The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 197

TONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN CLAIRE 5 POV

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CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVEN CLAIRE’S POV

I pushed through the hospital room door and found Margot sitting upright in the bed, her laptop balanced across her legs and several papers scattered over the blanket.

The first thing I noticed was just how furious she looked.

Not worried. Not frightened.

Furious.

Which, somehow, frightened me more.

Professor Mason Grant stood nearby with his arms folded.

His expression wasn’t much better.

Something was wrong- something was very wrong.

My stomach tightened immediately.

“What happened?” I asked.

Margot looked up. “Dr. Ramon is missing.”

The words landed like a stone in my chest. “What?” I shouted before I could stop myself.

“He didn’t show up for his scheduled interview yesterday.” She said, her voice clipped yet dangerously controlled.

“The medical board couldn’t reach him. His attorney couldn’t reach him. His staff haven’t seen him since the day before yesterday.”

I stared at her with wide eyes. “No.”

Margot nodded once.

“That’s what I said.”

A horrible feeling crawled through me.

The room suddenly felt colder.

The first place my mind jumped to was Hart Sullivan.

To Eva.

To the threat.

To Nathaniel lying in a hospital bed after nearly dying.

“Do you think-”

1/5

MACTERONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN CLAIRES POV

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“Yes.” Margot answered, cutting me off. “I think Hart must have gotten to him.”

Professor Grant finally spoke. “We don’t know that for certain.”

Margot snorted. “Of course we don’t.” She closed her laptop. “But a key witness disappears days before a major lawsuit?”

Her grey eyes narrowed. “What an incredible coincidence.”

I sank into a chair, trying to think whilst trying not to panic.

Dr. Ramon wasn’t just any other witness.

He was the main witness!

The man who could directly connect Eva to the fraudulent infertility diagnosis.

The man who could verify the records, the payments and the lies.

Without him, things became infinitely harder.

Not exactly impossible, but much harder.

And Eva only needed harder.

She didn’t need victory.

She only needed enough chaos to escape consequences.

Just like Langford vs Virex, I was leading this case with the intention of winning. With the intention of proving Eva’s crimes beyond reasonable doubt.

Margot must have seen the thought on my face.

“Don’t.” She said.

I blinked. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t start catastrophizing.” She pointed at me. “I know that look.”

“I am not catastrophizing.” I argued.

“You absolutely are.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

Because I knew she was right.

Margot sighed.

“Claire.” She called, her voice softening slightly as she said my name.

“If Hart took Ramon, then we find Hart.”

2/5

ANY MONDED AND NINETY SEVEN CLAIRES POV

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She said it so directly. As if it were so simple.

As though locating a missing former Navy SEAL was the easiest thing in the world.

I rubbed my forehead. “How do we do that?”

Margot’s smile appeared- small, but sharp. Dangerous when she was strategizing.

The smile she always got right before destroying someone in court.

“We make him uncomfortable.”

Professor Grant groaned.

I frowned, confused. “What does that mean?”

Margot looked delighted.

It was never a good sign when Margot looked delighted.

“It means Hart Sullivan has spent years being invisible.” She tapped her fingers against the blanket.

“People like that survive because nobody shines a light on them.”

I slowly sat forward, understanding. Not fully- but enough.

Margot continued. “We know who he is. We know his military history. We know he’s tied to Eva. We find out his family, where he grew up.”

Margot’s eyes shone like a hundred bulbs. “Now we make sure everyone else knows too.”

My eyes widened.

“You want to go public?”

“I want him exposed.”

Professor Grant looked unconvinced.

“That could make him dangerous.”

Margot’s expression hardened. “He already is.” She said. “Besides, angry snakes lash out. It makes cutting their heads off much easier”

The room fell silent.

Because nobody could argue with that.

Nathaniel had almost died.

A witness had vanished.

And Hart had personally threatened me.

3/5

SNEHUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN CLAIRE SPOV

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Dangerous wasn’t a future possibility. Dangerous was already happening.

If the next time Hart turns on his television, he doesn’t just see that he’s being searched for, but that everything about him has been made public, then he will surely make a move.

One that is hopefully reckless enough to lead us back to him.

My phone buzzed, cutting through the silence.

I glanced down. It was a message from Daniel Reyes.

An emergency meeting holding, and I needed to be present for it.

I looked up.

“Sinclair & Co.”

Margot nodded. “I figured.”

“How?” I asked, a little bit amused.

“The same way I know you’re about to spend the next six hours drowning in legal strategy.” She remarked with a small smile. “I trained you.”

I rolled my eyes, biting back a grin.

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