The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 267

Nora opened her mouth but couldn't form a single coherent sentence.

For years, her entire life had revolved around her mother's illness and her career.

Aaron had just been a splash of color in her otherwise bleak existence.

He had never been the center of her universe.

She was a creature of habit. Having dated Aaron for so long, she had just assumed they would go through the motions—proposal, marriage, children.

She had placed a quiet hope in him.

If forced to pick someone to build a family with, she would have chosen him without hesitation.

She had thought her seven-year relationship was just a mundane, ordinary love story.

She had no idea that someone else had been silently waiting for her in the shadows all along.

Like a predator in the dark, watching, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

And he had actually managed to catch that moment.

"My grandfather had no idea about my transfer to Arvendale. He never knew how I felt about you."

"But I'm deeply grateful to him. If he hadn't brought up this marriage arrangement, I would have had to work a lot harder."

"At first, I thought about just coming clean to you. But you had just uncovered Aaron's filthy secrets. I didn't want to take advantage of you when you were vulnerable, and I didn't want to make things awkward between us."

"So you pulled me into the Special Task Force just to get close to me?"

Nathan chuckled at her bluntness.

"Maybe twenty percent. It was a selfish move, I admit."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "And the other eighty?"

He gave her an earnest look.

"Nora, have you forgotten how brilliant you are?"

"Your expertise isn't just top-tier in this region; it's practically unmatched nationwide."

"There's something you need to know."

He abruptly shifted the conversation back to the kidnapping.

"Do you know why they went to such extreme lengths to take you?"

Millions of dollars versus tens of millions. Any idiot could do that math.

He just had to take one massive risk, and he'd be set for life.

"Rosalind's death was just a pawn. Someone in the corporate world wanted to tear down the Devereaux family, so they orchestrated the kidnapping to buy time. The real battlefield was the stock market. If you and Nolan hadn't been rescued, the Devereaux Group's market value would have plummeted by millions."

Nora gave him a surprised look. "You understand business?"

Nathan gave a helpless sigh. "My grandfather still hasn't given up hope that I'll go back and take over the family business."

Nora went silent.

She couldn't argue with that.

This man literally had a corporate empire waiting for him.

The massive Peyton Pharmaceuticals was practically a kingdom his grandfather had built just for him.

"Is Rosalind's case officially closed?"

"Just closed. Multiple pieces of evidence confirmed she committed suicide just to frame Nolan."