The Don Tore Up Our Divorce (Gemma and Cassian) novel Chapter 500

I roll my eyes, but the fatigue is real. “The diva might be manageable,” I say, sinking into an armchair. “But there’s something off about his agent, Nolan. You should have Dream look into him. Closely.”

Mikhail’s smile fades into a frown of concentration. “His agent? What’s the issue?”

“I think he’s deliberately pushing Christopher toward controversy, for notoriety rather than sustainable fame. It’s a short–term, explosive strategy that’ll burn the kid out and leave a mess for the company to clean up.” It was clear in every enabling word Nolan spoke.

Mikhail considers this, then nods. “I’ll make a call. Have them do a deep dive.” Then his expression turns sly. “By the way… did you ever figure out who Christopher’s father is?”

The question feels loaded. “You’re being cryptic. Why? Does he have some connection to me?” I ask, mostly joking.

Mikhail’s eyes twinkle. “You guessed it. He does.”

The casual admission stops me cold. I was kidding. I think back to the Bernard family dinner, the faces around the table. Annie, my cousin. The others. Two people didn’t share the Bernard surname… A slow, dawning horror begins to creep over me. “Don’t tell me,” I say slowly, “that Christopher’s father is my

pein’s son.”

2 Bonus

<Chapter 500

My jaw actually drops. “It’s true?”

He nods, enjoying my shock. “Annie is your cousin. She’s in her forties. It’s perfectly normal for her to have a son in his early twenties.”

The world tilts on its axis. The arrogant, emotionally stunted oung actor I just spent the day verbally sparring with and

rategically

oying… is my nephew? The absurdity is so

back to being plausible.

rofound

dmother had a you

“Yo

as

ister,” Mikhail explains,

genealogy lesson. “Srried, had a daughter-

ie married and had

amed Kevin. Who, for his

sona, chose ‘Christop

eces slam together.

?” I manage to as

t he tell you?

t been hom

ard famil

hy wasn’t he at the family

alling out with his parents.

f course he wouldn’t show up for a

et sense. I sit there, utterly speechless, mage of the vulnerable young man afraid ncept of ‘nephew.‘

clares with a theatrical flourish, “is a truly He grins at me, the cat who got the

..L… T

am9:50

+2 Bonus

< Chapter 500

the one person who, unbeknownst to either of us at the time, was actually family. Someone who might have a vested, if unknown, interest in not letting the kid completely self–destruct. It was a bizarre, twisted bit of luck.

A long silence stretches as I process this. The casual suggestion I made earlier now takes on a new urgency. “Mikhail,” I say, my voice firm. “You need to replace that agent. Immediately.”

Before, it was a professional recommendation. Now, it feels like a familial imperative. If Christopher is my blood, I won’t stand by and let some short–sighted parasite derail whatever potential he has left.

Alright, alright,” Mikhail agrees easily, sensing my shift in tone. “I’ll have him replaced. I didn’t know the guy anyway.”

My mind, now working in overdrive, jumps to another player. “What about Gideon Pierce? Is he signed with Dream?”

Mikhail shakes his head. “Gideon? No. He’s a free agent. Very selective. Works project–by–project.”

I nod, filing that information away. Gideon’s calm suggestion that Christopher quit, his serene demeanor… it feels more

cal

now.

the doorbell chimes, slicing through the heavy

ere. Cassian, who has been quietly observing m the50

.1

C1

+2 Bonus

< Chapter 500

in surprise.

Standing on the threshold is Donovan Blackwell, leaning on his elegant cane, looking fit and determined despite the long journey. And flanking him, like vengeful bookends, are Linda and Vicky. Mikhail’s days of peaceful deception are clearly over; they’ve tracked him down. Linda and Vicky are here for Mikhail. But Donovan’s sharp eyes find me immediately over Cassian’s shoulder, and his face breaks into a wide, grandfatherly smile that doesn’t quite reach the anxiety in his eyes.

“Gemma! It’s me!” he calls out, as if I might not recognize him.

I’m so shocked to see him standing there, looking so robust and so utterly out of place, that I can’t form words.

Cassian steps aside, letting them in. Linda and Vicky surge forward like a released tide, beelining for Mikhail on the sofa.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify