The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 95

Chapter 95 The Strategy of the Broken

Ryan carried Eve up the stairs slowly, as if she weighed nothing at all, yet everything at the same time. Her arms were curled loosely around his shoulders, her cheek pressed against his chest, her breathing soft and warm against his skin. The living room still held the echo of what they had shared moments ago, the disordered cushions, the faint scent of skin against leather, the warmth of bodies that had lost themselves in each other completely.

But now, upstairs, the house felt quieter. The shadows softer. The air gentler. Every step Ryan took had a purpose, a wordless vow in motion, until he reached the bedroom and nudged the door open with his

shoulder.

He laid her carefully on the bed, as if she were something fragile wrapped in silk. She smiled faintly as she sank into the pillows, her hair falling in soft waves across the sheets. Ryan lowered himself beside her, drawing her into his arms, and she tucked herself against him instinctively, her leg draped over his, her hand resting over his heartbeat.

For a long moment, they simply breathed together.

The world below the bedroom disappeared, the scandals, the betrayals, the ash of secrets smoldering under the Ashbrook name. There was only the warmth of skin, the quiet of their breaths, the slow settling

of a storm that had ravaged them for weeks.

Ryan’s hand ran gently along the length of her spine.

“Comfortable?” he murmured.

Eve nodded, shifting closer until her forehead pressed lightly to his chest. “Always.”

Silence settled again, but it wasn’t empty. Ryan felt the weight of everything he’d carried through the day pressing against him, demanding to be spoken aloud. He tightened his arm around her slightly.

“Eve,” he said quietly.

She looked up at him immediately. Her eyes were tired but attentive, her expression soft and open in the

dim light.

“I need to tell you what I found out,” he continued. “About Steven. About my parents. About the things they’ve hidden.”

Her breath stilled. Not from fear, but from readiness.

“I’m listening,” she whispered.

Ryan exhaled slowly, organizing the knot of information into something he could speak without exploding.

“Steven wasn’t just one of my father’s trusted employees. He wasn’t just a driver. He… he was the man

they used to handle every secret they wanted erased.”

Eve’s eyebrows drew together. “What kind of secrets?”

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Chapter 95. The Strategy of the Broken

26 Paints

“The kind that never reach newspapers,” Ryan replied. “The type that makes a family look polished and

untouchable on the outside. Any mess they didn’t want traced back to them, Steven handled it. Discreetly.

Efficiently.”

Eve shifted, propping herself on her elbow so she could see him better. Her expression invited truth, urged

it forward.

“And your mother?” she asked softly.

Ryan scoffed under his breath, a sound laced with bitterness. “Leah treated him like a servant who existed

solely to clean up the dirt beneath her designer shoes. He was useful, until he wasn’t. The moment he

refused one thing she asked of him, she made his life hell.”

“What did she ask?” Eve whispered.

He shook his head. “No one knows. Not even Mirabel’s daughter. But whatever it was… Steven drew a line.

He said no. My mother never forgave him for it.”

Eve absorbed that quietly, her fingers brushing his torso in slow circles, encouraging him to continue.

“Two years after that, he resigned,” Ryan said. “Or rather, he was pushed out. He wanted to leave, yes, but not without what he had earned. Twenty-five years of service. Twenty-five years of loyalty. He expected

severance. Retirement benefits. Something.”

“And… he didn’t get it?” Eve asked gently.

Ryan’s jaw tightened. “My mother blocked it. Every penny.”

Eve inhaled sharply, eyes widening for the first time.

“He was left with nothing,” Ryan said. “So he decided to make use of the information he had. His Leverage. And instead of burning my parents alone, he… included me in it.” His voice cracked at the edges, anger threading through each syllable. “As if I were part of the people who wronged him. As if destroying my life, destroying you, would somehow fix the betrayal he felt.”

Eve reached for his hand immediately and held it tightly, as if grounding him.

“You didn’t deserve that,” she whispered.

His gaze softened as he looked at her. “Neither did you. Especially you.”

Eve leaned in and kissed the center of his chest lightly, right over the sharp tension in his muscles. “Ryan… he’s wrong. Whatever they did to him, whatever pain he’s holding, it doesn’t excuse what he did to us. What

he tried to do to me.”

Ryan closed his eyes briefly. She was right. But the truth didn’t make the bitterness fade.

“My parents still won’t tell me what Steven has on them,” he said. “They’re still lying. Still hiding. I keep

pushing for answers but it’s always the same: silence, fear, deflection.”

Eve brushed her thumb over his knuckles. “Then we find out without them.”

Chapter 95 The Strategy of the Broken

He opened his eyes slowly and met hers.

“The earlier we know the truth,” she said softly, “the easier it’ll be to take back our lives.”

+25 Points

Ryan studied her face, the quiet strength, the determination held in her small frame, the fire that only came out when she fought for them. “How?” he asked. “If my parents won’t speak, where do we start?”

Eve hesitated for a moment, then her eyes brightened with something sharp and decisive.

“My father’s party,” she said.

Ryan blinked. “What about it?”

“We attend,” Eve said, her voice steady. “We go. We get to know his fiancée. We make them comfortable. We don’t raise our voices. We don’t argue. We don’t fight back.”

Ryan stared, trying to gauge where her mind was leading.

“We win her over,” Eve said simply. “Slowly. Carefully. The woman is new to him. New to us. She’s stepping into a world she doesn’t fully know yet. Women like that always have soft spots, insecurities, curiosities,

places where walls aren’t as strong as they pretend.”

Her voice warmed with strategy, the same way her father once taught her to recognize weakness in

people who underestimated her.

“We become her friends, or at least, we let her think we are. We understand her. We look for her weak points. We use them. Not cruelly. Not violently. But with purpose.”

Ryan stared, surprised not at her idea, but at her clarity.

“Eve…” he murmured.

She shook her head gently. “This isn’t manipulation for the sake of power. It’s survival. My father will not tell you or me the truth. But he will tell her. Eventually. One day. In trust or arrogance. And she, if she

believes we’re allies, will tell us.”

Ryan ran his fingers through her hair, brushing loose strands behind her ear. “And what makes you think she has a weakness we can exploit?”

Eve smiled faintly, a tired but knowing smile. “Everyone has one. Besides, she’s marrying a man with two

grown children who do not trust him. That alone is a crack.”

Ryan looked at her for a long moment.

“What we’re planning,” he said quietly, “requires patience, precision, and ruthlessness. Are you sure you

want to step into that?”

Eve held his gaze without wavering. “I’m not doing it for revenge. Or dominance. I’m doing it because I

want freedom. Because I don’t want our child growing up in a world of blackmail and malice.”

Her fingers slipped down to his chest, pressing over his heart.

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