ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 143

GABRIELLE’S POV

My breath stuttered. “What?”

“You heard me,” Rhys said. “Your sister tried to kill you and my brother sacrificed himself. Again.”

I’d thought the shooter was someone from his past, or maybe the people who wouldn’t let him go.

I had no idea it was my sister.

And Damon had taken the bullet meant for me.

My chest tightened as guilt flooded me.

He’d warned me to make up my mind about her fate before she tried something again, but I couldn’t bring myself to decide.

I should have listened to him.

He was in there fighting for his life and it was all my fault.

My knees buckled, my mind still reeling from his words. “I should’ve- it’s all my fault.”

“I understand it wasn’t easy to make up your mind about your sister,” Rhys said, his voice cold. “But my brother may die because of that. You understand why I can’t trust you to do the needful with Emily.”

I did.

God, I did.

My voice came out hoarse. “W–where is she now?”

Rhys was staring at me like he wanted to hate me but he couldn’t. “With me. Don’t bother begging for her life. I just wanted to inform you first.”

It must have been hard for him to look at me knowing I had the same face as the person who shot his

brother.

How could I beg for her life when my husband was in this condition because of her?

She deserved whatever she got, and if Damon didn’t survive, I had made up my mind to shoot her myself.

Fiorella stared at me, her eyes tearing up.

“You can see her one last time,” Rhys spoke again. “But that’s all. We can go now and come back before the surgery is over.”

I blinked back the tears that formed in my eyes and tried to calm my trembling hands. “I’ll be back. I have to speak to someone first.”

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Then I walked out of the room before either of them could speak, shutting the door behind me and leaning against it.

Tears spilled down my cheeks.

My heart felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly.

Emily was the only person I cared for aside from Damon and Father, but she had caused me so much pain that I couldn’t even feel love for her anymore.

I wiped my face and took a deep breath, composing myself for a minute before walking to the public hallway.

It was hard to miss Phoebe.

She was standing by the receptionist’s desk, and her eyes lit up when she saw me.

“I heard what happened,” she said, not bothering to pretend. “You must be going through it

”

I raised a hand, cutting her off. “As you can see I’m not in the mood for small talk. If you came here to bargain, then I’ll pass. I know who shot my husband already.”

Her smile faded slightly.

She grabbed my hand and before I could protest, she nearly dragged me into the bathroom.

I pulled away from her hold as soon as we were alone. “Don’t touch me. Are you crazy?”

Phoebe didn’t respond immediately.

She checked under the stalls to make sure we were alone before turning to me. “The fact that you just said that in public shows me you’re not cut out for your husband’s world.”

I could still feel her touch around my arm.

I raised my chin. “It doesn’t matter. You’re not getting any information out of me. I came to warn you for

the last time.”

She smiled slowly. “And that’s why I’ll keep coming back. All you’d ever do is warn me. You’re all talk and no bite. And with your husband dead, you’re just a helpless widow.”

This was the second time today that someone was insinuating Damon wouldn’t make it.

But I didn’t correct her.

My fist clenched by my side. “Try me and find out just how helpless I truly am. I dare you.”

“Oh my goodness, I’m scared,” she returned sarcastically, her smile widening. “I’m here to offer you a last chance, Gabby. That’s what your twin calls you, right?”

When I didn’t respond, she continued.

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“Everything will go down when he dies,” she said. “But if you listen to me, I can help you build a new life for yourself. No one can save you but me, don’t you get it already?

I stared at her.

For a moment, the only sound in the bathroom was the faint dripping from one of the sinks.

“You’re being delusional,” I said calmly. “Nothing is going to happen because he’s not going to die.”

Phoebe tilted her head. “Am I? Or are you?”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice.

“Your husband is on an operating table right now with a bullet in his chest,” she said. “Even if he

survives, do you really think his enemies will stop coming after you?”

My jaw tightened.

“They already know who you are, and if Damon dies…” She shrugged. “You become the weakest link in a very dangerous chain.”

I refused to look away from her.

“You think you’re safe because you married him,” she said softly. “But you’re not. You’re only safe as long

as he’s alive.”

My throat felt tight.

I instinctively held my stomach, my mind clouded with the fact that our baby had the worst timing.

The risks were too much.

She leaned back against the sink like we were casually discussing the weather.

“And judging from the amount of blood I saw them rushing through those halls,” she added, “that protection might disappear very soon.”

Phoebe’s voice softened slightly.

“You’ll be alone,” she continued. “Rhys might tolerate you for a while, but you’ll always be the woman whose sister killed his brother. And all because you were too soft to put her down from the beginning.”

My chest burned, but I forced my expression to remain blank.

“And the rest of Damon’s enemies would do unimaginable things to you,” she shook her head sympathetically. “I’m the only one offering you a clean way out.”

I laughed under my breath even though my heart was pounding. “A way out? Or a leash?”

Phoebe didn’t look offended. “Call it whatever helps you sleep at night. I need your final answer now. Will you accept my help or not?”

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I looked down at my hands.

They were still trembling and for a moment, I wondered if Phoebe could see it too. Then I slowly lifted my head and met her eyes.

“You’re right about one thing,” I said.

Phoebe’s lips curved, certain she’d won.

I took a step closer. “If my husband dies, his enemies will come for me.”

Her smile widened.

“And maybe I won’t survive that.”

She nodded once, satisfied.

“But here’s the thing,” I added softly. “I would still rather die as Damon Gravari’s wife than live as your puppet. But I know he won’t so it doesn’t matter.”

A moment of silence passed between us.

Phoebe scoffed before she turned around and started walking toward the door.

Then she paused.

The soft click of the lock echoed in the bathroom.

– “You stupid bitch.”

The words came out low and venomous, sending chills up my spine.

Phoebe turned slowly to face me again, all traces of that polite smile gone. “I tried to do this the easy way. You pushed me now.”

I took a step back, my eyes scanning the room for anything I could use to defend myself if it came to that.

My eyes fell on the ceramic bunny decor by the sink.

She opened her purse and brought out her phone. “Remember when you said this?”

I knew Damon was a bad man, a very bad man but still… I fell for him. And with every morally questionable thing he did, I fell even harder…

My brows pulled together

She had been recording our conversation this whole time.

Of course, she was.

She stopped the audio. “If you don’t want to give me the story that would change our lives, I could publish this. But instead of him getting arrested, it’d be you.”

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Fuck.

I should have known she’d try to blackmail me.

“And you want to know something else?” She asked, her eyes twinkling with every word. “I knew Emily was coming for you the last time we spoke. Didn’t you wonder how she found you in Italy all the way from home with no money?”

I thought my ears were failing me. “What?”

“I brought her here,” she whispered. “I know everything about you so it was easy to find her. She was busy searching for you in the wrong place. I paid for her flight and everything.”

I shook my head in denial, my fingers curling slowly into fists. “No. You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would,” she replied. “The plan was to get her to kill you and then catch Damon killing her in retaliation on camera. Not even Emily knew that. But the monster must really love you. He ran into the bullet instead and fucked up my plans.”

The room tilted.

My heart began to pound violently in my chest, panic clawing up my throat before I forced it back down.

She tried to use Emily to kill me when I wouldn’t help her, and all for a fucking story.

She was going to waste two lives for selfish purposes. And she was the reason Damon got shot too.

It suddenly made sense.

“But this,” she held up her phone, “is a good story, alright. Wow, the look on your face is more satisfying than I thought it’d be.”

I couldn’t respond.

My mind was still spinning.

She dropped the phone back in her purse and turned to the mirror to adjust her suit. “See you in hell, dear.”

I watched as she touched up her makeup in the mirror.

A certain kind of rage I’d never felt before, and heartbreak surged through me in equal measure.

Damon would die for me, and as long as he was still breathing, I would do whatever it took to protect the life we were building with our baby.

And I couldn’t let her leave with that recording either.

I reached for the bunny decor, a sudden calm coming over me. “Phoebe?”

“Yes?” She turned.

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I lifted the heavy ceramic and struck her across the face.

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