Chapter 28: Chapter 27 The First Grandchild
I looked at the old paparazzi photos of me and that dickhead Helix, my brain short-circuiting. If I left this shit here, I was done. If I took it, I was probably still done, but at least it bought me time.
Fuck it.
I shoved the folder straight down the front of my pants, pressing the cardboard flat against my stomach. It looked ridiculous, and it chafed like a bitch every time I breathed, but I didn’t care. I sprinted out of the study, my heart hammering against my ribs, and threw myself back into my bed just as the clock hit 1:20 AM.
As it turned out, the universe finally decided to throw me a bone. Laziel didn’t notice the folder was missing the next morning. In fact, he looked completely somewhere else.
While I was nervously drinking my coffee, pretending my stomach wasn’t housing stolen property, I overheard his right-hand man whispering to him in the hallway. Apparently, the late-night call wasn’t about me. Laziel’s father—the old, terrifying patriarch of the Monroe family—had just been rushed to a hospital. His condition was worsening fast, and the entire family empire was suddenly throwing itself into a succession crisis.
Laziel left the estate before breakfast, his attention completely hijacked by his father’s impending death.
Thank god he told me to stay back.... it left me with the perfect window to plan my escape.
Since the icy bastard had blocked my phone from accessing anything useful, I had to resort to old-school methods. I secretly messaged Giulia through an old, gaming app we used to mess around with.
I need out. Not just from the house, Giulia. Out of the country. He signed the guardian papers for Anastelle. He’s trying to steal my fucking daughter.
Giulia didn’t even hesitate. Say less, pussy. I’m on it. Don’t use your phone for bookings. I’ll handle the routes and borrow some money."
By Monday morning, the contrast in my life was completely crazy.
t was Anastelle’s first day at St. Vittoria International Academy. I stood in the grand foyer of the mansion, watching the maids dress my four-year-old in a custom-tailored navy uniform that cost more than my entire life savings. And of course, the real diamond tiara was resting perfectly on her black curls because the staff took Laziel’s word as absolute law.
"Mommy, look! I have a matching bag!" Anastelle chirped, spinning around happily.
"You look beautiful, baby," I whispered, but my mind wasn’t on her uniform.
While the security detail escorted us to the school. I was counting the security guards. I was watching the cameras at the school gates. I was studying the exact time the security shifts rotated. Every single thing I saw was being logged into an escape route in my head.
The school itself was a joke. Rich kids stared at Anastelle’s tiara, and the teachers practically bowed to us because the enrollment files listed Laziel Monroe as her primary contact. They treated my daughter like royalty, completely oblivious to the fact that her mother was currently planning to become an international fugitive.
During the drop-off, my phone buzzed in my pocket. A notification from Giulia.
I found a driver who doesn’t ask questions. Cash only.
A minute later, another text popped up: Tickets for the midnight train across the border are ready. Everything’s set for tonight.
Relief rushed through me. We were actually going to make it. I was going to take my daughter and flee this entire country before the Monroes could legally erase me.
Meanwhile, at the Monroe Medical Center.
Laziel stood by the wall staring at the weak, heart-monitored figure of his father. The old man was dying, but his mind was still as sharp and ruthless.
"Helix is married," his father rasped through the oxygen mask. "You are not."
Laziel didn’t blink. "Marriage is a liability, father. Not a strategy."
"It is the only strategy that matters now," the old man countered, coughing weakly. "The Monroe law stands. Marriage first. A legitimate child. The first legitimate grandchild of the family line gains seventy percent of the inheritance rights. If I die today, and Helix produces an heir before you, you will watch your idiot brother’s line inherit everything you’ve built. Helix is a fool. But fools sometimes win. Especially when intelligent men wait too long."
Laziel’s jaw tightened. He hated chaos. He hated noise. And above all, he hated the idea of a family. Children were inconvenient, loud, emotional, and expensive. He had spent his entire life ensuring he would never have to deal with one.
Yet, as he stood there, his mind completely disrupted. Every time he tried to focus on the timeline, his thoughts kept drifting back to the small, stubborn person currently running around his estate wearing a diamond tiara. He didn’t understand the sudden glitch in his own logic, and it irritated him to his core.
"I’ll handle the succession," Laziel said coldly, turning on his heel and walking out of the ICU.
He arrived back at the headquarters an hour later, his mind fully locked back into business mode.
The office door door opened, and his right-hand man walked in, holding a tablet.
"Sir," the security chief said, closing the door firmly behind him.
"What is it?"
"About the background file on Miss Brenner... the one from the study desk..."
Author’s Note 💙
Whew... that ending. 😭
So tell me honestly...
What would you have done if you were Mireya?
Would you have stolen the folder and risked everything, or would you have left it there and hoped Laziel never opened it?
And here’s another question...
Do you think Laziel already knows the background file is missing... or is he really too distracted by everything happening with his father?
I’m so curious to hear your theories because I know some of you notice the tiniest details. 👀
Also...
Do you think Mireya’s escape plan is actually going to work?
Or do you think she’s seriously underestimating just how powerful the Monroe family really is?
And let’s talk about Laziel for a second...
He’s supposed to be thinking about succession, marriage, and producing an heir, yet why does his mind keep drifting back to one stubborn little girl wearing a diamond tiara? 🤭
Coincidence?
Or is something much bigger happening?
Drop your predictions in the comments! I genuinely read them, and I love seeing all your theories (even the wild ones 😂).
As always, thank you so much for reading and supporting this story. Every comment, review, Power Stone, Golden Ticket, and share helps this novel reach more readers, and it honestly means more than you know.
See you in the next Chapter... and trust me...
Things are only about to get messier. ❤️
