A Poor Woman Was Forced to Marry a Sleeping Billionaire — Then the Man Everyone Thought Was Unconscious Revealed He Had Heard Every Word.

PART 7

Odalys had poured lighter fluid across the basement stairs and ignited them.

Wren pulled Nadia away as burning varnish rained from the banister. “Window.”

The basement windows were narrow and painted shut. Wren seized the blue bread bowl and smashed the nearest pane.

Nadia began to scream. “Stop. Help me clear the glass,” Wren said.

Outside, Owen shouted Wren’s name. She pushed the painting through the broken window, then forced Nadia toward the opening.

“I can’t fit.”

“Turn sideways.”

Nadia climbed onto a storage cabinet. Wren braced her legs and pushed until hands outside pulled her through.

The stairs collapsed. Flames rolled across the ceiling. Wren wrapped Delphine’s winter coat around her head, but smoke thickened the room. She stumbled over a fallen shelf.

Then the basement door burst inward.

A figure came through the fire on one crutch.

“Weston?”

He wore a protective coat and a clear oxygen mask. He reached her, dropped the crutch, and dragged the fallen shelf aside.

“You should not be here,” Wren coughed.

“I am aware.”

Together they reached the window. Firefighters pulled Wren out first. Weston attempted to follow, but his weakened leg buckled.

Wren turned back. “Take my hand.”

“Go.”

“We do this together.”

She locked both hands around his wrist while firefighters lifted from below. They emerged onto the snow-covered sidewalk as the front windows shattered above them.

“That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen.”

“I woke from a coma nine days ago. My standards remain flexible.”

Across the street, police placed Odalys in handcuffs.

The painting survived. Behind its paper backing, investigators found a memory card, copies of invoices, and a handwritten list of account numbers. Delphine had documented $86 million in fraudulent purchases routed through Northgate. Several shell companies led to Silas Bram. Others led to Dr. Reyes and Marcus.

But one file was encrypted. Its name was WESTON.