The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 154

Heath was heading back to school tomorrow. After fussing over him one last time, Nova finally returned to her mother’s hospital room.

By the time she left the hospital again, all the streetlights along the road had gone dark.

“Nova!”

A cold, gruff voice cut through the silence, stopping her in her tracks. Nova turned and, to her shock, saw her father looming behind her. She reacted on instinct—bolting down the street.

But Silas Sawyer, wild-eyed and reeking of whiskey, tore after her. He caught up and slapped her hard across the face, then grabbed her by the throat and shoved her up against a wall at the corner.

“I hear you’ve been making good money lately. Give me five grand!” he snarled, the stench of cigarettes and stale alcohol making Nova’s head spin.

Nova winced, shaking her head desperately. “I don’t have it. Everything went to Mom’s treatment, and Heath still needs to pay for school… There’s no way I have five thousand.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Silas spat. “You just don’t want to give it to me! I’m your father. If you won’t help me, you’re a disgrace, and I swear to God, I’ll ruin you!”

His bloodshot eyes glared at her, voice dangerously low and full of menace.

Nova knew he wasn’t bluffing. She tried to keep him distracted with words while working her phone behind her back, hoping to call the police.

Her parents had divorced when she was very young, after her father’s gambling and drinking buried the family in debt and wrecked her mother’s health. Over the years, Silas had only gotten worse—he gambled away every penny, begged or stole when he was broke, and was now a frequent visitor at the local police station. Rumor had it he’d even put someone in the hospital not long ago and was currently on the run.

“What do you think you’re doing with your hands?” he barked, noticing her subtle movements. Snatching her arm, he tore the phone from her grip and hurled it down the street.

Then, pulling a pocketknife, he pressed the cold blade to her cheek. “You think you’re pretty? I gave you that face. Want to see what happens if I ruin it?”

Nova’s tears spilled over. She was terrified. “Dad, please, don’t do this. I swear, I don’t have any money…”

Not that she’d give him a dime anyway! That money was for her mother’s treatment. She’d worked too hard to just hand it over.

“Still lying to me?” Silas snapped, patience gone. The knife trembled in his hand, ready to strike.

Nova squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for pain.

But instead of agony, she heard her father’s scream.

She opened her eyes to see a sharply dressed man knock Silas aside with a powerful punch. The stranger was tall and broad-shouldered; within moments, he had Silas sprawled on the ground.

“Holden?”

Nova could hardly believe it—Holden had come to her rescue.

He didn’t glance her way, too busy shaking out his hand from the force of the blow. Clearly, he wasn’t used to fighting; his wrist nearly gave out, but at least Silas was weak and hadn’t put up much resistance.

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