Chapter 87James stood his face wide concerning the bomb Chloe had just dropped on him. Not his daughter, Ava? It felt like a bad dream."You lie," he said, shaking. "This can't be true."Chloe's smirk stretched even further apart. "Oh, but it is, James. The result shows that indeed, your darling little girl isn't from you after all."James felt his stomach turn. He looked again, hoping to find anything at all that could prove all of this to be some sort of silly mistake. The further he read, the more and more real it became."How?" he managed to finally ask. "How is this possible?"Chloe shrugged again as if she could have been bored. "Does it really matter? The real fact is, that Ava isn't your real daughter. And I'm sure the press would love every last detail of it."James's head snapped up. "You wouldn't dare," he growled."Try me," Chloe shot back. "I have nothing to lose, James. You, on the other hand…" She let the sentence hang in the air.James's mind ran wild with thoughts of
Chapter 88: James paced his study, his phone to his ear. He had cashed in every favor, leveraged every contact in the bag, and pulled up all the stops. The stakes were too high to let any stone be left unturned. "No, I need it fast," he hissed into the receiver, his voice taut. "I don't care how much it bloody costs; just get it done."As he put down the phone, the first light of morning shimmered through the curtains. The heap of empty coffee mugs on his desk was evidence that he had really been awake all night.He involuntarily jumped when there was a soft knock on the door. There was concern etched on Lily's face. "James? Have you been up all night?"He passed a hand through his rumpled hair. "Yeah, I. I had some things to take care of."Lily stepped further into the room, her gaze traveling over the chaos of papers covering every available surface. "James, please. This has gone on long enough. Tell me what's going on. I know it's about Ava, but."James so felt the weight of hi
Chapter 89: James felt like he had been punched in the gut. On that screen were Lily and Ava—totally unaware. James spun around to face Chloe, with angry eyes."What the hell is this, Chloe?" he growled.Chloe smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "Insurance, James. Just in case you got any bright ideas about exposing our little chat in the park."The board members fidgeted in their seats. They clearly hadn't been expecting this kind of drama.James inhaled deeply, trying to control himself. "This is low, even for you," he said. "Leave my family out of this.""But they are already practical," she purred. She addressed the board directly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think it's time we get started, don't you?"The head of the board, Mr. Thompson, cleared his throat. "Yes, well, we're here today to discuss the allegations against Mr. Watson and to vote on his future as CEO of Watson Industries."James sat down, feeling his mind racing. He had to be smart about it. Not let Chloe win, but neither
Chapter 90:James felt like his world was falling apart. Lily and Ava were gone. Chloe had them. He couldn't believe this was happening.He ran back outside. "Louis! Call Rodriguez. Now!"Louis was already on the phone. "I'm trying, boss. No answer."James walked backward and forward across his front lawn. His mind raced with thoughts of how this could have happened. Chloe was behind bars. None of it made any sense.The phone buzzed again. Another text from that unknown number:"Tick tock, James. Your family's waiting. Meet me at the old warehouse 19th street in an hour. Come alone, or they pay the price."James showed Louis the text. "What do you think?"Louis scowled. "It has to be a trap. We should just wait for the cops.""We don't have time!" James snarled. Then he breathed deeply. "Sorry. I just. I can't risk anything happening to them."Louis nodded. "I get it, boss. But we need a plan."They racked their brains for the next 45 minutes. James would enter the warehouse, and Loui
Chapter 91:As if the very night was making the realization more painful, the early onslaught of misfortunes had calmed to an eerie silence. James was there, on the back of an ambulance, a shock blanket enveloping his form, never taking his eyes off Lily and Ava as the EMTs worked on their injuries.Detective Rodriguez trotted up to him, his face grim. "Chloe is been taken to the hospital. The shot wasn't fatal... She'll live to see justice."James nodded, feeling numb. He should feel relieved, but the only sensation in his body was a deep, aching emptiness."And Louis?" he asked.Rodriguez shook his head. "Still no sign of him. We've got road blocks set up, but." He trailed off, leaving the unspoken possibility hanging in the air.James closed his eyes, feeling the weight of betrayal crushing down on him. Louis. The guy who did all of his leg work. His right-hand man. Or so he thought."Mr. Watson?" A voice, gentle, through his thoughts. He looked up to see a young officer. "Your wif
Chapter 92: James pulled into the drive, still thinking about all that had happened. He got out of the car and looked over at his house. It was supposed to be a safe place. Now it was different. Weird. Like it wasn't really his anymore.He trudged up to the front door, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. But the house did seem to have its vitality to it: laughter from the living room belonging to Ava. It made him smile, maybe for the first time in what had seemed like forever."Daddy!" Ava shouted when he walked in, running up and wrapping her arms around his legs.James swept her into a bear hug. "Hey, kiddo. How are you?""I'm good," she answered. "Mommy made hot chocolate!""Did she now?" James glanced over at Lily, curled onto the couch with her mug. She offered him a small smile."You want some?" Ava asked."Maybe later, kiddo," James said, setting her down. "Why don't you go finish your hot chocolate? I need to talk to Mommy for a minute." Ava nodded and skipped b
Chapter 93As white as the back of his hands became through the hue of the wheel itself, the black SUV on their tail continued to somehow inch closer and closer to them."James, what is going on?" Lily somehow forced out, her voice tight with fear."I don't know," James gritted out. "But I'm not stopping to find out."He floored it and the car surged forward. The mountain road weaved and curved ahead of them—every turn being a new obstacle.Ava squirmed in her seat. "Mamma? Why're we going so fast?"Lily smiled weakly at her daughter. "It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy is just. Well, he's practicing his race car driving. Why don't you look out the window and count the trees?"Ava yawned and turned toward the window to look out. Lily looked at James with worry clouding her eyes. "What are we gonna do?".James raised his eyes to the rearview mirror again and found it: the SUV behind them was still there and had responded to his turns and curves, imitating every move. "We gotta shake them. T
Chapter 94His heart raced in his chest as he could not tear his gaze away from Lily and Ava. They looked scared but also unharmed. For now."Let them go, Louis," James said, desperately trying to keep his voice steady. "This's between you and me."Louis chuckled stepping forward and coming to a stop directly behind Lily and Ava, finally laying a hand on Ava's shoulder—making James's blood boil."Oh, James. When will you learn? Everything you care about is fair game now."Ava whimpered and Lily tried to comfort her daughter. "It's okay, sweetie. Daddy's here now. Everything will be alright."James wished he could believe that. He tugged at the ropes binding his hands, but they were too tight."What do you want, Louis?" James asked, his mind racing to find a way out of this.Louis's face turned serious. "What I've always wanted, James. Control of the company. Your money. Your life.""You're insane," James spat."Maybe." Louis shrugged. "But the situation here is under control with me.
Chapter 142: The Watson mansion was fully alive. Streamers hung cascading off of everything they could, balloons bounced merrily around various corners, and the air swam thick with the tantalizing smell of BBQ on the back porch. Today was, after all, Ave's party – but it was more than that; today was the day Lily and James had chosen to once again pledge themselves to one another.Lily stood before the full-length mirror, straightening out her simple white sundress. At seven months, she was radiant—a perfect arc the curve of her belly was, below the flowing fabric.From the doorway, the sound of a voice declared, "You look beautiful." Lily turned to see her cousin Maggie smile at her."Thanks." Lily smoothed the dress. "I feel like a beached whale, but James insists I'm glowing."Maggie burst out laughing. "He's right, you know. You look like you're about to light up his world or something." She walked over and hugged Lily. "I can't believe how far we've come since that one crazy nig
Chapter 141: Lily woke up off. She couldn't explain it, but something just seemed… off. And when she rolled over to check the time, a wave of nausea hit her. She groaned and buried her face in her pillow."Alright?" James mumbled, still half asleep."Yeah, I just feel a little queasy," Lily replied. "Probably just something I ate."James sat up concerned. "You want me to get you something?"Lily shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. We should get up anyway; Ave has that school play today, remember?"They climbed out of bed and busied themselves getting ready for the day. James went into the bedroom to awaken Ave while Lily projectile-vomited into the toilet.James had, by this time, somehow managed to dress Ave in her costume: a huge, puffy frog outfit in bright green made for the school dress rehearsal of "The Frog Prince.""Mommy!" Ave squealed as she clumped down the stairs. "Do I look like a real frog?"Lily laughed, pushing aside her queasiness. "Why, yes, my child, the fairest fr
Chapter 140: Giggles consumed the room, and James stirred awake. He opened an eye to find a little face at the end of the bed staring in at him."Daddy! Wake up!" little Ave chirped in at him.Stepping over the landmines that were on the bed, James ran his hand through the small amount of her running down her back and picked her up, digging fingers into her tummy."Morning, princess," he said by way of splaying a kiss on her forehead.Ave giggled and squirmed. "Mommy said breakfast was ready!""Oh, yeah?" said James, sitting up but not letting go of the squirming Ave. "Am I to take it that's why Mommy sent you in here to wake me up?"Ave nodded, her bouncing brown curls saying more than she could. "Yep! She said tell you there's coffee."James laughed, and if Lily knew him at all well, it was all for her benefit. "Well then, I guess we'd better not have Mommy waiting, huh?"He climbed out of bed, Ave still in his arms, and rolled out of the room. The smell of bacon and coffee wafted
Chapter 139James lay on his back on the pristine white sand beach and took a pounding from the burning Maldivian sun. His hand reached up behind him for the coconut cocktail, tasting sweetness in his mouth as the gentle lapping of waves broke almost ten meters away from shore. It was the first time he had really been allowed to relax, barring a three-month period, since they had released the secrets of the Shadow Council onto the world."Penny for your thoughts?" The sound of Lily's voice broke through his reverie. She settled herself down on the lounger beside him. Her skin was golden against the sun.He smiled, squeezing her hand, saying, "Just thinking how surreal this all is. A year ago, I was knee-deep in conspiracies and shadow organizations. Now I'm sipping cocktails on a private island."Lily chortled; that sound always hit James in exactly the right place in his heart."Life's funny that way, isn't it?" she said, turning her head to look at him with her chin resting on her a
Chapter 138: James was pacing his living room relentlessly. Elena was with Rachel. It was all over. Well yah, anyway that was supposed to mean.Lilly squinted at him from the couch. "James, honey, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet. Come sit down."He sucked in a deep breath and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry; I just… I just can't help but feel this is too easy. After everything we've been through, this is just too easy."Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly. "James, I hardly think that anything about this has been easy. But maybe, this is the way it ends. Not really with a bang, but with a whimper."There was a pounding on the door. The teenager was on his feet before James could even open his mouth. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it.The door was thrown open. To find Rachel standing there—grimy, dirty, and obviously completely exhausted but still with the fires of determination burning behind her eyes. And past her."Hello, James," came the soft-spoken voice of Ele
Chapter 137: Rachel's hands trembled on the wheel. She drove the car towards the lighthouse. It was a full moon drooping low into a mess, ever drooping across the sky to the west, throwing a queer, sickly light over the whole demesne. She could not believe the fact that she was actually doing this, meeting secretly with her mother, Elena.She couldn't bat the feeling away that this time—this time—things were different. There was no hand in the place that could have been straightened just then, and scarcely a hand for him to take.Beside the lighthouse was her mother's car. Ray closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and felt her hand shake again, then brought it quickly up to her chest and gripped hard. "You can do this," she whispered to herself.She scrambled out of the car and up the serpentine path to the lighthouse, where waves dashed to the rocks and her feet crunched over gravel.One figure stood at the top by the railing, looking out at the water: Elena. His mother.Rachel's hea
Chapter 136The world had barely had enough time to absorb the shock that came with the downfall of Shadow Council. News channels were all agog with relentless updates, while governments scurried to try and react to the development; people all around tried to understand what all this really meant and what the implications of the bombshell were that shook the very fundamentals of society.But there was so much more to it than that which James Watson could see coming.He found himself standing outside the hospital room after just a moment's hesitation on the other side of the door handle. He could see from the small window that Louis was lying in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines, Rachel sat at his side.He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and walked in.Rachel lifted her head. Her eyes were red, red, but glittering. "James," she said very quietly. "I didn't expect you to be here.""How is he?" asked James, who had moved now and stood at the foot of Louis's bed.Rachel sighed. "
# Chapter 135: James took a deep breath and brought his head counterclockwise to his team, tired yet charged. It was time to engage their plan."Okay, let's go over this again. Hawk, are you set up with that kill switch or what?"Hawk just nodded. Her fingers danced across the laptop keyboard. "Okay, I am ready as I will ever be, but remember, this is one shot deal.""Right," James confirmed, turning towards Kelvin. "You got your contacts on standby?"Kelvin lifted his phone reassuringly. "They're all set, just waiting for our signal now."Glancing toward Angie and Agent Johnson, he asked, "You two sure about this? This is going to be dangerous."Angie made a show of rolling up her eyes. "Please. After all else we've done? It's just another Tuesday."It was Johnson's turn to chuckle. "What she said. We've got your back, James."James bobbed his head, his fear mixing in with his excitement. This was it: the last big push to finally bring down the Shadow Council."Alright then," he sai
Chapter 134: Days passed after the warehouse before a blur of debriefings, media frenzy, and shock waves that echoed across the globe. Standing smack in the middle of this hurricane, shaking the very roots of governments and institutions around the globe, was James and his team.They now sat in a safe house, courtesy of Agent Johnson—now an unlikely ally in all of this, ever since the exposure of the Shadow Council. There, in that very suburban home, the living room had now become something of a command center: there were laptops and papers all over, the place cluttered with empty coffee cups.James rubbed his tired eyes at the news playing on mute on the television. Of course, the headline scrolled by in the news: "Global Markets in Turmoil as Shadow Council Revelations Continue.""You should get some rest," Angie said before putting a hand on his shoulder. At least she looked a little better now, with the bruises from her captivity fading, but there was a new hardness in her eyes.