The Ex-Wife’s Billion Dollar Comeback Novel

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Chapter 188: Forever Parents

~ Soraya ~

“So, what happened to Sienna Ashford?” Amanda asked.

Everyone was at Jacob's mansion. After the verdict was given,

they all gathered for a dinner celebration.

Jacob's dining area was surrounded by guests. At one end,

Silas, Lyra, and Luca were chatting with Angela. Silas was

especially helping her get through the next level of puzzles on

her NeuroBloom.

In the middle, Emily and Philip were conversing with Veronica

and Nora. Toward the other end of the table, Amanda sat

closer to Jacob and Soraya. Their lawyers were also in the

seats across from them.

“Sienna negotiated her involvement in the case. In exchange

for pieces of evidence against Damien, we asked the judge

not to penalize her for contempt, but—" Jacob paused. “She

isn’t going to get away for long.”

“What do you mean?” Cedric asked.

Soraya and Jacob exchanged glances. It was Jacob who

revealed, “Sienna is also dealing drugs. With Damien's drug

trafficking case already on the way, she'll be implicated soon

enough.”

“How do you know this, Jacob?” Amanda asked.

“| have my sources,” Jacob said.

Soraya smiled inwardly, thinking back to how it all happened.

Yes, it was true, hacked evidence was inadmissible in court.

But that didn’t mean it couldn't be used as leverage.

When Soraya and Silas breached Damien's network, she

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uncovered a trail of contacts that included dealers,

distributors, and users. Rather than presenting the hacked

files outright, Soraya used them as leads, guiding the

authorities toward admissible evidence that would point back

to Damien.

It was Soraya who had hacked into Damien's accounts and,

through carefully timed digital messages, reached out not

only to Caesar but also to another user already in police

custody. That exchange tipped off investigators to the

location of Damien's hidden stash.

Of course, Soraya ensured it all coincided with the social

worker's scheduled home visit. The police search, though

officially independent, was documented in the social worker's

report, one that inevitably reached the judge. Even though

Damien’s criminal trial had yet to begin, the murmurs from

that report were enough to raise a serious alarm within Judge

Ramirez's court.

Soraya smiled at Amanda and Cedric. “Sure, we're thankful

that Sienna testified how Damien had known about Angela all

along, but it doesn’t change the fact that the trouble started

with her. And we're not going to save her once the police

come looking for her.”

“Damien and his uncle's family were also involved in a

fraudulent investment scheme operating out of Stoneford City,”

Jacob explained. “! discovered traces of it months ago,

before the trial, but the evidence back then wasn't strong

enough. They had used multiple aliases and shell companies

to make the operation look legitimate.”

“Leven contributed to the victims’ legal fees and hired

investigators to help them gather admissible evidence,”

Jacob continued. “Now, they're close to filing a formal

complaint.”

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What Jacob couldn't tell Amanda and Cedric was that Soraya

had also uncovered digital traces linked to the scam. Again,

the same data couldn't be counted as legal evidence, but it

guided investigators to accounts and entities tied to the

missing funds. That information was enough to establish

probable cause, enabling authorities to secure subpoenas for

the related bank accounts.

“| knew | was going to win, and if not, | would stop at nothing

to make it happen. But at the same time, | wanted to deal with

Damien for good. With these cases piling up on him, plus the

monetary penalty he got from contesting the adoption, I’m

more than confident he won't bother us again,” Jacob

explained. “Besides, | now have authorities under my

paycheck to keep him from leaving Fairmont.”

“Well done, Jacob,” Cedric complimented.

“And Harold and Martin did a great job too,” Veronica added,

overhearing their conversation.

“Yes! Definitely,” Jacob agreed, and Soraya acknowledged the

same.

But Jacob's mother wasn't done yet. She said, “It’s because of

their suggestion that Angela now has a complete family, with

Jacob and Soraya married.”

“Speaking of marriage,’ Emily raised, “when are you planning

to hold the official ceremony?”

Jacob and Soraya looked at each other. It was Soraya who

revealed, “After | give birth. We'll still hold it in Burnell. It has

the most beautiful view. You guys will love it.”

“Then | won't need to adjust your beautiful gown,” Luca said

with a smile.

“Have you already determined your twins’ gender?” Silas

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asked.

Yet again, Jacob and Soraya turned to each other. Soraya

beamed, “We'll find out when we return to Burnell. We're just

as excited.”

“I'm going to have two brothers!” Angela declared.

“Oh boy. One boy is already a handful, and then two?” Cedric

hissed. “Calum used to have us running around the house.”

“Tell me about it,’ Nora said, chuckling.

“It was the same for Jacob, plus, with attitude sometimes,”

Veronica shared, prompting laughter around the table.

“Am | going to be a godmother?” Lyra asked, her eyes

sparkling.

“Definitely!” Soraya exclaimed. “In fact, everyone around this

table is going to be a godparent!”

Harold Finch laughed heartily. “I look forward to being a

godfather to a Steel.”

“So do |,” Martin, the other lawyer, remarked.

After that joyous discussion about the twins, the group

enjoyed their desserts and tea. Eventually, the guests began

to leave. Amanda and Cedric were the last to go, along with

Emily and Philip.

At the mansion door, Amanda asked, “Soraya, are you and

Jacob ever going to tell Angela about her biological father?”

The couple still hadn't told Angela. They wished they didn’t

have to, but the risk of her discovering it on her own later was

far too great. If Angela ever uncovered it herself, the

confusion and hurt could undo everything they'd worked so

hard to protect.

Soraya and Jacob had planned to tell Angela while the

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adoption case was ongoing, but they never found the courage

to follow through.

“We're still thinking about it,’ Jacob said.

But the couple didn’t wait long. When they returned to Burnell,

Jacob and Soraya took Angela out for a walk along the

beautiful rows of trees within Nexa Power.

“Angela,” Jacob began gently, holding their daughter's hand, “

Mommy and | have something important to tell you.”

Angela looked up, her small hand tucked in his. “What is it,

Daddy?”

“There are two ways a person can become a parent,” Jacob

said. “Sometimes, a daddy helps a baby grow inside the

tummy of amommy. Remember, we talked about Daddy

planting a seed in Mommy's tummy?”

Angela nodded before Jacob continued. “So that's the first

way to become a parent. We call them the biological parents.

And sometimes, a child is given to parents who will love and

care for them all their life. Let's call them ‘Forever Parents.”

Jacob paused before delivering. "You didn’t grow inside

Mommy Aras tummy; you grew in another lady's tummy. You

already know this, right?”

The little girl blinked and looked up at Jacob in silence. Then,

she nodded. It was as if she remembered Sienna but chose

not to talk about her.

“The thing is, | also wasn’t the daddy who helped you grow in

your other mommy's tummy,” Jacob softly said. “I’m not your

biological daddy.”

Soraya was holding Angela's hand. She noticed their daughter’

s grip tighten.

“Your Mommy Ara and | are your ‘Forever Parents,” Jacob

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continued. “We're the ones who will love you, take care of you,

and always be here for you.”

“So, Baby, what we're trying to say is that you have biological

parents, the ones who gave you life, but your Daddy Jacob

and | are the parents who will be with you forever and ever

and ever," Soraya said.

Angela repeated softly, “Forever and ever?”

“Yes! Forever.” Soraya knelt to Angela's level and gently held

her shoulders. “Your Daddy Jacob and | love you so much.

That's why we'll always be here for you—forever.”

“Nothing really changes, Angela. I'm still your Daddy, and |

always will be. Sometimes, a ‘Forever Parent’ is even better

than a ‘Biological Parent.’ Do you understand?” Jacob asked.

Angela looked down and played with her fingers. She

muttered, "It's so much easier to say too. ‘Forever Parents.’

Soraya and Jacob ended up amused. Soraya said, "Yes, that's

true”

“My Mommy Ara is better,” Angela said, hugging Soraya. “I

only want Mommy Ara."

“And this Daddy?” Jacob pointed to himself. “This daddy of

yours has never failed you.”

Angela turned and hugged him tightly. “| only want Daddy

Jacob.”

“And we want you too. That's what matters the most," Jacob

said, pecking on Angela's cheek.

The couple knew their daughter might not have understood

everything that day, but it was a start. What mattered most

was for Angela to feel their love, and it was enough to make

her feel safe in the home they had built around her.