“You Don’t Fit My World Anymore” — He Divorced His Billionaire Wife on a $41 Cab Fare. She Owned…
Chapter 9
Mia stopped breathing.
“What did you say?”
Evan looked almost satisfied.
“Your father adopted you.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“He never told you.”
“He was my father.”
“Legally.”
Evan’s gaze shifted to Daniel.
“Biologically? Different story.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Who are her real parents?”
Evan smiled.
“That’s the part your father never wanted you to know.”
Mia’s hands clenched.
“You were spying on me.”
“I was protecting myself.”
“You helped kill my father.”
“No.”
Evan’s face changed.
“I tried to stop it.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then why disappear?”
“Because the people behind it wanted me dead.”
He lowered the gun.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Then why the gun?”
“Because trust is expensive.”
Mia stared at him.
“What happened to Richard?”
Evan looked at the floor.
“Your father discovered that the Hawthorne fortune wasn’t really a family fortune.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Evan walked to the desk.
“Richard built Mercer Holdings using stolen patents.”
Mia’s face went pale.
“No.”
“Not stolen from companies.”
He looked at her.
“From people.”
He took out a file.
“Your biological father was a brilliant engineer.”
He handed it to Mia.
“He developed technology that could transform energy storage.”
Daniel read the documents.
“Then what happened?”
“Investors wanted control.”
Evan pointed at the papers.
“Richard acquired the patents.”
“How?”
“Through a legal loophole.”
Mia stared at him.
“You’re saying my father stole from my real father?”
“Yes.”
“Then why adopt me?”
Evan’s answer was quiet.
“Because your biological father died protecting you.”
Mia’s face collapsed.
Daniel moved toward her.
She stepped away.
“I need air.”
She left the room.
Daniel turned to Evan.
“Why are you telling us?”
“Because someone else is coming.”
“Who?”
Evan looked toward the door.
“The people who actually poisoned Richard.”
A sound came from outside.
Car tires.
Then footsteps.
Several.
Evan cursed.
“They found us.”
Daniel looked at him.
“How?”
Evan stared at the inheritance document.
“Because someone wanted Daniel to inherit.”
“Why?”
“Because once you became the legal owner, they could challenge the trust.”
Daniel finally understood.
“This was never about Mia.”
“Exactly.”
“It was about control.”
Evan nodded.
“And you were the perfect pawn.”
A gunshot shattered the window.
Evan pulled Daniel down.
Glass exploded across the room.
Mia screamed from the hallway.
Daniel crawled toward her.
Another shot.
Then another.
Evan moved toward the back door.
“Get her out!”
Daniel pulled Mia through the corridor.
They escaped through a hidden passage beneath the estate.
As they ran underground, Mia looked at him.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“If I don’t make it…”
“You will.”
“You need to know something.”
He turned.
“What?”
She took his hand.
“I never stopped loving you.”
Before he could answer, a second gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
And Evan collapsed behind them.
