FULL NOVELXO Chapter My CEO 204
204 Foint of No Return
204 Point of No Return
(Judy)
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All I did was get some patient medications swapped around to try and get Ashlyn to talk to me again. How she ended up in the rooftop area, falling off, I have no idea. Maybe she wanted to end it all.
My phone buzzes in my hand, and I open the message from my contact at the hospital.
Ashlyn's 24 weeks pregnant. Baby is in distress. She's on life support.
Pregnant? She's still pregnant? How?
She was convinced she had a miscarriage. That's why she got so desperate and went to Santa Monica to try and frame Winona. She had no baby to hold onto Jayden, so she thought she may as well take Winona down with her.
No wonder she ghosted me and they put a no-contact order on me for Ashlyn. I never thought she'd still be carrying a baby, I still don't understand. I text back.
Find out how she was still pregnant
Is that why she tried to kill herself? It doesn't make sense.
I grab my phone, scrolling through the news, looking for something, anything, that'll tell me what's going on with Ashlyn. But then I see it:
Winona Nolan's Father, Steve Halley, Dead in Shooting at Her Home
"Shit." Steve is dead. That bastard's finally gone.
But with his death comes a new problem. The threat he made-the one about having information ready to be revealed if anything happened to him-was he serious?
A knock at the door pulls me out of my thoughts. I stand up, bracing myself for whatever comes next. When I open the door, a man in a suit hands me an envelope. "Mrs. Brennan?" he says, all business. "You've been served."
I take the papers and look at them, my hands shaking. A no-contact order. Jayden's cut me off, legally, permanently. How did it get to this? I shut the door in his face and go back to my living room.
Gus steps into the room, his eyes narrowing as he takes in the scene.
"You're here. Of course," I mutter, trying to steady my voice. "Perfect timing, as always.
Gus crosses his arms, leaning against the doorframe. "Judy, what the hell have you done this time? Ashlyn fell from the rooftop at the facility? She's pregnant? I've just had word."
I glare at him, my defenses rising instantly. "I didn't do anything. I just... I just tried to keep things under control. Ashlyn ghosted me, Gus. She was the reason Jayden wanted these stupid no-contact orders on me. He believed what she said about me." "You mean she told the truth, wow. Is that even a concept you understand?"
"The truth is overrated."
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"So, you thought you'd handle it."
"I didn't know she was still pregnant!" I snap, my voice rising. "She told me she miscarried! How was I supposed to know she still had a baby inside her? My grandbaby."
"Bullshit, Judy." Gus pushes off the doorframe, stepping closer. "You always know everything. You've got your little network of spies and informants, and you expect me to belleve you didn't know."
I grit my teeth, anger bubbling up inside me. I didn't! That baby is Jayden's. I wouldn't knowingly cause harm. Why would you think that?"
"Because that's what you do, Judy," Gus says, his voice cold. "You lie and you manipulate."
"You don't understand," I whisper, my voice shaking. "I did it all for Jayden. To protect him, to keep him safe. He deserved everything. After Greg's death, I ran Brennan Industries."
I pace the room as I explain.
"I built it up for Jayden. So he could inherit what he deserved, not some shell of a company in the debt Greg had it in. He was barely ever in the country and when he was, he was an asshole at home."
"And you took care of that didn't you? Greg's heart gave out from the genetic defect, or did it?"
"You can't prove otherwise so believe what you want."
"Come on, Judy. Jayden knows what you did to Greg. He heard us arguing about it when we thought he was unconscious. You can't just erase that because it doesn't suit you now. You deserve all of this and I'm glad Jayden has the balls to cut you off." "Unlike you." I say back, trying to hurt him.
"I'm here because, despite everything. I still love you. I'll always love you. God help me."
Tears prick at my eyes, and I blink them away, refusing to let them fall, I don't cry. Not in front of Gus. Not In front of anyone.
"And now?" Gus asks. "What are you going to do now that Jayden wants nothing to do with you?"
I shake my head, unable to answer. What can I do? I've lost everything. Jayden, my son, my only child, wants nothing to do with me. And Abby... sweet Abby, who I've grown to love so much, I'll never see her again.
The thought of never seeing Abby again breaks something inside me. I can feel the pieces of my carefully constructed world crumble around me.
"I need to see him," I say, my voice trembling. "I need to see Jayden, to explain, to make him understand that I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"It's too late, Judy. Jayden's done with you. You've pushed him too far, and now you're reaping what you've sown."
I can't give up on him, on Abby. I have to try, even if it's futile. I have to see him, to make him understand that I never wanted this.
But first, I need to figure out how to protect myself. If Steve had any proof, any evidence of what I've
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done, I need to find it and destroy it. I won't let him ruin me, not after everything I've sacrificed.
"Gus," I say, my voice steadying as I push down the paric threatening to overwhelm me. "1 need your help."
He looks at me. "Help with what?"
"Steve is dead, though I'm sure you know. He said if he dies there was information on me, waiting to be released, I need to find it. I need to make sure it never sees the light of day." Gus stares at me
for a long moment, then shakes his head. "You're impossible."
"I'm trying to survive," I snap, my anger flaring. "I'm trying to protect myself."
"From what?" he asks, his voice dripping with disdain. "From the consequences of your own actions?"
"Yes," I admit. "Yes, from the consequences of my own actions."