Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1036

Cadence watched the way Emmy’s eyes suddenly narrowed, her whole face tight with barely contained panic. It was pure instinct, a mother’s reaction. Cadence felt a twist of sympathy, but her brow pulled together on its own. James had made it very clear before she arrived. No one was allowed to mention the child in front of Emmy. Not a single word. Cadence wasn’t about to risk crossing James, not now. She forced herself to look away, steeling her resolve.

“If you vote the right way at the board meeting, all three votes, and stop James from destroying Nelson Corporation, I’ll tell you,” Cadence said quietly.

She didn’t give Emmy a chance to ask anything else. She simply turned and headed for the door. Only when she stepped out into the hallway did she let herself breathe out, soft and shaky. She hated using someone’s weakness against them, especially when it meant threatening a mother with her own child. It felt dirty, underhanded. But there wasn’t another way. She couldn’t just stand by and watch James and Emmy throw away the Nelson Corporation’s hundred-year legacy over old grudges. She couldn’t betray the promise she made to the old lady before she died. Cadence was the First Lady, but more than that, she was the Nelson family’s protector. For the sake of the family, she’d play the bad guy, even if Emmy hated her for it.

Back in the office, Emmy just stood there, frozen. Her mind was spinning, her heart racing so fast it hurt. A child… Had she really had a child?

The door opened, breaking the silence. Joshua walked in behind Penny, stopping short when he saw Emmy’s pale face.

“Ms. Lincoln, are you okay?” he asked, worry clear in his voice.

Emmy looked up fast, pinning Joshua with a sharp stare. Her voice shook, but there was no mistaking the determination in it. “Joshua, you’ve worked with James for years. You know my past, don’t you? Tell me the truth. Before I was sent abroad, did I have a child?”

She didn’t say another word, just waited for his answer.

Joshua’s heart skipped a beat. What had the First Lady told Ms. Lincoln? Why bring up the twins now? If James found out the secret had slipped… Joshua didn’t even want to think about what would happen. He forced himself to stay calm, pushing his glasses up and frowning in confusion.

“Ms. Lincoln, maybe you’re just exhausted. Are you sure you didn’t mishear?” His voice was gentle, careful, almost too sincere. “I really don’t know anything about a child. I think you’re just overthinking things.”

Emmy held his gaze for a long, silent moment. Joshua’s face was unreadable, not a single crack. But sometimes, a woman’s intuition is sharper than any investigation. Emmy felt it. That strange sense of connection, the way her heart ached every time she heard the word “child”—it couldn’t be for nothing. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she really had been a mother, once.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify