Page 42 of Billionaire’s Heartbreak

“You almost died,” I said, my voice sharper than I meant it to be.

He didn’t argue.

Kai stepped forward before the silence got worse. “Let me help you. You don’t have to do this yourself.”

Dannie looked at him again. Long. Careful. There was something guarded in his expression, as though he were weighing more than just whether Kai could help.

“You’re my brother after all,” Kai added.

The words hung in the air.

Strange. New. Real.

Dannie let out a slow breath. “I suppose that’s what brothers do,” he said finally. “But that doesn’t mean I want you involved in the dirty business.”

He turned to Liam. “I’ll go back as soon as I’m able to travel.”

Liam didn’t answer right away. He looked down at the chart in his hand instead, avoiding Dannie’s eyes.

8

Kai

The private jet company sounded surprised to hear from me again so soon, but they didn’t question it. They never did. As long as the money cleared, nothing else mattered.

I slipped into June’s room without announcing myself.

Lincoln, Chloe, and Wendy stood around the bed, where June sat, their voices overlapping, rising and falling without any real rhythm.

They didn’t stop when they saw me.

I stood there for a moment, listening—or trying to. I was already tired of the argument. Not because I didn’t care. Because I already knew how this would end.

I was going back to Hong Kong. I had to.

“The plane will be ready in thirty minutes,” I said, cutting through the noise.

That got their attention.

“You shouldn’t go,” Chloe said immediately, turning back to June. Her hand moved instinctively, stroking June’s arm the way she would comfort her own child. “Lincoln can go with Kai.”

Lincoln didn’t argue. He stood there quietly, his expression unreadable. But I knew him well enough to see the thoughts moving behind his eyes. He was calculating. Weighing options. Probably already three steps ahead of everyone else in the room.

He had plenty to say. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened, the way his gaze shifted between June and me. But he kept it to himself.

“It has to be me,” June said, reaching for Chloe’s arm and holding onto it tighter than necessary, like she needed something to anchor herself.

“Why?” Chloe asked. “It sounds dangerous.”

“I need to do this for Dannie.” The words landed harder than they should have.

“You don’t have to,” Chloe snapped, her tone firmer now.

“I do.”

June’s voice was soft, but certain. She lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked back at Chloe. “He’s done so much for me,” she said quietly. “More than you know. He’s protected me. He’s taken care of things I never even had to know about. He’s been keeping me away from that part of his life so I could have something normal.”

Her voice caught slightly, but she pushed through it. “He never asked me for anything in return.” She shook her head, her eyes glistening. “Now he’s sick. And for once, there’s something I can do for him.”