Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Confessing The Billionaire’s Betrayal

“Rum the image through the facial recognition database. Her name is Minerva. Late twenties. Dark hair. She carries a scar on her left

cheekbone, looks like a fresh laceration. No last name provided.”

The voice drifting through the heavy oak door was cool, precise, and entirely devoid of heat. It was Eduardo Valdez.

Start with the major conglomerates in the capital, Eduardo commanded, his tone shifting into something sharper something inal “Check the shipping firms. Check the banks. And check the Johnston Group. They dominate the trade routes she seems so famillar

with.”

My

tened around the manila folder. My knuckles turned white, the sharp edges of the paper biting into my skin. Eduardo

an investigator.

morning, the corporate espionage press release would sit on his desk. He would see the fabricated evidence. He would articles branding me a thief, a liar, and a desperate mistress. The red ink on the spreadsheet in my hand felt like a cruel I held the exact thing he asked for. I found the leak. But my own history was a tidal wave ready to drown me.

I stood there for three heartbeats, the sound of my own pulse a frantic drum against my ribs. I possessed two choices.

I could drop the files on the floor, turn around, and walk out of the warehouse. I could try to hide from Tristan’s empire for the

third time in a year.

Or I could walk into his office and detonate the bomb myself.

Running offered no safety anymore. Running meant starvation. Tristan Johnston took my name and my dignity; he poisoned the

well of my reputation.

I pushed the he

тук

en, striking the rubber doorstop with a dull, final thud.

ched mahogany desk, his back to the door. He was in the middle of closing a drawer when I entered. He narrowing, assessing my sudden entrance and the rigid set of my shoulders. He didn’t look surprised. He who expected a shark to bite back.

ound your leak,” I said. My voice was a flat, steady instrument. I walked across the room and dropped the stack of files onto the center of his desk. The paper slapped against the wood, the sound sharper than the office quiet.

Route forty-two and route forty-six,” I stated, staring at his hands. “Your floor managers load the trucks to maximum capacity. The fuel logs reflect the heavy weight. Halfway to the receiving warehouses, the trucks stop. They offload fifty percent of the inventory. They deliver the remaining half and file damage reports citing transit spoilage. A shell company bills you for the missing stock.”

Eduardo didn’t speak. He reached out, his calloused fingers flipping through the pages. He studied the cross-referenced fuel expenditures. He checked the names of the drivers. He traced the lines of the forgery.

Silence stretched in the small office. The hum of the fluorescent lights buzzed in my.ears, an aggressive, persistent noise.

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Chapter 31 Confessing The Billionaire’s Betrayal

“My accounting team missed this for a year,” Eduardo said. His gravel voice carried a dangerous, quiet edge. “You found it in six”

hours.”

I know how to read a supply chain,” I said.

“You know how to hunt, he corrected. He closed the folder, the movement deliberate. He leaned back in his scuffed leather chair, folding his hands over his stomach. He watched me. I hired a stranger in a diner. I brought her into my operation. She dismantled my floor managers before the sun went down. You possess rare instincts, Minerva. And rare instincts come from rare training.”

My pulse hammered against my ribs, but I forced my gaze to remain level. The moment had arrived.

“I heard your telephone call,” I said.

Eduardo didn’t flinch. “I assumed you did. The door was cracked.”

“You told your investigator to check the Johnston Group.”

“The Johnston Group dominates the capital,” Eduardo replied. He kept his gaze locked on my face. A woman with your specific skillset working in logistics most likely passed through their doors. It was a logical starting point.”

I placed my hands on the edge of his desk. The wood felt cold against my palms. I needed to control the narrative before he formed his own conclusions based on the garbage the Johnston PR team had printed.

“Call him off, I demanded.

“Give me a reason to cancel the order.”

“Because I will tell you exactly what he will find. I leaned forward, forcing myself to hold his piercing stare. I refused to let the shame of my past dictate the shape of my future. “My full name is Minerva Hayes. I worked as a mid-level strategy consultant for the Johnston Group for two years.”

Eduardo remained still. “Go on.”

“If your investigator searches my name, he will find a press release issued months ago. The Johnston Group terminated my employment. They accuse me of corporate espionage. They claim I stole proprietary data and attempted to sell it to rival firms.”

The words tasted like ash. Speaking them aloud in a professional setting made the nightmare feel vivid, sharp, and inescapable. I waited for Eduardo to shout. I waited for him to point at the door and order me out of his building. He hated thieves. He just hired me to catch thieves. I was admitting to being exactly what he feared.

Eduardo rubbed his bearded jaw. “Did you steal the data?”

No.

“Then why did the most powerful corporation in the country issue a public execution order against a mid-level consultant?”

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Chapter 31 Confessing The Billionaire’s Betrayal

“Because I married the CEO in secret six months ago,” I answered.

The truth hung in the stale air of the office. It felt heavy, a physical presence in the room.

“Tristan Johnston needed a corporate merger with the Whitmore family to secure a European expansion. He kept our marriage hidden. Months ago, he announced his engagement to Celeste Whitmore in front of five hundred people. I crashed the gala. I

demanded the truth.”

Eduardo’s eyes darkened. The pieces clicked into place behind his calculating gaze. He wasn’t stupid; he saw the pattern.

“They dragged me out,” I continued, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “He chose the merger over his vows. When I refused his hush money and walked away, he realized I possessed the marriage certificate. He needed to destroy my credibility. If I show the press my marriage certificate now, I look like a convicted fraudster trying to extort him. He buried me alive to protect his stock

price.”

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