How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 112: Arrest...

"We move. Now!"

Alex grabbed Ava’s hand and didn’t wait for agreement. Her fingers clenched his instinctively as they pivoted down the narrow hallway behind the velvet-draped casino floor, disappearing behind a mirrored panel that led to the service corridors.

They should’ve seen the play. Should’ve known Isabella would never let things play out easily. Her trap hadn’t been physical, it had been psychological. And Ava, desperate, enraged, predictable, had walked right into it

They slipped into a corridor lined with supply crates and walk-in refrigerators. A waitress nearly dropped her tray of champagne flutes as they brushed past.

Ava offered no apology. The noise from the main floor was swelling now, shouts, confused patrons, the thudding rush of security boots.

"Left," Alex directed sharply, hand still clasped in hers.

They rounded into a steel door labeled Emergency Exit. Alex pushed through it, the cold night air rushing into their lungs. They emerged into the alley behind the Black Orchid, shadows cloaking them as they paused to catch their breath.

The flashing lights of incoming law enforcement lit up the far end of the alley. Neither spoke as they made a beeline to the nondescript black SUV parked blocks away. Alex pulled into traffic, merging with late-night city noise, his hands gripping the wheel like a man ready for war.

Ava stared out the passenger-side window, one knee bouncing.

"She had the damn ledger," she muttered. "She wanted me to see it. That was the point."

Alex didn’t interrupt. He knew better. He just drove, the city’s lights warping across the windshield as tension laced every breath between them.

"She’s playing a long game," Ava added, voice lower now. "And we’re just reacting. Every move she makes is calculated."

"And next time," Alex said quietly, "we cut deeper."

They arrived back at the Reed estate well past midnight. The guards waved them in, alert but silent. Inside, the lights were low. Eleanor had retired. Pearl was asleep in her room.

Ava lingered outside her daughter’s door for a moment, hand resting on the knob. Her stuffed rabbit had fallen to the floor. She bent down and tucked it back under Pearl’s arm. Her little girl didn’t stir.

"She has no idea," Ava whispered. "What we’re fighting for."

"She will," Alex said behind her. "One day. But not tonight."

He reached out and brushed a kiss against her temple. It was gentle. Steadying. A moment of human grace in the middle of a storm.

—

Later in the Study

The fire was down to embers in the hearth when Selena walked in, holding her tablet like a live grenade.

"She’s moving," Selena said without preamble.

"Isabella has the ledger, and she’s not just sitting on it. She’s already forged a trail of documents linking your hospital’s accounts to shell companies. Money laundering, Ava. Federal-level financial fraud."

Ava’s body went ice-cold.

"Pearl’s college fund," she murmured. "The foundation. The free clinic fund for East Side..."

"They’ll all be seized if it leaks," Selena confirmed. "Everything you’ve touched becomes evidence."

Alex let out a low breath. "She’s not just going after your throne. She’s going after your legacy."

Selena turned the tablet. "She’s meeting someone at a private penthouse tomorrow. Midtown. Likely her forger or her buyer. Whoever it is, it’ll be encrypted and off-grid once that deal’s done."

Ava’s eyes darkened.

"Then we stop it before it starts."

Selena raised an eyebrow. "You’re going?"

"I have to."

Alex stepped forward without hesitation.

"Then I’m going with her."

Selena gave him a tight nod and left them alone in the study.

The room fell into heavy silence. Ava crossed to the window, her reflection staring back at her in the glass, flawless makeup from the casino now smudged, strands of dark hair sticking to her cheek. The gun strapped beneath her dress itched against her thigh.

She turned.

"Why are you really doing this, Alex?"

He didn’t flinch. "Because I care about you. About Pearl. About the woman you’ve become."

"Even if it means choosing me over your blood?"

He stepped closer. "That choice is already made."

She kissed him then. Slow, deliberate. It wasn’t about passion this time. It was about anchoring, tethering herself to something real before they stepped back into the fire.

When they pulled apart, her eyes didn’t waver.

"No heroics," she warned.

Alex grinned faintly, the edge of that old Moretti arrogance shining through.

"No promises."

-------

Penthouse—

Ava and Alex didn’t use the front entrance, they never did. Instead, they slipped through the narrow, unmarked service corridor hidden behind the elevator shaft, moving soundlessly along the hallway that smelled of metal polish and recycled air.

Inside, beneath a vaulted ceiling and a thousand-dollar chandelier, Isabella stood poised in a white suit that gleamed under the overhead light. She held a manila envelope in one hand, sipping from a flute of champagne with the other. Beside her stood a man in a charcoal-gray suit, lean and pale, his jaw tight, his eyes scanning a silver briefcase opened between them.

Ava ducked low behind a frosted half-wall, her earpiece crackling softly with Selena’s voice.

"You’re directly beneath the lounge. Thermal shows four guards, one near the stairwell."

From where she crouched, Ava could hear Isabella’s voice, cool, amused, as always.

"Hand the documents to your FED tomorrow," Isabella purred.

"Let the media eat it alive. Dr. Ava Reed, the benevolent surgeon turned mob queen, laundering blood money through a children’s hospital. They’ll crucify her without a single bullet."

Ava’s jaw clenched. Her fingers flexed around the grip of her weapon.

She turned to Alex, eyes burning with fury. No words were needed. She gave a short nod.

Go.

They moved like water, silent, lethal, fluid.

Alex took the west side, slipping behind a marble column as a guard turned his back. Ava climbed a short spiral stair railing on the left, slipping over it and landing behind another guard. Her blade was out before he could blink, slicing across his hamstring. He dropped with a grunt before she knocked him out cold with the butt of her pistol.

Two down.

Alex dispatched his target with equal precision, using a tactical baton to crush the man’s wrist before wrapping an arm around his throat.

Ava advanced into the open lounge, weapon raised.

"Isabella!"

The woman turned, slow, deliberate. Her smile curled like smoke.

"Ava," she said with feigned delight.

"I was hoping you’d show. I even wore white."

"You’re done," Ava snapped.

"Am I?"

The lights flickered once, then chaos.

Hidden guards emerged from behind glass walls. Someone hit the alarm. Alex lunged to Ava’s side just as the contact in the gray suit reached into his jacket. Gunfire cracked the air. Ava ducked, glass shattering around them as bullets tore through a sculpture behind her.

"Left!" Alex shouted.

Ava turned, catching a guard in the ribs with her elbow and disarming him in one breathless motion. Her hair came loose as she ducked behind a bar cart, flipped it for cover, and returned fire.

Alex dropped two with smooth precision, but the rest kept coming.

"Too many!" he barked.

Ava scanned the room for Isabella but she was already retreating, high heels tapping against marble like gunshots. The briefcase was gone. The envelope too.

Ava surged forward just in time to freeze.

Out from a side corridor stepped a man in a tailored navy suit, badge gleaming from his belt.

"FBI. Drop your weapons. Now."

Everything slowed.

The guards backed away, guns still trained. Two agents moved in, one shouting into a radio. And then...

The fed’s gaze locked on Alex.

"Alexander Ramos. You’re under arrest for acting as a double agent against the United States and aiding a criminal organization."

Ava’s stomach dropped. Her weapon wavered, lowering an inch.

Alex raised his hands slowly, blood dripping from a shallow cut along his brow. "You’ve got this wrong," he said, voice tight. "I work for..."

"Save it for the courtroom," the Fed cut in.

"Take him."

Two agents swarmed him, pinning his arms behind his back. Alex didn’t resist, but his eyes shot to Ava across the debris-strewn floor.

Her heart pounded. Her boots felt like they were rooted in concrete.

He locked eyes with her.

He didn’t say it out loud. Just mouthed the words, sharp and deliberate.

"Run. Now."

****

The fed’s gaze locked on Alex.

"Alexander Ramos. You’re under arrest for acting as a double agent against the United States and aiding a criminal organization."

Ava’s stomach dropped. Her weapon wavered, lowering an inch.

Alex raised his hands slowly, blood dripping from a shallow cut along his brow. "You’ve got this wrong," he said, voice tight. "I work for..."

"Save it for the courtroom," the Fed cut in.

"Take him."

Two agents swarmed him, pinning his arms behind his back. Alex didn’t resist, but his eyes shot to Ava across the debris-strewn floor.

Her heart pounded. Her boots felt like they were rooted in concrete.

He locked eyes with her.

He didn’t say it out loud. Just mouthed the words, sharp and deliberate.

"Run. Now."