Married to the Billionaire Who Betrayed Me novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36 They Found My Secret Apartment

The air in the concrete warehouse turned to lead.

Eduardo Valdez stood over my rusted metal desk. The ambient noise of the idling transport trucks and the shouting dockworkers faded into a dull, distant hum. I stared at the deep lines etched into the old man’s face. He delivered the news with the clinical precision of a doctor declaring a terminal diagnosis.

Tristan Johnston was hunting me.

“Describe the man who walked into your office,” I demanded. My voice lacked any tremble. Fear was a luxury 1 could no longer

afford.

Eduardo leaned his weight onto his wooden cane. “Tall. Broad shoulders. Charcoal suit tailored to military precision. He carried no briefcase. He offered no business card. He possessed a faint scar along his jawline. He spoke to my receptionist with the authority of

a man who owns the ground he walks on.”

“Mateo Castillo, I confirmed. A bitter taste flooded my mouth. “He is the head of private security for the Johnston Group. He handles the messes Tristan wants kept out of the public eye.”

Eduardo studied my face. His dark eyes analyzed the pieces of the puzzle. “If Tristan Johnston believes you stole proprietary data, he possesses the resources to alert every federal agency in the country. He could freeze your identity. He could plaster your face across the national news broadcasts. Yet, he sends a private hound to ask quiet questions in a failing cosmetics warehouse. Why?”

I stood up. I met Eduardo’s piercing gaze. The rusted desk sat between us like a barricade.

“Because the corporate espionage charge is a lie, I explained. The truth felt sharp on my tongue. “If he involves the police, the authorities arrest me. An arrest guarantees a trial. A trial requires discovery. During discovery, my marriage certificate becomes a matter of public court record. The Whitmore family discovers their future son-in-law is already married. The European merger collapses. The Johnston stock plummets.”

A grim smile touched the corners of Eduardo’s mouth. “A king trapped inside a cage of his own design.”

“He cannot claim me in the light,” I said. “But his pride refuses to let me disappear in the dark. He wants to drag me back to the Azure Tower. He wants to lock me in a luxury penthouse and keep me as a hidden asset while he marries Celeste Whitmore. He sent Mateo to retrieve his stolen property.”

Sienna Navarro stepped forward. She hovered near the edge of the loading bay, her face a mask of confusion. She looked at the printed routing map resting on my keyboard, then at Eduardo.

“Mr. Valdez, Sienna interrupted. Her voice carried a shrill note of desperate entitlement. “I do not understand. This data entry clerk is a liability. If she brings corporate security to our doors, she jeopardizes the entire subsidiary. You must fire her immediately.”

Eduardo turned his head. He looked at Sienna with an expression of profound exhaustion.

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Chapter 36 They Found My Secret Apartment

“Sienna, Eduardo said. His gravel tone echoed across the concrete floor. “You took credit for a strategy you lacked the intellect to build. You claimed the profit margins of a woman earning minimum wage while you wore designer shoes purchased with my bonus

money. You are a parasite.”

The color drained from Sienna’s face. Her jaw dropped.

“Pack your desk, Eduardo ordered. “Leave your keys on the glass table. Your final paycheck will arrive by mail. If I see you on this property again, I will have the guards throw you into the harbor.

Sienna opened her mouth to argue. She looked at my face, searching for a trace of submission. She found a wall of ice. She snapped her mouth shut, turned on her expensive heels, and marched toward the glass office.

Eduardo returned his attention to me. He reached into his wool coat and pulled out a heavy ring of brass keys. He dropped them onto the rusted metal desk. They landed with a sharp clatter.

“You manage the floor now, Minerva, Eduardo stated. “Move your operation into the glass office. Lock the exterior doors at dusk. Do not walk the streets during daylight hours. We will build a firewall around this subsidiary.”

“You are risking your company,” I warned him. “Mateo Castillo will not stop. If Tristan traces me to Valdez Elegance, he will crush your supply lines. He will bury you in litigation.”

“I survived worse men than Tristan Johnston, Eduardo dismissed. He gripped the handle of his cane. “You fixed my delivery grid. You proved your value. I protect my investments. Keep the trucks moving. I will handle the hounds.”

He turned and walked toward the exit. His uneven footsteps faded into the noise of the warehouse,

I picked up the brass keys. The metal felt cold against my palm. I possessed a title. I possessed an office. But the victory tasted like

ash.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon moving my sparse belongings into the glass-walled management room. I shut the vertical blinds. I locked the heavy wooden door. I sat in the leather executive chair and stared at the glowing computer monitor.

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