The Hockey Roommate's Filthy Desire novel Chapter 183

Chapter 183

ARIA’S POV

On the other end of the line, Julian let out a long, heavy breath. The usual smug arrogance in his tone was completely gone, replaced by a rare hint of desperation. Aria, please just listen to me for one second,” he pleaded, his voice dropping into a low, earnest register.

“I only did it because I care about you. The board at your firm is a shark tank, and I couldn’t just sit back and watch them tear you apart from a distance. I meant well. Everything I did with David was just to ensure you were protected.”

“I don’t need your version of protection, Julian,” I fired back, my teeth gritted so hard my jaw ashed. “I am perfectly fine without your interference. In fact, I am more than fine. I am warning you right now, if you keep trying to inject yourself into my career, or if you send another unprompted wire transfer to my account, I am going to get genuinely furious. And you won’t like what happens when I lose my patience.”

Julian sighed deeply through the speaker, a sound of reluctant defeat. “Fine. If it genuinely makes you happy, I’ll step back. I won’t interfere with your office or your staff anymore. But please, Aria… just promise me that if you ever find yourself in trouble, or if you ever need anything at all, you won’t hesitate to reach out to me.”

A cold, amused smile touched my lips, full of absolute certainty. “I won’t be needing a single thing from you, Julian. Ever. Anything I could possibly want or need, my boyfriend will happily sort out for me. Goodbye.”

Before he could utter another word or try to smooth–talk his way back into my good graces, I sharply tapped the red button on my screen, ending the call and cutting him off completely.

I took a few deep breaths to steady my racing pulse, forced my emotions into a locked box, and threw myself entirely into my work. For the next several hours, I buried myself in my daily routine.

I checked through quarterly financial records, signed off on department budgets, and chaired two back–to–back executive meetings. By the time I finally made it back to my desk, the afternoon was slipping away, and I was completely drained.

Suddenly, the intercom on my desk pinged, and Chloe’s voice came through the speaker. “Miss Aria? I’m sorry to interrupt, but there is a gentleman in the lobby who insists on seeing you immediately. He says it’s an urgent personal matter regarding your family.”

I frowned, glancing at the clock. “Did he give a name, Chloe?”

“He said he is Mr. Vance’s personal legal representative, ma’am.”

A cold chill washed down my spine. The Vances‘ family lawyer. A terrible sense of dread pooled in my stomach, but I forced my voice to remain steady. “Let him in, Chloe.”

A moment later, the heavy glass door clicked open, and a sharp, middle–aged man in a pristine, custom–tailored grey suit stepped into my office.

He carried himself with the rigid, chilling professionalism that only the highest–paid corporate lawyers possessed. He didn’t smile, nor did he offer a polite greeting.

Instead, he walked straight over to my desk, opened his leather briefcase, and pulled out a thick stack of official legal documents. With a heavy thud, he placed the paperwork directly in front of me.

“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded, staring down at the bold, terrifying lettering stamped across the front page.

Miss Aria, my clients are officially filing for the full legal and physical custody of Amelia,” the lawyer stated flatly, his voice completely devoid of empathy.

1/3

1:24 pm

Chapter 18a

50 vouchers

My breath caught entirely in my throat My vision went blurry for a split second as the words echoed in my ears. Full

tody “What the hell*

A wave of pure, strffocating plaje hit me, nimmediately followed by a raging fire of betrayal. To think I had literally just called Juhan this morning

I had spoken to him, screamed at him, and he hadn’t said a single, solitary word about this. He had acted completely clueless while his family was actively preparing to rip my daughter away from me.

Rage taking over. I violently grabbed my cell phone from the desk, my fingers trembling as I unlocked it to dial Julian’s number and scream at him until my lungs gave out.

“I suggest you save your breath, Miss Aria. There will be absolutely no need to call Mr. Julian Vance, the lawyer interrupted smoothly. Before I could press the dial button, he pulled a sleek black stuartphone from his own pocket.

He tapped the screen, revealing a call that was already active and connected, and placed the device face–up on the desk right between us.

A second later, a harsh, booming, and incredibly authoritative voice filled the quiet room through the speakerphone. It was Julian’s father, the ruthless patriarch of the Vance empire.

“Aria.” Mr. Vance’s cold voice rumbled, dripping with absolute arrogance and malice. “Let me make one thing abundantly clear to you right now. No grandchild of mine, no blood relative carrying the Vance legacy is ever going to grow up away from our family. You selfishly hid that innocent child away from us in a foreign country for years, keeping her existence a secret while denying us our rights. But now that we know the truth, the game is over.”

“She is my daughter.” I finally found my voice, choking out the words through the thick lump of terror forming in my throat. “You can’t just do this.”

“We can, and we will,” Mr. Vance threatened coldly, completely unfazed by my outburst. “I strongly advise you not to be foolish enough to fight me in a court of law. If you drag this into a legal battle, I will use every ounce of my multi–billion- dollar influence to completely crush you. You will lose your job, your reputation, and most importantly, you will lose your daughter permanently. You cannot beat me, Aria.”

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