Chapter 53: Victoria Came to Make Trouble–1
Chapter 53: Victoria Came to Make Trouble
(Jasper’s POV)
I called my lawyer at seven in the morning.
By eight, he had tracked down the opposing counsel’s contact through the court registry.
Of course it was Gavin Sterling.
My lawyer made the call while I sat across from him, and I could hear Gavin’s voice through the phone – unhurried, almost pleasant.
“If your client wants to proceed with the divorce, we go through court mediation. Marital assets get split fifty–fifty. That’s the starting point, not the ceiling. Once that’s settled, we can talk about the rest.”
My lawyer cleared his throat. “Mr. Sterling, perhaps we can approach this with some flexibility. There is a child involved – a daughter – and my client’s wife is currently pregnant. Surely that warrants a more measured-”
Gavin cut him off, but his voice stayed pleasant.
“Aurora asked me to pass something along. She’s not hiding from your client. She simply has no reason to make herself available to him. As for the child she’s carrying – she’s decided to raise it alone. No co–parenting arrangement, no paternal involvement. She doesn’t need anything from him.”
The line went quiet for a moment.
“That’s all,” Gavin said, and hung up.
I sat there and stared at the wall.
She had moved out of the apartment. I’d sent someone to check two days ago. Gone. No forwarding address, no trace. In a city this size, a person could disappear completely if they had enough help.
My lawyer was still talking. I stopped hearing him.
Before I could process any of it, Ethan knocked and came in without waiting for an answer. He set a document on the desk in front of me and stepped back without a word.
I looked down at it.
Chapter 53 Victoria Came to Make Trouble 1
Fifty million dollars.
claim
A wire transfer, already processed, from an Everett Group account. The jewelry Rosalind had broken at the gala – Phineas had submitted the replacement cost, and the billing had gone through our branch’s accounts.
Fifty million dollars, gone, because my daughter had smashed a piece of jewelry on a marble floor and Phineas had decided to make us pay for it the same way he did everything else – quietly, efficiently, and without giving us any room to object.
I pressed my knuckles against the desk. I wanted to tear the document in half.
But fighting it meant more court proceedings, more summons, more public exposure. I told my assistant to process it. He left without looking at me.
When Victoria found out, she called me within the hour.
“We paid fifty million dollars,” she said, “and walked away with nothing. And now Aurora is filing for divorce and dragging the family name through the courts. This is completely unacceptable.”
“Mother-”
“Don’t.” Her voice was ice. “I’m not going to sit here and do nothing.”
(Author’s POV)
Down the hall from the oncology ward, a nurse updated Leo’s file.
The bone marrow matching results had come back that morning. No compatible donor
identified.
Martha sat by the window with her hands folded in her lap. She’d been waiting for those results for weeks, and the answer was the same as every time before – nothing.
“Years,” she said, to no one in particular. “Years we’ve been looking, and there’s still nothing.”
She turned and looked at Leo in the bed.
Then she looked past him, toward the door, as if Aurora might walk through it.
“This is the wrong time for her to be pulling this divorce nonsense,” Martha said. “She should be going back to Jasper. Getting down on her knees if she has to. He’s connected. His family has resources. If she hadn’t made such a scene-”
“Stop.” Leo’s voice was flat. “Don’t do that.”
Chapter 53 Victoria Came to Make Trouble–1
“I’m not doing anything. I’m being practical.”
“You’re blaming Aurora for something that isn’t her fault.”
Claim
Martha’s chin lifted. “I’m the one who told her to marry first and sort out her career later. She listened to me. She made that choice. And now she wants to throw it all away and call it Jasper’s fault?”
Leo stared at her. He opened his mouth.
The door swung open.
Victoria walked in, her high heels clicking against the linoleum floor, her face wearing an expression of contempt. She glanced at Martha, then at Leo, and then looked around the
room.
“Where is Aurora?” she said.
Martha blinked. “She’s at work, I think-”
“She’s at work.” Victoria repeated it with a particular kind of contempt. “While her family is sitting in a hospital room and her husband’s mother has to come down here personally.” She looked at Martha directly. “You raised her. This is on you.”
Martha’s jaw tightened, but she said nothing.
“Your daughter couldn’t give my son a son,” Victoria continued. “And now she’s dragging our family into a public legal dispute. If she wants this divorce, she walks away with nothing. No settlement, no assets, no claims. And the baby stays with Jasper.”
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Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.

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