Chapter 4 - The Billionaire’s Wife Knew More Than She Pretended
We left my father's office through the rear entrance.
By the time we reached the car, I realized my life had changed completely.
I wasn't engaged to a cheating man.
I was the unwitting owner of a hidden fortune.
My fiancé had attempted to gain legal control over it.
His mistress's husband had been investigating a twenty-eight-million-dollar theft.
And my father's supposedly dead business partner had just appeared from nowhere and told us all of it was connected.
It was enough to make anyone question reality.
I questioned Adrian.
“You knew about the trust.”
“I suspected.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I didn't have proof.”
“You had enough proof to follow me around.”
“I followed Mason.”
“And watched me.”
“Yes.”
“That's not comforting.”
“I wasn't trying to comfort you.”
I looked out the window.
“Then what are you trying to do?”
“Keep you alive.”
I turned toward him.
“You keep saying that too.”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Because you don't understand how dangerous the people around Mason are.”
“Then explain.”
He was silent for several seconds.
“My father died six years ago.”
“I know.”
“Officially, natural causes.”
I looked at him.
“Unofficially?”
“Poison.”
My stomach tightened.
“Same medication?”
“Yes.”
“So your father and mine—”
“Were connected.”
Adrian nodded.
“Both men were trying to dismantle the network.”
“And Evelyn?”
“She became part of it.”
“Voluntarily?”
“Yes.”
His voice carried no hesitation.
“She married me because she wanted access to the network.”
The words were brutal.
I felt a strange sympathy for him.
“That sounds familiar.”
He glanced at me.
“What?”
“People marrying for things other than love.”
His expression softened.
“My marriage was never a love story.”
“Was mine?”
He didn't answer.
We drove to a secure apartment downtown.
The place belonged to Vale Meridian but appeared to be unused.
There were no photographs.
No personal items.
Only computers, filing cabinets, and a large dining table.
I stared at him.
“This is where you keep evidence?”
“Sometimes.”
“Do you own normal furniture?”
“No.”
I almost smiled.
He saw it.
“You almost smiled.”
“Don't ruin it.”
He laughed softly.
It was the first time I had heard him laugh.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
A pause.
His expression changed.
“She's here.”
He ended the call.
“Who?”
“Evelyn.”
My chest tightened.
“She wants to see you.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“She says she has something that belongs to your father.”
I should have refused.
Instead, I agreed.
We met at a private restaurant after midnight.
Evelyn arrived alone.
She looked different without the polished socialite appearance.
No diamonds.
No bodyguard.
No makeup.
Her eyes were swollen.
She sat across from us.
“Claire.”
I didn't answer.
She looked at Adrian.
“I never wanted this.”
“You chose it.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
She pulled a small envelope from her coat.
“Because Mason is going to kill you.”
I froze.
Adrian leaned forward.
“Explain.”
“Mason isn't working for Kline.”
“I know.”
“You don't.”
Evelyn looked at me.
“He's working for someone else.”
“Who?”
She swallowed.
“Your father.”
Silence.
I almost laughed.
“My father is dead.”
“No.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Your father was alive for six months after everyone thought he died.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He was hiding.”
“Why?”
“Because he had discovered who was really behind the network.”
“Who?”
She looked at Adrian.
“Your mother.”
Adrian went still.
“My mother died when I was ten.”
“Yes.”
“What are you talking about?”
Evelyn leaned closer.
“Your mother didn't die.”
I stared at Adrian.
He looked stunned.
“She disappeared.”
Evelyn continued.
“She was the one who created the trust.”
“Why?”
“To protect your father's assets.”
“Then why pretend to be dead?”
“Because she was being hunted.”
“For what?”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“For exposing the people who killed Claire's father.”
I felt dizzy.
“You're saying my father and Adrian's mother knew each other.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to my father?”
“I don't know.”
“Why do you know all this?”
Evelyn looked at her hands.
“Because I was there.”
“What do you mean?”
“I helped them.”
Adrian's voice became colder.
“Then betray them properly.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Mason was supposed to marry Claire.”
I stared.
“He was selected because your father trusted him.”
My blood went cold.
“He didn't meet me by accident.”
“No.”
“Then who arranged it?”
Evelyn whispered:
“I did.”
The room blurred.
“You?”
“I was told to make sure Mason got close enough.”
“Why?”
“To locate the trust.”
“And the affair?”
Evelyn looked ashamed.
“That wasn't part of the plan.”
I couldn't speak.
“So you fell in love?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I used him.”
“Then why sleep with him?”
“Because I needed him to believe I was helping him.”
Adrian looked at me.
“She's telling the truth.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I planted evidence in Mason's office six months ago.”
Evelyn nodded.
“He found it.”
Adrian looked at her.
“And that's when he realized you were spying on him.”
“Yes.”
“So the affair became cover.”
I stared at her.
“What about the twenty-eight million?”
“We stole it.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Evelyn's voice broke.
“But not for ourselves.”
“Then where did it go?”
She placed another document on the table.
“It was moved into an account controlled by your father.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Why?”
“Because someone has been trying to force the trust to collapse.”
“Who?”
Evelyn looked toward the restaurant's dark window.
“You've been asking the wrong question.”
“What?”
“Stop asking who wants your money.”
May you like
She looked directly into my eyes.
“Ask who needs you to marry Mason.”
