The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 57

Cynthia’s POV

It took the police less than an hour to track down Pierre’s twin brother.

Michel Beaumont was found hiding in a cheap hotel on the outskirts of Paris, trying to book a train ticket to Brussels. When they brought him in, he didn’t even try to run. Just sat there with a resigned expression, like a man who’d known his luck would run out eventually.

I watched the interrogation through a one–way mirror, my arms crossed, my jaw tight.

Michel looked exactly like Pierre

same build, same features, same mannerisms. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn

it was my manager sitting in that chair.

“I needed money,” Michel said flatly when the detective began questioning him. “I owed people. Dangerous people. Pierre wouldn’t help me – said he was done bailing me out, that I needed to face the consequences of my own choices.”

“So you decided to destroy his livelihood?” the detective asked.

Michel shrugged. “I saw a job posting. Anonymous. Someone was looking for a person to bring down Maison Cynclair. The pay was good, really good. And I figured…” He laughed bitterly. “I figured if I did it while pretending to be Pierre, I could get the money and disappear. If Pierre lost his job, well, at least I’d have enough to help him out after. Make it up to him somehow.”

“How did you manage to impersonate him?”

–

“Cloned his phone first. It wasn’t hard Pierre’s always been careless with his passwords. From there, I could text that girl, Felicia, threaten her into doing what I needed.” Michel shifted in his seat. “The night I needed to check on the evidence, I drugged Pierre’s coffee. He was out cold for hours. I went to the restaurant, made sure Felicia had done her job, and left.”

“But she removed the evidence,” the detective pointed out.

“Yeah.” Michel’s expression darkened. “Stupid bitch got cold feet. The health inspectors said they didn’t find anything and I got paid half.”

I felt sick listening to him. All of this… the scandal, the protests, the damage to my reputation, because of one man’s gambling debts and another man’s willingness to pay for my destruction.

“The health inspectors?” The detective jot something down. “Who hired you?” the detective asked. “Who posted this job?”

Michel hesitated. “I never met him in person. Everything was done through encrypted messages. But he went by a codename.”

“What codename?”

“Dragon.”

The detective leaned forward. “Do you have any way to contact this Dragon?”

“I have a number. But it’s probably a burner phone. These guys aren’t stupid.”

The police traced the number anyway and after an hour, it led them to a man who’d already left Paris moment he realized the plan was unraveling.

fled, more likely, the

“He’s in Missford,” the detective told me after the interrogation. “We tracked his movements through credit card transactions. He’s staying at a holiday home outside the city. Probably thinks he’s safe there, enjoying the money he earned from trying to destroy your business.”

Missford.

+25 Bonus

Of course. Of course he was in Missford.

Everything kept leading back there.

I stepped out of the police station and immediately called Nathaniel.

“Cici?” He answered on the first ring. “What happened? Did they get Michel to talk?”

“They did.” I filled him in quickly the cloned phone, the drugging, the anonymous job posting. “But the man who hired him

someone called Dragon, he’s not in Paris anymore. He’s in Missford.”

“Missford?” I could hear Nathaniel’s surprise. “That’s convenient.”

“Too convenient,” I agreed. “Nathaniel, I need you to find him. This Dragon person. He’s the key to everything. If we can figure out who hired him, we can finally end this.”

“Consider it done.” Nathaniel’s voice hardened with determination. “Dragon won’t be enjoying his blood money for much longer.”

“Thank you,” I breathed.

“Don’t thank me yet. We still don’t know who’s really behind this. Dragon’s just another hired hand I am sure, someone else is pulling the strings.”

“Let’s find Dragon,” I said. “Make him talk. Whatever it takes.”

“I will.” Nathaniel paused. “And Cici? Get some rest. You sound exhausted.”

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