THE CEO’S WIFE WAS HIS SECRET BILLIONAIRE RIVAL

Amelia Rose had two lives. To the world, she was the quiet, elegant wife of Damon Black—the ruthless CEO who owned half the city and had a reputation for destroying anyone who dared to compete with him. At home, she was simply his wife. Soft-spoken. Graceful. Patient. The kind of woman people underestimated within five minutes of meeting her. But there was another Amelia Rose. One the business world had spent three years trying to identify. A woman known only as A.R. A billionaire entrepreneur whose companies had appeared out of nowhere and rapidly swallowed markets Damon Black had spent years controlling. A.R. had beaten him in technology. She had beaten him in real estate. She had stolen two of his biggest international contracts right from under his nose. And Damon hated her. He had never seen her face. Never heard her voice. Never even learned her real name. But he had sworn one day he would destroy her empire. He just didn't know he had been sleeping beside her every night. At six thirty on Monday morning, Amelia stood in front of the mirror fastening a delicate diamond necklace around her throat. Behind her, Damon was getting dressed. He buttoned his white shirt without looking at her. "There's a board meeting at nine," he said. Amelia smiled faintly. "I know." "You'll be at your mother's?" "Probably." Damon finally looked at her through the mirror. She wore a cream-colored dress that fell just below her knees, her long brown hair loosely curled over one shoulder. She looked harmless. That was what everyone thought. "Don't wait for me tonight," he said. "I'll be working late." Amelia turned around. "Another meeting?" "Something like that." She studied his face. Damon Black was thirty-two, handsome in the sort of intimidating way that made people lower their voices when he entered a room. His dark hair was always perfectly styled. His suits were always tailored. His expression rarely gave anything away. But Amelia knew his moods better than anyone. She could tell when he was angry. When he was worried. When he was lying. And this morning? He was definitely hiding something. "Is everything okay?" she asked. Damon picked up his watch. "The company has a problem." "What kind of problem?" "A.R." Amelia's fingers paused on the necklace. Only for half a second. Damon didn't notice. Or perhaps he did. His eyes narrowed slightly. "That woman has taken another one of our contracts." Amelia walked toward him. "I'm sorry." Damon gave a humorless laugh. "Are you?" She blinked. "What does that mean?" "Nothing." He put on his watch. Amelia smiled gently. "You seem very angry." "I am." "Maybe you should stop competing with her." Damon looked at her as if she'd said something ridiculous. "Stop competing?" "Perhaps." "She has cost my company hundreds of millions." Amelia's heart skipped. Hundreds of millions. She almost felt guilty. Almost. "I didn't know." "Of course you didn't." His tone wasn't cruel, but there was something dismissive about it. Amelia lowered her eyes. She had learned long ago that Damon saw her as someone who knew very little about business. That was exactly how she wanted it. He thought she spent her days shopping, reading, visiting her mother and waiting for him to come home. He had no idea that while he sat in boardrooms trying to uncover A.R.'s identity, Amelia sat in another office across town giving orders to hundreds of employees. He didn't know that the mysterious billionaire he had spent years fighting was his wife. He didn't know that Rose Holdings, the company he had been trying desperately to acquire, belonged to her. And he certainly didn't know why she had built it. Amelia walked to the window. "Damon." "What?" "Do you really hate her?" He stopped. "Who?" "A.R." His jaw tightened. "I don't hate her." Amelia raised an eyebrow. "You've been trying to find her for three years." "I want to beat her." "Isn't that the same thing?" "No." Damon stepped closer. "I don't care who she is. Man. Woman. Young. Old. It doesn't matter." His voice hardened. "If I find her, I'll make sure she never gets the chance to interfere with Black Enterprises again." Amelia stared at him. For one dangerous moment, she wondered what would happen if she told him the truth. What if she simply said: I'm A.R. Would he laugh? Would he be furious? Would he leave? Or would he finally see her as something other than the quiet woman he had married? The thought disappeared as quickly as it came. Not yet. There was something more important. Her father's disappearance. Three years ago, Amelia's father, Edward Rose, had vanished. No body. No explanation. No goodbye. Only an abandoned car found near the harbor. The police had eventually closed the case, claiming there wasn't enough evidence to determine what had happened. Amelia had never believed them. Neither had her mother. Before Edward disappeared, he had been investigating several powerful businessmen. One of the names in his private records had been Black Enterprises. Amelia had spent years trying to discover what her father had uncovered. That was why she had built Rose Holdings. That was why she had entered the business world under the initials A.R. And that was why she had married Damon Black. At first, she hadn't known who his family really was. She had fallen in love with Damon before she discovered the connection. By the time she learned his father had been one of the men her father was investigating, it was too late. She already loved him. So she stayed. And secretly investigated. But after three years, she still had no answers. Only questions. "Amelia." She looked up. Damon was watching her. "You're quiet." "I'm tired." He reached out and touched her cheek. The gesture surprised her. Damon wasn't affectionate in public. He wasn't particularly affectionate in private either. But sometimes, when he thought she wasn't paying attention, he became a different man. Softer. Warmer. Almost vulnerable. "Get some rest," he said. Amelia nodded. "Okay." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. Then he left. The door closed. Amelia waited. Ten seconds. Twenty. Thirty. Then the softness disappeared from her face. She walked straight to the bedroom desk and opened the hidden compartment beneath it. Inside was a black phone. Not her regular phone. Her other phone. The one Damon knew nothing about. It rang. Amelia answered. "Yes?" A man's voice came through. "Miss Rose, we have a problem." Her expression changed. "What happened?" "We found something." "What?" There was a pause. "Your father's old financial records." Amelia stood completely still. "Where?" "In an offshore account." Her heart began pounding. "Are you sure?" "Yes." "Who has access to it?" Another pause. "Someone from Black Enterprises." Amelia's blood ran cold. "Who?" "We haven't confirmed the name yet." Amelia gripped the phone. "Find out." "We're trying." "No." Her voice hardened. "Don't try. Find out." "Yes, ma'am." She ended the call. For several seconds, she stood motionless. Then another notification appeared. A message. I know who you are. Amelia froze. A second message arrived. I know you are A.R. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She stared at the screen. A third message appeared. And I know why you married Damon Black. Amelia's face went pale. She immediately tried calling the number. It was unavailable. She called again. Nothing. Her fingers tightened around the phone. Someone knew. Someone had discovered her secret. But the final message was the one that truly terrified her. Your husband is not the man you think he is. Amelia stared at the words. Then the bedroom door opened. She spun around. Damon stood there. His eyes moved from her face to the phone in her hand. "Amelia?" She quickly locked the screen. "What are you doing here?" "I forgot something." His gaze remained on her. "What were you looking at?" "Nothing." Damon took a step toward her. Amelia forced herself not to move. For the first time in three years, she wondered whether the biggest secret in their marriage belonged to her... or to him. Damon stopped directly in front of her. "You're lying to me." Amelia's heart raced. Then he reached past her and picked up his watch from the desk. "I'll see you tonight." He turned and walked away. Amelia watched him leave. Only after the door closed did she breathe again. She looked down at the hidden phone. The message was still there. Your husband is not the man you think he is. And somewhere across the city, someone was watching Damon Black walk into his office. Someone who knew the truth about Amelia Rose. Someone who had been waiting three years for the right moment to expose her. And that moment had finally arrived.