A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother novel Chapter 458

Broadcast

+25 BONUS

Broadcast

Amber POV

I had certainly been through more dangerous situations.

In fact, considering everything that had happened to me over the past few months, being followed through a shopping mall by armed men should have been relatively low on my list of terrifying experiences.

Unfortunately, the human mind had a rather inconvenient habit of reaching its limit at the most unexpected moments. It could accept danger repeatedly, rationalize impossible circumstances, and convince itself that everything was manageable, only to suddenly decide that one more incident was simply too much.

Apparently, mine had finally reached that point.

Being shot at and having death breathing down my neck while kidnapped by amateurs? My brain had decided that was perfectly manageable. Dangerous, certainly, but nothing I couldn’t deal with.

Taking back my younger cousin after discovering that another family had been keeping her prisoner? Piece of cake. There had been people to confront, evidence to uncover, and a very clear objective.

Dealing with armed forces on an island while carrying a weapon myself, despite being pregnant? Acceptable. Not ideal, obviously, but there had been options, people I trusted, and a reasonable chance of making it out alive.

Nearly having our plane blown up? That had made me furious more than anything else. My brain had apparently filed the incident under reasons to be considerably more careful when traveling.

Facing an entire criminal organization, powerful family heads, and people who could influence governments while the whole world watched? Terrifying, but manageable. My family had stood behind me, and the military had been there to ensure that the situation didn’t spiral completely out of control.

But this?

Being chased through River City immediately after publicly humiliating the president of Sum? Having armed men pursue me into a shopping mall, apparently prepared to shoot me or drag me away? Knowing that someone had coordinated several vehicles to intercept me and might have people waiting at every exit?

That was an entirely different matter.

Not because I couldn’t imagine escaping. I could already think of several possibilities, although none was particularly reassuring.

The problem was the timing.

It was too much of a coincidence.

The president had publicly accused Jason and me of crimes we hadn’t committed, and shortly afterward, someone had decided to chase me through the streets with enough manpower to organize a small military operation.

I didn’t know whether the president was involved. I didn’t even know whether these men wanted to kidnap me or kill me.

But I knew something else.

Most of my family was still in Sum.

And if someone was willing to go to these lengths to get to me, what would stop them from going after the people I loved?

1/11

Broadcast

+25 BONUS

That was when the panic finally began to take hold.

My legs continued moving, carrying me through the crowded shopping corridor while my mind struggled to process the implications. The cheerful music playing through the mall’s speakers sounded strangely distant, and

the conversations around me became an indistinct hum.

I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.

My chest tightened, and suddenly it seemed impossible to draw a proper breath.

The thought of dying frightened me, of course. I had far too much to live for, and I had absolutely no intention of leaving my husband and children behind.

But the possibility of someone hurting them because of me was infinitely worse.

My brain had apparently decided that my own life was negotiable, provided everyone else survived.

And that realization frightened me more than the men following me.

“Jason,” I whispered.

“I’m here, sweetheart. Keep walking. I can see you.”

“Everyone needs to leave Sum.”

There was a brief silence.

“What?”

“Everyone,” I repeated, barely recognizing my own voice. “The children, your grandparents, Adrian and the others. Everyone needs to leave Sum. Now.”

“Amber-”

“Take them all and leave. The school is on break, so you don’t have to worry about disrupting classes. Use the secret tunnels that connect to Grandfather’s land. Don’t use the main roads if you can avoid them, and don’t tell anyone outside our security team where you’re going.”

My breathing became shallower as I imagined the castle, the children, and all the people who had gathered there believing they were safe.

“If they’re following me, they’re going to need leverage,” I continued. “And you are all leverage, Jason. Every single one of you.”

I heard his breathing change.

‘Amber, listen to me.”

“No, you need to listen. They might be trying to get to me, but what if I’m only the distraction? What if someone is already moving toward the castle? What if—”

“Sweetheart.”

His voice was firm enough to interrupt me.

“I’ve got this.”

I swallowed, trying to focus on the sound of his voice.

2/11

Broadcast

+25 BONUS

“I’m already coordinating with Noah, Daniel, and Jasmine,” he continued. “We’re arranging for everyone to move

a secure location. I’ll have the tunnels checked before anyone uses them, and nobody will leave without an escort. I promise you that.”

“Even the babies?”

“Especially the babies.’

I pressed a hand against my chest, hoping the pressure would somehow make breathing easier.

“Jason, please.”

“I know, Amber. I know you’re scared. But right now, I need you to be safe first. I can’t coordinate your escape if you stop paying attention to what’s happening around you.”

I forced myself to look ahead.

The mall was crowded, with shoppers moving between stores, children carrying bags of candy, and couples strolling without any apparent concern for the possibility that armed men were walking among them.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“One man is approximately a hundred feet behind you. He’s maintaining his distance, but he’s still following. Another is moving against the crowd, trying to get ahead of you.”

I looked toward the opposite end of the corridor. 1

“Can you see him?”

“Not clearly enough to identify him, but I can track his movement between cameras. He’s approaching the next intersection. Amber, you need to pick up your pace and leave that corridor before he blocks your way.”

I nodded before remembering that Jason couldn’t see the gesture clearly.

“Okay.”

“Don’t run unless you have to. If they realize you’ve spotted them, they might act before Emory’s people arrive.”

“I understand.”

I quickened my steps, weaving around a family standing outside a toy store. The mother was trying to convince a little boy that he didn’t need another stuffed animal, while his father watched with the resigned expression of a man who already knew he was going to lose the argument.

Under different circumstances, I might have smiled.

Instead, the sight made my throat tighten.

I missed my children.

I missed the castle.

I even missed Jason’s ridiculous habit of pretending that he wasn’t completely wrapped around Alice’s little finger.

“Amber, talk to me,” Jason said..

“I’m walking.”

3/11

froad.out

+25 BONUS

“Good. What do you see?”

Stores. People. A woman arguing with her husband about a handbag,”

“Anything useful?”

I glanced toward my right.

Then I stopped feeling quite so helpless.

I knew this mall.

Not merely because I had visited it occasionally, but because I had spent countless afternoons here when was younger. Grandfather had brought me shopping here, my friends and I had wasted entire weekends exploring the stores, and I had attended enough business meetings in the surrounding restaurants to know which entrances were connected to which sections of the building.

Memories flooded my mind as I recognized the familiar storefronts.

The bookstore where I had once spent an entire afternoon hiding from a family gathering. The jewelry shop where Pamela had insisted on trying on rings she had absolutely no intention of buying. The little café where Grandfather used to pretend he disliked the desserts before ordering three.

And, just ahead, a clothing store.

I knew that store particularly well.

It had two entrances.

One opened onto the main shopping corridor, while the other led directly into the food court.

I looked toward the store’s glass entrance.

“Jason, I have an idea.”

1 could practically hear him bracing himself.

“Please tell me it doesn’t involve driving up another mountain.”

“No mountains. I promise.”

“That’s reassuring. What are you planning?”

“There’s a clothing store to my right. It connects this corridor to the food court. If I go through it, I can reach the other side without using the intersection where that man is waiting.”

“What’s the name?”

I told him.

There was a pause as he searched the camera feeds.

“I see it. The entrance is clear, but I don’t have a camera inside the store.”

“That’s fine. I know the layout.”

“Amber, don’t disappear for too long. I need to know where you are.”

“I’ll keep talking.”

4/11

Broadcast

+25 BONUS

I reached into my purse and pulled out a small compact mirror.

was one of those little things I carried out of habit, mostly because grandfather had once informed me that a woman should always be prepared to check her appearance before confronting an enemy.

At the time, I had laughed.

Now I was beginning to appreciate his advice.

I opened the compact and angled it slightly, using the reflection to look behind me without turning my head

There he was.

A man in a dark jacket, walking several stores behind me.

He wasn’t looking directly at me, but his pace matched mine too closely to be coincidental. When I slowed near a display window, he slowed as well.

I closed the compact.

“Jason, I can see the one behind me.”

“Don’t look at him.”

“I’m not. I used a mirror.”

There was a short silence.

“Of course you did.”

“You’re welcome.”

I entered the clothing store, allowing myself to blend into a group of women examining a display of dresses near the entrance. The store was busy enough that nobody paid particular attention to me, and the sales assistants were occupied helping customers.

I moved farther inside, passing racks of blouses and skirts while keeping the compact in my hand.

Through the reflection, I caught sight of the man entering the store.

He looked around.

Searching.

I continued walking.

“He’s inside,” I whispered.

“I know. He disappeared from the corridor camera. Amber, where are you?”

“Near the back of the store.”

“Can you reach the other exit?”

“Yes.”

I passed a display wall separating the main shopping area from a smaller section near the fitting rooms. It blocked the view from the entrance, giving me a few precious seconds out of sight.

5/11

Broodcont

+25 BONUS

That was all I needed.

lipped off my blazer and folded it over my arm. Without it, my outfit looked considerably less formal, especially once I removed the clip holding my hair in place.

My hair fell around my shoulders.

I shook it loose, letting it frame my face differently, then reached into my purse for a pair of glasses.

They were ordinary prescription glasses I sometimes used when working on documents for too long, but their frames were large enough to change my appearance.

I put them on.

Then I glanced at my reflection in a nearby mirror.

Not perfect.

But better.

The woman who had entered the store had been wearing a tailored blazer with her hair neatly pinned back, looking every bit like the businesswoman whose photographs had appeared in the news.

The woman looking back at me now could easily pass for someone who had spent the afternoon shopping.

“Amber?” Jason whispered.

“I’m changing my appearance.”

“How?”

“Blazer off, hair down, glasses on.”

“That’s not much of a disguise.”

“It’s a shopping mall, sweetheart. I’m not trying to infiltrate a military base.”

“Please don’t give me any more ideas to worry about.”

I smiled faintly.

The conversation was helping. My chest still felt tight, but I could breathe again, and my thoughts were beginning to settle into something resembling their usual order.

I glanced toward the entrance through the compact mirror.

The man had reached the middle of the store.

He was looking between the clothing racks, clearly uncertain which direction I had taken.

Good.

I walked toward the rear exit, passing a large promotional display that blocked his view of the food court entrance.

There was a trash bin beside the service counter.

I dropped my blazer into it without slowing down.

It was an expensive blazer.

6/11

Broadcast

+25 BONUS

A very expensive blazer, actually.

Pamela would probably mourn its loss more sincerely than I would.

But at the moment, I considered it a reasonable sacrifice.

“Jason, I’m leaving the store.”

“Which exit?”

“The food court.”

“Good. There’s a camera directly outside. I should be able to see you as soon as you step through”

I pushed open the glass door and emerged into the brightly lit food court.

The change in atmosphere was immediate.

The smell of freshly baked bread mixed with fried food and coffee. Families crowded around tables, teenagers gathered near the drink stands, and a group of children was celebrating someone’s birthday beneath a collection of colorful balloons.

I adjusted my glasses and walked calmly into the crowd.

“Can you see me?” I asked.

There was a pause.

Then Jason answered.

“No.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean, no?”

“I can see the food court, but I don’t see you.”

I glanced toward the nearest security camera.

“Jason, I’m standing beside a coffee stand.”

Another pause.

Then I heard him laugh.

It was a short, disbelieving sound.

“Amber.”

“What?”

7

“I was looking for a woman in a blazer with her hair tied up.”

I smiled.

“Well, that woman is currently missing an expensive piece of clothing.”

“I see you now.”

7/11

Broode dist

+25 BONUS

“Good.”

approached a table near the center of the food court and pretended to examine the menu displayed above a nearby counter.

“Where are the men?”

“The one who followed you into the store is still inside. He’s looking around near the fitting rooms.”

“And the other?”

“He’s reached the main corridor intersection. He hasn’t entered the food court yet.”

I let out a slow breath.

For the first time since entering the mall, I had managed to put some distance between myself and both men

It wasn’t much, but it was something.