Page 53 of The Billionaire's Off Chance

“No, I’m just a bit rattled. I was trying to pick up the package, but he just came out of nowhere. I want him to pay.” She clenches her fists around my clothes.

“He will learn his lesson.” Faintly, I hear the siren of a police car drawing neat. They’re fast. “Let’s teach these leeches a lesson.” I say and head to the door, hearing the car parking outside.

We meet the police and give our statements. They arrest Charles and leave. Shortly after, we return to the house to finish our task of arranging the boxes under the tree. It's been a while since I've been to the office. I have to meet with some department heads before the holiday. I head to the company, wishing to resolve this quickly and get back to Chasmin and Eric.

When I get to the company’s parking lot, I leave my car and notices another car pull up and Claudette getting out. She wears a red coat, making her stand out in the snow around us. Just like her to want all the attention. I walk away from the car, already guessing that she’s here to taunt me again, not realizing that she has a more sinister motive.

She steps beside me, walking calmly. “Hello, Lance. Miss me?” I don’t reply, walking faster to get inside. She exhales, her breath misty in the air. “I’m filing a lawsuit against you. I want to have my custody rights. I want my son back.”

I stop dead, glancing at her. “You must be joking. You signed a contract.”

“Ah, yes. A contract I was under undue pressure to sign. The court will be sympathetic to my case. I can make it favorable as a pitiful mother and a scorned lover.” She wipes the edge of her eyes sadly.A bullshit act.

“What do you want?”

“What I’ve always wanted for a Christmas present: to ruin you.” She smiles with a chill in her eyes that rivals the snow.

Chapter 27

CHASMIN

Lancereturnshomefromwork in a foul mood. He bangs the door shut behind him and heads upstairs without saying a word. Rising from my seat in the living room, I follow him.What the hell happened?I ask myself as I follow along.

His long legs take him up the stairs quickly, and I have to rush to catch up with him. “Lance, hold on.” I call after him.

He reduces his speed but doesn’t stop. When he gets to our room, he leaves the door open. I enter. He takes off his jacket, and paces around with his hand under his chin. “That damned woman!” he curses out loud, grinding his teeth.

When I close the door, the sound wakes him from his deep thoughts. “What’s the matter? And what woman are you cursing?” I speak softly, heading to him.

He runs his hands through his hair, sighing. He sits on the bed, kicking off his shoes. “I didn’t mean for you to see me like this.” He is obviously distressed.

I kneel in front of him, my hands resting on his thighs. Gazing up at him, I keep a blank expression as I begin unbuttoning his shirt. “Things must have been really bad at the company to put you in such a foul…”

“It was Claudette…”

“Mood,” I finish despite the interruption. I take a pause to understand his words. It seems that Claudette hasn’t stopped going after Lance. She plans to bring Lance down because he had scorned her. She almost poisoned my heart against Lance and would have brought an end to our relationship. We survived. Yet, seeing Claudette shouldn’t have fazed Lance this much.

He holds my hands and kisses my fingers with his eyes closed. “She wants Eric back.”

“Impossible!” I scream and frown. The contract she signed stated clearly that she voluntarily gave up her rights to Eric for a sum of 30 million Euros. As much as that transaction disgusted me, I knew we had to do it to get Eric away from her.

He chuckles mirthlessly. “Well, she plans to challenge the contract in court, claiming we forced her. She’s using the bereaved mother card. Of course, we’ll put up a good defense, but this could drag out for a while and affect Eric.”

A chill runs down my back.What is Claudette playing at?She got the money. What else does she need, except Eric to have control over Lance, no matter how small. Lance has grown to love and cherish Eric, this will be a big blow to him.

“No matter her plan, we shouldn’t lose heart just yet. She might be doing this to get more money.”

He pulls me to my feet and I sit beside him. “Maybe, maybe not. If she and I get shared custody, she will make unreasonable demands. I feel filthy having to be associated with her any further.” He squeezes my thigh, then rises. “I already have my lawyers on this. I’ll fight her tooth and nail.” He walks to the bathroom with tired steps.

I watch his back as he closes the door behind him. For what it’s worth, I’ll be here with him through this. The next day, a postman arrives at the house and hands a sealed envelope to the nanny. She brings it to us in the dining room. Eric is beside me, nibbling on his toast while Lance collects the envelope from the nanny, who leaves.

Lance wipes his mouth with a napkin before unsealing the envelope. I’m curious what is in it and wait for him to tell me. He reads for a few seconds, then sets it down in front of me. Picking it up, I see it’s a court summons, requesting our presence at noon tomorrow. Lance’s expression is mild with no other cues as to what he might be thinking. Yet I can guess the thoughts behind his clear, brown eyes.

He pushes his chair out and leaves the table. Eric glances at Lance. I place a hand on his shoulder. “Keep eating; your father needs to take care of something.” I say softly, and he nods.

After breakfast, Eric goes to his playroom while I go to find Lance. I don’t find him in his usual spots, I check his study. I see him standing on the balcony. I head over and touch him. He acknowledges me with a faint murmur. We stay silent, with our arms folded, looking at the snow- covered landscape. A cold wind drifts up to us. Several houses close to ours have mounted Christmas lights in their gardens, trees, and houses. Some even go as far as to repaint their houses a bright red and green. On a better day, Lance and I might have taken in this sight with laughs. All that is between us now is a heavy mood and the cold riding the air.

“She doesn’t wait, does she?” he says in a low gruff voice.

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