The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 190

Chapter 190 Leah Cracks, the Raid, and the Aftermath 2

As they entered the lower-income district, the city changed. Streetlights were dimmer. Buildings were closer together. The air looked heavier. People watched from corners and doorways with the kind of quiet suspicion that meant police meant trouble.

Ryan didn’t care what anyone thought.

His eyes were locked forward, hands tight on the wheel.

“Stay behind them,” Tevin warned quietly.

Ryan didn’t answer.

He followed the police vehicles down a narrow street.

Small houses. Rusted gates. Faded paint. A neighbourhood that felt like it had been forgotten by the people who wrote laws and protected rich districts.

The convoy slowed.

Officers began to dismount.

Chief Claude’s voice came through a radio, sharp and controlled. “Positions.”

They stopped at a small house with a low fence and a front door that looked ordinary, too ordinary for the nightmare inside it.

Ryan’s breath turned shallow.

He could feel his pulse in his throat.

“Eve,” he whispered under his breath, like the name could travel through walls.

Tevin gripped Ryan’s shoulder once, firm. “Stay.”

Ryan didn’t move.

Officers spread out. One team took the back. Another took the front.

Chief Claude raised his hand.

Then he dropped it.

The front door was breached.

Shouts exploded, fast, sharp.

“Police!”

“Get down!”

A gunshot cracked through the air.

187

Chapter 190 Leah Cracks, the Raid and the Aftermath 2 Ryan’s whole body jerked.

Tevin’s hand clamped on his arm. “Don’t.”

Another shot.

Then a burst of return fire.

Ryan’s chest tightened so hard he thought he might stop breathing.

Steven made a broken sound in the back seat. “Alissa!”

Maxwell’s voice was flat, controlled. “Stay down.”

More shouting.

More shots.

Then sirens, too late to scare anyone, but loud enough to announce consequences.

Ryan’s hands shook on the steering wheel.

He watched officers move, watched bodies drop behind the fence line.

A shootout.

Real.

Not scandal. Not threats. Not words.

A few minutes that felt like hours.

Then, finally, the gunfire stopped.

A radio crackled. “Clear.”

Another voice: “Two down. One fleeing, got him.”

Ryan’s breath hitched.

Tevin released his grip slightly. “Wait.”

But Ryan was already opening the car door.

Tevin swore and got out with him. Maxwell moved too, and Steven stumbled out behind them, wild-eyed.

Chief Claude barked, “Stay back!”

Ryan ignored him.

He couldn’t.

He ran toward the house, Tevin and Maxwell close enough to keep him from doing something suicidal.

Inside, the air was thick, dust, sweat, gunpowder.

Chapter 190 Leah Cracks the Raid, and the Aftermath 2

A narrow hallway. A living room with overturned furniture.

And then a door to the side room.

An officer shouted, “Here!”

Ryan’s heart slammed.

He shoved past the threshold,

And saw them.

Alissa on the floor, eyes half-open, blood staining her side where she’d been shot. Her chest rose in shallow, struggling breaths.

Eve against the wall, wrists raw, face pale, her dress torn at the shoulder. There was blood too, less than Alissa’s, but enough to make Ryan’s stomach drop. A wound on her arm, another along her side. Her eyes were open, unfocused, but when she heard movement, they tried to sharpen.

Ryan’s breath tore out of him.

“Eve!”

He crossed the room in two strides and dropped to his knees beside her.

Eve’s lips parted. No sound came.

Her eyes met his.

And something in Ryan cracked.

“Don’t,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Don’t you dare.”

Eve blinked slowly, weakly.

“I’m here,” Ryan said, hands hovering, terrified to touch her wrong, terrified any pressure might hurt the

baby. “I’m here. Stay with me.”

An officer pulled Ryan back slightly. “Sir, we need to move them.”

Ryan’s voice turned lethal. “Touch her gently.”

Tevin’s voice cut in, sharp. “He said gently.”

Maxwell stepped toward Steven as Steven tried to stumble toward Alissa. “Hold it,” Maxwell said. “You’ll

get in the way.”

Steven looked like he might fight, but then he saw Alissa’s face and his knees nearly buckled.

“Alissa,” he whispered, voice broken. “Oh God,”

Medics rushed in.

They stabilised quickly, pressure, bandages, commands.

Chapter 190 Leah Cracks the Raid, and the Aftermath 2

“Alive,” one medic confirmed, voice urgent. “Both alive. Get stretchers.”

Ryan refused to let go of Eve’s hand.

He walked beside the stretcher as they carried her out, his body moving like a man guarding something

fragile with his entire soul.

Outside, ambulance lights flashed.

Eve’s eyes fluttered.

Ryan leaned closer. “Look at me.”

Her gaze found him again.

Ryan’s voice came out low, shaking despite his effort. “Your father… he came clean.”

Eve’s brows drew faintly, confused.

Ryan swallowed hard. “He told the police. He told Chief Claude what Leah did. The truth. That’s how we found you.”

Eve’s lips trembled slightly.

Ryan’s jaw clenched. “He saved you. He finally stopped hiding.”

Eve’s eyes glistened.

They loaded her into the ambulance.

Ryan tried to climb in.

A medic blocked him. “Sir, we need room,

Ryan’s voice cut through. “I’m not leaving.”

Tevin stepped in, calmer. “He’s her husband.”

Maxwell added flatly, “Let him in.”

The medic hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. Sit there. Don’t touch equipment.”

Ryan got in and sat near Eve’s head, holding her hand, watching her breathe like it was the only thing that

mattered.

At the hospital, everything moved fast, doors swinging open, medics shouting, wheels squeaking against

tile floors.

Ryan stayed glued to the stretcher until a doctor stopped him.

“Sir, we need to operate,” the doctor said firmly. “You can’t come in.”

Ryan’s throat tightened. “Is she,”

“She’s alive,” the doctor said quickly. “We’re doing everything we can. We’ll update you.”

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<Chapter 190 Leah Cracks, the Raid, and the Altermath 2

Eve’s eyes fluttered again.

Ryan leaned down close. “I’m here,” he whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Eve’s fingers squeezed his weakly, like she was trying to believe him.

Then she was wheeled away.

Ryan stood in the corridor, breathing hard, hands shaking.

Tevin and Maxwell were near him, watchful. Steven paced like a broken man, blood on his hands from

touching Alissa before the medics pushed him back.

“She’s alive,” Steven whispered again and again, like repetition could protect her.

Ryan’s phone buzzed with incoming calls.

He ignored them all.

Then Steven approached Ryan slowly, eyes red-rimmed.

Ryan turned toward him, jaw tight.

Steven stopped a few feet away, voice trembling. “Where is Eve.”

Ryan’s voice was cold. “In surgery.”

Steven’s face crumpled. “Can I, can I see her.”

Ryan stared at him for a long moment.

Then, without warning himself, Ryan nodded once. “When she wakes.”

Steven’s breath hitched. “Thank you.”

Ryan’s jaw clenched. “Don’t thank me. You owe her.”

Steven flinched like he deserved it. “I know.”

Hours passed like years.

Then the doctor returned.

“She’s stable,” the doctor said. “The baby is stable. She’s sedated. But she’s stable.”

Ryan’s knees nearly gave out.

He grabbed the wall, forcing himself to stay upright.

Tevin exhaled a long breath. Maxwell’s shoulders eased by a fraction.

Steven let out a broken sob and covered his face with both hands.

Ryan was allowed in once Eve was moved to recovery.

The room smelled like disinfectant and quiet fear.

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Chapter 190 Leah Cracks the Raid, and the Aftermath 2

Eve lay pale against white sheets, arm bandaged, face bruised, eyes closed.

Clam

Ryan sat beside her and took her hand again like he couldn’t trust the world not to steal her the moment

he let go.

When Eve finally stirred, her lashes fluttering, Ryan leaned forward instantly.

“Eve,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “I’m here.”

Her eyes opened slowly, unfocused, then found him.

She blinked, and tears slipped.

Ryan’s throat tightened. “Don’t cry.”

Eve’s lips trembled. “It hurts.”

“I know,” Ryan whispered. “I know. I’m here.”

Eve’s fingers squeezed his again, weak.

Ryan swallowed hard. “Your father told the truth.”

Eve’s brows drew faintly.

Ryan’s voice was low. “He confessed everything. About Leah. About what she did. He helped the police.

That’s how we found you.”

Eve’s eyes glistened more.

“Steven is here,” Ryan added quietly. “He came to check on you.”

Eve’s breath hitched.

Ryan held her gaze. “Do you want to see him.”

Eve nodded once, faint.

Ryan stood and stepped into the corridor.

Steven looked up immediately, eyes bloodshot. “Is she, ”

“She’s awake,” Ryan said.

Steven’s whole body shook.

He walked into the room like he was afraid she might vanish if he moved too fast.

The moment he saw Eve’s face, he broke.

His shoulders sagged. His mouth trembled. Tears spilled freely.

“Eve,” he whispered.

Eve lifted her weak arms.

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Chapter 190 Leah Cracks, the Raid, and the Aftermath 2

Steven rushed forward and, carefully, gently, wrapped her in his arms.

Clam

Eve clung to him with a strength that surprised Ryan, and then, in a voice small and broken, she whispered,

“Daddy.”

Steven sobbed like the word cut him open.

“I’m sorry,” he choked. “I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry,

Eve’s fingers trembled against his back. “Don’t… don’t go.”

Steven shook his head violently. “Never. I promise. I promise I will make it up to you.”

Ryan watched, chest tight, because he’d never seen Eve allow herself this softness with Steven. Not once.

Not like this.

Steven pulled back just enough to look at her face, still crying. “My fiancée is fine,” he whispered, voice breaking. “She’s alive. And,” he swallowed hard, trying to hold himself together, “, and we’re happy.”

Eve’s eyes filled again, and she nodded weakly.

Ryan stepped closer and placed his hand gently on Eve’s hair, grounding her.

Outside the hospital room, the world finally exploded.

There was an official arrest of Leah Ashbrook and Murphy McCoy, her fixer, and lover. Their offences hit the news in brutal waves, including the hit-and-run case. Mathias Goodwin was set free, and the Ashbrooks were ordered to pay reparations. Jonathan Ashbrook was sentenced to five years for his part in the cover-up. Steven was sentenced to one year because he cut a deal. Leah Ashbrook was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Ashbrook Corp did not fall, its stock rose because people saw Ryan as upright and fair, celebrating him as a hero for exposing his parents and getting justice for those they

bullied.

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