. It was you.”Ethan paced and turned the silver necklace over in his hands. Nick sat beside me on the couch.“Why would my parents lie about that?”“Because of who you were. Who we both were.” Ethan stopped by the windows. “The Montgomery and Baldwin heirs, kidnapped from a public fair? It would’ve destroyed both our families’ reputations.”“But—”“Your father had just closed a major merger. Mine was running for office. They couldn’t risk the scandal.”“So they covered it up?”“Made it disappear. Paid off witnesses, invented the car crash story. But I remember everything. The van, the men in masks, that basement…”“Stop.” I took my head in my hands. “I can’t—”“You have to remember!” Ethan knelt in front of me. “James is in that same basement. Those symbols—”Nick pushed him back. “Give her space.”“We don’t have time for space! They’ll do to him what they did t
Last Updated : 2025-01-13
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Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 120 Deep Cover
(Lila)The next several hours involved intense preparation. The FBI’s cyber team created an elaborate digital trap—a seemingly vulnerable server containing therapeutic records, family communications, and security protocols.Each document had been chosen to appear genuine while containing subtle markers that would help trace anyone who accessed them.“The honeypot is live,” the lead technician announced finally. “Already detecting preliminary probes of the security perimeter.”“That was fast,” Nick remarked.“They’ve been waiting for an opening,” Grace said, watching the technical displays. “This fits their established pattern—continuous surveillance for exploitable weaknesses.”Carter joined us, tablet in hand. “Now we wait for them to commit to the intrusion. Once they begin extracting data in earnest, we’ll have multiple tracing options.”“How long?” Alexander asked.“Depends on their caution level,” the technician replied. “Could be hours. Could be days.”But it wasn’t hours or day
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 119 The Honeypot
(Lila)Fleur’s laughter rang through the room as we all stared, bewildered, at the crib. I rushed over, scooping her into my arms, frantically checking for any sign of distress. She only giggled harder, reaching for my face.“What did he do?” I demanded, turning to the others.Nick was already beside us, his hands gently examining Fleur. “Nothing, as far as I can tell. She seems perfectly fine.”On the screen, Krane smiled. “Fascinating, isn’t it? The expectation of pain creates more fear than pain itself. You’ve just experienced the fundamental principle of fear architecture—the anticipation is the weapon, not the event.”“Shut it off,” I hissed at the technicians.“No, wait,” Carter countered, signaling them to continue tracing. “We need to keep him talking.”Krane continued as if he could hear our debate. “You believe you’ve reclaimed your narrative, Lila. That by confronting your trauma, you’ve disarmed it. But fear isn’t rational. It lives in the space between threat and action—t
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 118 Psychological Warfare
(Lila)“James is fine,” Ethan’s voice came through the phone, tight with fear. “We’ve tripled his security detail. Nobody’s getting near him.”“You’re sure?” I pressed, pacing the hotel suite.“I’m with him right now,” Ethan assured me. “Playing video games with two armed agents in the room.”After Krane’s message, we’d immediately verified everyone’s safety. Ethan and Cara had James at a separate secure location. Romy remained under Alexander’s protective detail at yet another facility. Nick and Ethan’s parents were overseas, surrounded by private security. My parents were downstairs.“They’re trying to destabilize us,” Carter explained as I ended the call. “Classic psychological warfare—implying vulnerability without actually demonstrating it.”“Like the basement,” I murmured, the memory rising unbidden.Nick looked up sharply. “What?”“In the basement, twenty years ago.” I sank into a chair, Fleur sleeping in my arms. “They never actually hurt us physically. They just made us belie
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 117 Counter-Surveillance
(Lila)I pressed my back against the headboard of the hotel bed, watching Fleur sleep in the portable crib the FBI had arranged. After three days in this new, supposedly secure hotel, I still jumped at every sound, checked every corner.The suite door opened as Nick and Alexander returned from their latest security briefing. Nick crossed immediately to Fleur’s crib, his shoulders finally relaxing when he saw her sleeping peacefully.“Any news?” I asked quietly.“We’ve identified three more Sterling operatives,” Nick replied, sinking onto the edge of the bed. “Two hotel employees at our previous location and a driver from my company.”“Grace confirmed all three,” Alexander added, loosening his tie. “Her intel has been solid.”The past seventy-two hours had transformed our situation. After Grace’s revelation, the FBI had moved us to a military-grade secure facility disguised as a boutique hotel. Grace had been debriefed continuously, identifying Sterling’s people and methodologies in de
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 116 Grace’s Insight
(Lila)Fleur’s screams tore through me as I clutched her against my chest. Her tiny body shook violently, her eyes wild with a terror no baby should ever know.“Make it stop!” I pleaded, rocking her desperately. “What’s happening to her?”The FBI agents swarmed around us, checking equipment, scanning for signals, searching for whatever had triggered my daughter’s sudden panic.“Sonic frequency,” Grace said suddenly from her corner of the hotel suite. She’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten she was there. Now she stood, walking toward us. “Robert used it on his targets. Infrasound—you can’t hear it, but it creates terror, panic.”“Shut down all devices,” Agent Carter ordered the room sharply. “Now!”Nick yanked cords from walls while agents deactivated equipment. Fleur’s screams gradually subsided, replaced by hiccupping sobs against my shoulder.“How did you know?” I asked Grace shakily.“Robert loved psychological weapons,” she replied, watching Fleur with genuine concern. “Said inf
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 115 Walls of Silence
(Nick)Jonathan Montgomery froze at the accusation as its poison spread through the room. He sat on the hotel suite sofa, looking suddenly older and more vulnerable than I’d ever seen him.“Dad?” Lila prompted, her voice barely above a whisper. “Is it true? Did you know Victor Krane before the kidnapping?”Jonathan stared at his hands. “Not as Krane. He used a different name then—Vincent Kemp. Security consultant specializing in executive protection.”I swore violently, turning away to control my rage. Ethan remained perfectly still, his face blank with disbelief.“You brought him into our lives?” Ethan asked finally, gritted his teeth between words.“He came highly recommended,” Jonathan replied weakly. “Multiple endorsements from colleagues in the industry. Impressive credentials.”“And he suggested Blackwood’s services,” Alexander stated flatly. “Connected you.”Jonathan nodded miserably. “Said Blackwood was the best in the business. Discrete, thorough. I had no idea they were work
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 114 Victor Krane
(Nick)The elevator descended to the hotel lobby in silence. I stood with Ethan, Carter and two armed agents, leaving Alexander to protect Lila and Fleur in the secure suite. The phone connection with Blackwood had ended abruptly after Malcolm Chambers’ arrival was announced.“This is obviously a trap,” Ethan muttered, adjusting his jacket nervously.“Of course it is,” I agreed tightly. “But if Chambers is here in person, it’s our best opportunity to end this.”Carter checked her sidearm discreetly. “Remember, we need him alive and talking. He’s our direct link to Blackwood and Krane.”The elevator doors opened to reveal a transformed hotel lobby. Most civilians had been evacuated, replaced by FBI agents positioned strategically throughout the space.In the center, sitting calmly in a leather armchair as if waiting for a business meeting, was a man in his late forties with salt-and-pepper hair and expensive glasses.“Malcolm Chambers, I presume,” I said coldly as we approached.The ma
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 113 The Client List
(Nick)The voice on Lila’s phone continued smoothly. “Your father commissioned quite an elaborate project. ‘Generational intervention’ was the term he preferred.”“Who is this?” I demanded, moving to Lila’s side.“Ah, Nicholas Baldwin,” the voice acknowledged. “The man who built an empire on another man’s grave. How fitting that we should all converge now.”“Kenneth Blackwood,” Carter said into the phone, taking control of the situation. “This is Special Agent Carter, FBI. We’ve located your Connecticut property. Your archives are now in federal custody.”A pause, then a soft laugh. “Merely one of many repositories, Agent Carter. Though I’m impressed you found it. Your reputation is well-deserved.”Jonathan lunged for the phone. “Blackwood! Tell them the truth, damn you! I never hired you to take my daughter!”“Semantics, Jonathan,” Blackwood replied dismissively. “You paid for a comprehensive fear architecture program. The specific methodologies were left to our discretion.”“You’re
Billionaire, I'm No Longer Yours Chapter 112 Blackwood’s Shadow
(Nick)“They can’t possibly be watching us here,” Lila insisted, as FBI agents swept the hotel room for surveillance devices. “We’re under federal protection.”I paced the perimeter, checking every corner, every vent, every light fixture. “We thought our homes were secure too.”Grace huddled in an armchair, watching the activity. Since the coordinated attacks had begun, she’d remained mostly silent, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.“Grace,” Agent Carter approached her directly. “We need everything you know about Kenneth Blackwood.”Grace looked up, startled. “I told you what Robert said—”“Not enough,” I interrupted sharply. “They’re targeting our children. If you know anything else, anything at all…”“I-I might,” Grace admitted reluctantly. “I didn’t think it was important before.”Ethan moved closer, sitting across from his ex-wife. “What do you remember?”Grace twisted her fingers nervously. “Robert kept a box of mementos. Things that gave him power, he said. There was a photogr
