Page 31 of Billionaire’s Heartbreak

Squirrel immediately began ushering people out. Some protested, others kept talking, but none dared stay. He remained by the door until June gave him a small nod. Then he stepped outside and closed it behind him.

Silence fell.

Laura looked at me. “Why are you still here?”

The question hit harder than I expected. I realized what I had said earlier.

Family.

I wasn’t family. Not to her.

“He’s Dannie’s best friend,” June said before I could answer. Her voice was flat. She didn't look at me.

“Since when?” Laura asked.

She had every right to question it. The last time she saw Dannie and me together, we barely acknowledged each other.

“I think we’ll be here forever if you want to debate what counts as real family,” June said coldly.

Laura stiffened. “Dannie never mentioned him,” she said after a moment, her tone softer. “Ever.”

“I know.” June reached over and rested a hand on Laura’s shoulder. “He keeps most things to himself.”

The tension eased slightly.

With the room cleared, Dannie looked smaller lying on the floor. His chest rose and fell, slow and unevenly.

Only three of us remained. Laura crossed her arms. “What’s the plan?”

“He needs the hospital,” June said immediately.

“If he goes to the hospital, we’re finished,” Laura replied. “Every one of us. Including you. Including your family.”

They must have been arguing about this the entire time I was gone. Same fear. Same refusal to compromise.

“That’s not going to happen,” I said.

Both women turned toward me.

I didn’t know how the triad worked. Not really. I’d never been part of that world. But I knew how powerful people operated—where secrets were currency and certain things were never meant to leave the room they happened in. Maybe the triad wasn’t so different.

Same rules. Different worlds. But the same instinct to keep the ugly things hidden.

“Who do you think you are?” Laura snapped. The sweetness she used to have was gone. Whatever effect I once had on her had disappeared with her rise to power.

“I’m nobody, of course,” I said, keeping my voice level. “But I want you to know… I agree with you, Laura.”

June’s breathing sharpened. “What about Dannie?” she demanded.

“Let’s be honest, June. You and I don’t understand how things work here in Hong Kong.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Laura relax slightly.

“No. But⁠—”

“But Dannie needs medical attention,” I said firmly. “Immediately.”

June’s jaw tightened. “Fuck,” she muttered. Then louder, “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”