Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me novel Chapter 100

Chapter 100 Meeting the Traitor in Secret

The cursor blinked on the glowing monitor. I typed my mother’s maiden name. Natalia Serrano. I hit the enter key.

The database churned. The loading icon spun on the screen.

Results: None.

I reached into the pocket of my blazer. I pulled out the crumpled white business card. Arthur Vance. The man handed me a lifele

in the middle of a warzone. He claimed my mother existed in their shareholder ledgers.

I picked up my phone. I dialed the number.

“Vance.”

“We need to talk,” I said.

“Not on an unsecured line. Not at your office,” Arthur replied. He kept his voice a low, rough whisper. “The National Library. Third

floor archives. One hour.”

The National Library stood in the center of the financial district. Huge stone columns framed the entrance. I walked up the marble steps and pushed through the revolving glass doors. The dry heat of the building hit my frozen face.

Arthur Vance sat at a small wooden table near the back wall. He wore the same gray suit from the Johnston dinner. A battered leather briefcase rested on the table in front of him.

I pulled out a wooden chair. I sat across from him.

“You took a massive risk coming to me,” I said.

‘I took a massive risk handing you that card, Arthur corrected. ‘Harriet finds out, I lose my career. I might lose my life. She destroys people who cross her.”

“Why do it?” I asked. I searched his face for a lie. “You work for the family trust. You protect their assets. You defend their legacy.”

“I protect the law,” Arthur countered. Or I try to. I watched Harriet manipulate the legal system for three decades. I watched her crush innocent people to maintain her power. I saw the look on your face tonight in that foyer. You plan to burn her empire to the

ground. I want to hand you the matches.”

Tell me about Natalia Serrano,” I demanded.

Arthur opened his briefcase. He reached inside and pulled out a thin, faded folder. He placed it on the scratched wood of the table.

“I was digging through the historical expansion files tonight, Arthur explained. “Preparing our defense against your court injunction. Harriet demanded a full review of all vulnerable assets. I found an anomaly in the numbering system. A missing file. I

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Chapter 100 Meeting the Traitor in Secret

went down to the physical basement archives. I cracked open a sealed box from the founder’s personal effects.”

He opened the folder. He pushed a faded, photocopied document toward me.

“Thirty years ago, the Johnston Group went through a major restructuring,” Arthur continued. “The founder, Tristan’s grandfather,

fell ill. The doctors gave him months to live. Harriet prepared to take control. The company issued a new block of voting shares to

secure capital and stabilize the board.

I looked at the paper. It was a list of names. Executives. Board members. Equity percentages sat next to each name. Near the

bottom, printed in dark ink, was my mother’s name.

Natalia Serrano. Five percent.

“Five percent, I breathed.

“Five percent of the Johnston Group today translates to three billion dollars,” Arthur stated.

I closed my eyes.

I remembered the smell of the commercial bakery. My mother worked double shifts. She stood on her feet for fourteen hours a day, kneading dough, scrubbing industrial ovens with harsh chemicals. Her hands were red and raw. She always looked exhausted.

She died from a basic infection. We lacked the money for private medical care. The public ward lacked beds. They left her in a crowded hallway. The infection spread into her blood, and she died in agony while I held her hand.

“My mother worked in a bakery,” I said. My voice shook. The grief mixed with a raw, blistering rage. She sold her wedding ring to buy our groceries. She died because we could not afford antibiotics. She owned a piece of this empire?”

“She earned it, Arthur said. His tone softened. “She was the executive assistant to the founder. He trusted her. She built the internal filing system. She kept the secrets. When the old man drafted the expansion, he included her. He wanted to reward her loyalty and

her brilliance.

I opened my eyes. I stared at the lawyer. “What happened?”

‘He died,” Arthur answered. Harriet took the reins. Harriet despised your mother. She viewed her as a threat. A commoner with too much influence over her husband. When the old man passed, Harriet sealed the original ledgers. She forged a new document. She

forced your mother out of the capital.”

“She stole it,” I whispered.

She threatened to ruin her,” Arthur confirmed. She threatened to frame her for corporate theft. Your mother fled to the industrial

district to keep you safe. She gave up the shares to protect her life and your future.”

The puzzle pieces snapped together.

Harriet’s intense hatred made sense now. She called me a dirty mother because she needed to break my spirit before I could ever

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threaten her stolen wealth.

Tears burned my eyes. I refused to let them fall.

1 tapped the photocopied paper on the wooden table.

“This is a copy,” I pointed out. “It proves nothing in court. A judge will throw this out in five minutes.”

“Correct,” Arthur agreed. “Harriet keeps the original shareholder ledger locked away. The document with the founder’s original signature. You need that specific paper to make a legal claim. To expose the theft and reclaim your’shares.”

“Where is it?” I asked.

“Not at the estate,” Arthur said. “Not at the corporate headquarters. She knows those locations are vulnerable to federal raids and

corporate espionage.”

Arthur leaned closer. He dropped his voice to a faint whisper.

*Harriet uses an off-site vault. A private, unlisted facility,” Arthur revealed.

He reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small, heavy silver key. He slid it across the wooden table. The metal clinked against the

wood.

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