Sixty Days In The Billionaire's Arms

Chapter 20

Serena’s Pov

The park felt colder after the grandmother’s words. Nate’s phone still glowed with Victor’s threat. My hand stayed locked in his. The old woman watched us with eyes that had seen too much.

“Your mother’s death wasn’t an accident,” Victor’s message had said. “And Robert knew.”

I felt sick. Nate’s arm tightened around me. He didn’t speak right away. He just held me, his chin resting on my hair while the city moved around us like nothing had changed.

“Nate,” I whispered. “What if my dad really knew? What if everything good I remember is built on something terrible?”

He pulled back enough to look at me. His eyes were tired but steady. “Then we find out the truth together. No more secrets between us. I love you. That part is still true.”

I nodded and rested my forehead against his. “I love you too. Even when it feels like the ground keeps disappearing under us.”

The grandmother stood slowly, leaning on her cane. “You have a choice. Sign the papers and end the old pact, or walk away and let Diana take what she wants. But if you dig deeper into your mother’s death, you may not like what you find.”

Nate’s jaw tightened. “We’re not signing anything under threats. And we’re not walking away from answers.”

I squeezed his hand. “We need to talk to my dad first. Face to face. No more secondhand stories.”

We left the park in silence. In the car Nate kept my hand in his lap the whole way. His thumb moved slowly over my knuckles, the same calm motion he always used when I was falling apart.

“Whatever Robert says,” he murmured, “you still have me. I’m not going anywhere.”

At the penthouse Robert was waiting in the living room with Marcus. He looked smaller somehow, like the weight of years had finally settled on his shoulders. I sat beside him. Nate stayed close, his hand on my back.

“Dad,” I started, voice shaking. “Victor says Mom’s death wasn’t an accident. And that you knew. Is that true?”

Robert’s face crumpled. He stared at his hands for a long moment. “I didn’t kill her. I would never. But I knew the company was dirty. I knew people were being pushed out. The night she died… there was a car. No one ever found the driver. I kept quiet because I was scared for you. I thought if I stayed silent they’d leave us alone.”

Tears spilled down my cheeks. Nate’s arm wrapped around me from the other side. He didn’t try to fix it with words. He just held me while I cried against his chest.

Marcus spoke quietly. “We’ll dig into the records. Quietly. If there’s proof, we’ll find it.”

Nate nodded. “Marcus, take the lead on that. Keep it off the company servers. Use private channels.”

After Robert went to rest, Nate led me to the bedroom. We sat on the edge of the bed. He cupped my face with both hands.

“You don’t have to be strong right now,” he said. “Not with me.”

I leaned into his touch. “I keep thinking about the night she died. How quiet Dad got after. How he never talked about it. All these years I thought he was just grieving. Now I wonder if he was protecting me from something worse.”

Nate kissed my forehead, then my eyelids, then my lips. Soft and careful. “We’ll get answers. Real ones. And when we do, we’ll decide what to do with them. You and me. Not Victor. Not Diana. Not some old pact.”

I kissed him back, longer this time. His hands slid into my hair. For a few minutes the world narrowed to just the two of us. Warmth. Safety. Love that felt stronger than every secret trying to tear it down.

When we finally pulled apart, I rested my head on his shoulder. “Marry me for real, Nate. Not because of any will or clause. Because I want to face the rest of my life with you.”

He smiled, the first real smile I’d seen all day. “I already asked. But I’ll ask again. Serena Voss, will you marry me? Not for sixty days. For every day after.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

We stayed like that until the sun started to set. Marcus knocked later with updates. The private investigation had already found something. Old company files showed payments made the week before Eleanor’s crash. Payments that led back to a shell company tied to Victor.

Nate’s body went still beside me. “He’s not getting away with this.”

I took his hand. “We do it the right way. Legal. Public if we have to. But carefully. I don’t want to lose you in the process.”

He looked at me, eyes dark with emotion. “You won’t. You’re the reason I’m still fighting.”

That night we slept wrapped around each other. I woke once to find him staring at the ceiling, one arm still around me.

“You okay?” I whispered.

“Thinking about my mom,” he said. “And yours. How both of them got caught in the same machine. I won’t let that happen to us.”

I pressed a kiss to his chest. “We won’t let it.”

Morning came with a new message on Nate’s phone. From an unknown number.

The truth about the crash is in the old warehouse on Pier 17. Come alone if you want the final piece. Bring Serena and it ends differently. — V

Nate showed me the screen. His face was hard.

“We’re not going alone,” I said immediately.

He nodded. “We take Marcus. And we tell Robert where we’re going. No more walking into traps.”

We dressed quickly. Nate kept glancing at me, like he was memorizing my face.

“Whatever we find,” he said, pulling me close one more time, “remember I love you. Real love. Not their game.”

I kissed him hard. “I love you too. Let’s finish this.”

The car ride to the pier was quiet. The warehouse loomed ahead, dark and empty against the morning light. Marcus checked the perimeter while Nate and I waited.

Then my phone buzzed.

A photo.

Robert, unconscious on the floor of the warehouse. And standing over him — Diana, holding a gun.

The message underneath was simple.

Come inside. Both of you. Or he dies.

Nate’s hand found mine. His voice was low and steady.

“We go together.”