The Billion-Dollar Divorce (Ian and Chloe) novel Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Chloe shot Ian a hostile glare.

Her face was pale, and her voice was weak as she said, “lan, you’re despicable!”

lan’s expression remained calm. “Your mom’s in the hospital. I’ll take you there.”

Hearing that her mom was sick, Chloe’s already pale face turned even paler.

She shoved Ian aside and ran to the curb to hail a cab.

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Ian stayed where he was, watching as Chloe hurriedly flagged down a taxi and took off. He didn’t try to stop her or go after her.

When Chloe arrived at the hospital room, the relatives who had come to visit had just left.

“Mom,” Chloe called out.

She crouched down by the bedside, feeling both hurt and anxious.

Jill sat up in bed, grabbing hold of Chloe’s icy little hand–and before she knew it, tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her heart ached for her daughter.

Jill kept saying over and over, “As long as you’re okay, nothing else matters. As long as you’re safe.”

Chloe tried to reassure her parents. “Dad, Mom, you don’t have to worry. I’m innocent, and I’ll get a good lawyer–I’m taking this fight to the very end.”

Frank and Jill shared a helpless look.

Jill spoke with concern. “Chloe, we know this is so unfair for you. Your dad and I wish we could help, but you don’t need to worry about us. Just think everything through before you decide, okay? Promise us you won’t do anything reckless.”

Chloe’s eyes blazed with desperate resolve. “Dad, Mom, trust me. I know what I have to do.”

Even if divorcing lan meant risking jail, she was willing to go that far.

As parents, Frank and Jill understood Chloe’s determination.

But thinking about their own daughter going to jail? It broke their hearts–they just couldn’t stand it.

Deep down, they were in agony, completely powerless to do anything about it.

*****

That afternoon, Chloe’s old neighbor, Ms. Judd, asked her to meet at a café,

When Ms. Judd saw Chloe, she kept sighing. “Honestly, I always thought you and lan were the perfect match

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Chapter 78

-you two just looked so right together. I never imagined things would fall apart like this.”

Chloe sat quietly, looking absolutely exhausted, like all the life had been drained out of her.

She said, “Ms. Judd, no point feeling sorry for me. No sense crying over a guy who cheats.”

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Ms. Judd reminded her, “You’ve got proof lan cheated, but Chloe, have you really thought this through? The Irvine family and the Hamilton family are worlds apart now. In all of Kingsford, no one can really stand against Ian.”

Chloe nodded, her face blank. “Ms. Judd, I know.”

Ms. Judd hesitated for a moment.

She said, “Chloe, your parents are getting older, your mom’s health isn’t great, and your brother’s got his SATS next year. If you want to go to war with Ian–if you’re set on fighting him to the bitter end–can you really live with whatever comes after?”

Chloe rested her elbows on the table, burying her fingers in her hair.

Chloe knew exactly what was at stake if she chose to go up against Ian.

But she had no other choice.

Ms. Judd said, “Chloe, you’ve got your parents, your little brother, your friends, your future, and your whole career ahead of you. Is it really worth wasting the best years of your life behind bars over some guy?”

After parting ways with Ms. Judd, Chloe wandered the streets alone for a long time, lost in thought.

‘Everything Ms. Judd said was right,‘ Chloe thought, ‘but I just can’t go along with it. I can’t pretend to be okay or give in, no matter how sensible it sounds.’

‘All this pain that’s invisible to everyone else–the wounds that no one sees, the torment that never lets up, day or night–it hurts more than dying,‘ she admitted to herself.

As long as she could escape Ian and break free from this cage of a marriage, Chloe was willing to give up ten years of her freedom without hesitation.

Desperate to get this whole mess over with, Chloe reached out to Neil Reed herself.

But Neil didn’t just turn down her case–he flat–out refused to even meet with her.

Before hanging up, Neil tried to talk her out of it, dropping hints that she should just let it go.

Chloe didn’t make a fuss.

After her call with Neil, Chloe hustled between law firms, hitting up four or five back–to–back.

But not a single place dared to take on her divorce, let alone any of the other charges hanging over her.

Any hope she had left was draining away, swallowed up by despair.

With tears streaming down her face, Clara pleaded, “Uncle Frank, please, you have to help us get Leo out too!”

Chloe snapped, “Clara, I’ve never wronged Leo. Why would he try to frame me?”

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Chapter 78

:

Ever since Leo was thrown in jail, he’d clammed up–refusing to talk or see anyone.

They were married–there’s just no way Clara didn’t at least suspect something.

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Clara’s voice didn’t waver. “Chloe, your cousin Leo’s a straight shooter. He’s just a regular, decent guy. He’d never get tangled up in anything illegal.”

Crying so hard her voice shook, Clara pulled off her daughter’s hat and showed Daisy’s bald little head. “Three months ago, Daisy was diagnosed with leukemia. We’ve burned through everything we had, and we’re completely broke. We can’t even pay for her treatment tomorrow. In two days, the phone shop’s rent is due. Without Leo, I honestly don’t know how we’ll make it. Please, I’m begging you–help us!”

Daisy grabbed onto the edge of Chloe’s coat, sobbing her heart out. “Aunt Chloe, I want to see my daddy… please…”

Chloe just stared at the little girl calling her Aunt Chloe, frozen in place, fists clenching tight at her sides.

Leo’s little girl was fighting leukemia, and with money running out, Ian ruthlessly took advantage of that desperation.

Ian stayed so collected because he was certain Leo would never risk telling the truth–not when his daughter’s life hung in the balance.

Chloe stared at the mother and daughter sobbing on the floor, her mind spinning to her own mom struggling in the ER, and Neil, who wouldn’t even show his face. ‘It’s like every door is slamming shut on me, she thought helplessly.

Without another word, Chloe turned and walked out of the hospital room.

In the hospital hallway, Chloe kept calling and texting Ian, her fingers flying over her phone in a frenzy.

But it was like he’d vanished off the face of the earth–no response, not a single sign he was even alive.

Chloe was so furious she could barely keep it together.

She went to The Old Hamilton Manor, the Royal Court Club, and even Andrea’s neighborhood, but lan was nowhere to be found.

With nowhere else to turn, Chloe finally ended up at Blue Cove Residences.

It was one in the morning when lan stepped out of the elevator.

He spotted Chloe leaning weakly against the wall by his door–she’d obviously been waiting for him, barely able to stand, looking like she could pass out any minute.

He stopped in his tracks. “What do you want?”