Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1093

Teresa pressed her hand to her chest, still rattled from the conversation. “The Nelson family is honestly terrifying,” she said, her voice shaky. “Emmy, just thinking about it makes me nervous all over again. We’re so lucky you didn’t get swept up in all that drama because of James. That family is all about scheming and secrets… They’d chew you up and spit you out. If James hadn’t always been looking out for you, if he hadn’t given up so much… Honestly, I might have regretted letting you marry him.”

But now, with everything the way it was, Teresa just hoped for one thing. She wanted Emmy, James, and their two kids to stay safe. That was enough for her. She prayed that none of them would ever get caught up in the Nelson family’s mess.

The two of them chatted a little while longer. Then, a knock sounded on the study room door. John peeked in, pointed at his watch, and gave Emmy a look that said the experiment was about to start.

“Mom, I have to get to the lab. I’ll call you later,” Emmy said, quickly ending the call.

The days ticked by, one after another. Boston’s maple leaves turned red, then dropped, and before she knew it, another month had slipped away. Still no word from James. Meanwhile, the situation in Southeast Asia was growing worse every day. There was always some new conflict in the news. They never named names, but whenever Emmy heard the words “special forces operation,” her heart would clench with worry.

One afternoon, Emmy had just wrapped up a set of data analysis when her phone buzzed on her desk. She glanced at the screen. It was an unknown number. Without thinking, she answered right away.

“Hello?”

There was a burst of static, then the unmistakable thumping of helicopter blades in the background. It took several seconds before a man’s voice came through, weak but rough around the edges.

“Is this… Mrs. Nelson?”

Hearing that, Emmy felt tears sting her eyes. “Yes, yes, it’s me! Are you one of James’s teammates? Are you all okay?”

The man’s breathing was labored, heavy, like he was fighting through pain.

“Ma’am, I’m a… a special ops soldier. Just got pulled back from the front lines. James… James asked me to get a message to you.”

A few seconds later, someone else picked up. This time, it was a woman’s voice, fast and crisp, with the clipped calm of a professional under pressure.

“Hello, I’m a nurse at the field hospital. The soldier who called you just lost consciousness. He’s seriously wounded, abdominal gunshot wound, massive blood loss. We have to get him into surgery right now.”

The call cut off.

Emmy stayed frozen, the phone still pressed to her ear. Abdominal gunshot wound. Too much blood lost. She couldn’t stop her mind from jumping to James, right in the middle of everything. Was he hurt too? Was “safe” just something they said to keep her calm?

She slowly set her phone down, her brows drawn tight. Emmy closed her eyes. For a moment, it felt like she could actually smell the metallic tang of blood and the harsh smoke of battle from that call. Things over there weren’t just tough. It was a nightmare.

But Emmy gave herself exactly one minute to fall apart. She let herself feel the ache and the fear, let it wash over her. Then she forced her eyes open, clearing away the panic and worry. What replaced it was resolve. She flipped her phone facedown on the desk and got back to work, diving into her research like nothing could shake her focus.