Chapter 3-The discovery
1235 Words
The morning air in Montgomery Tower was crisp, filled with the hum of ambition and quiet fear. Assistants rushed through the hallways, carrying files, coffee, and tension. But behind the frosted glass of the CEO’s office, a storm brewed far more dangerous than any boardroom conflict.
Charles Montgomery sat at his desk, still as a statue, eyes fixed on the glowing city skyline beyond the glass. The world knew him as composed, unshakable but Daniel had learned to recognize the rare moments when his boss’s calm meant danger.
He stood at the door, tablet in hand, throat dry. “Sir… I found her.”
Charles turned slowly. His expression didn’t change, but the air seemed to still around him. “Speak.”
Daniel swiped the screen, bringing up a photo. “Her name is Bella Chen. Twenty-four. Graduated from Beijing University of Economics. Works part-time as a front desk assistant at Riverstone Hotel.” He paused, watching Charles’s face. “She’s from a modest background. No criminal records. But there’s something strange.”
“Go on.”
“She has a stepmother and a stepsister who’ve been seen in the company of Ryan Xu a financial analyst at our partner firm.”
At the mention of that name, Charles’s brow furrowed. “Ryan Xu.” He leaned back, processing. “He was at the dinner.”
“Yes, sir. And according to hotel security logs, Ryan checked into the same floor as you on the night of the incident.”
The puzzle pieces began to connect, sharp and ugly. Charles’s jaw tightened. “They set her up.”
“It appears so,” Daniel said carefully. “I believe Miss Chen was drugged and meant to end up in Ryan’s room. But somehow, she stumbled into yours instead.”
Silence fell, heavy and electric.
Charles’s hand clenched on the desk, the muscles in his arm tightening. A setup meant for another man. A girl used like a pawn. And he he’d been dragged into the crossfire.
But the anger he felt wasn’t only about being manipulated. It was something else. Something far less rational.
“Find out everything about her family,” he ordered finally. “Finances. Relationships. Their connection to Ryan. And Daniel…”
“Yes, sir?”
“Don’t approach her yet. I’ll handle that myself.”
Daniel hesitated. “Understood, sir. But may I suggest”
“No.” Charles’s tone was final. “You’ll report to me directly. Not a word to anyone.”
The door closed behind Daniel, leaving Charles alone with his thoughts.
Bella Chen.
The name echoed like a whisper he couldn’t ignore. He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin. His mind should have been on the merger, the stock reports, the lawsuits waiting for his signature. Instead, it was on her.
The way she’d looked terrified, disoriented, her eyes glassy but full of a pain he couldn’t place. He remembered how she’d tried to apologize through her confusion, how her body had trembled when she’d realized where she was.
He hated remembering that.
He hated how it made him feel.
He had been drugged, used, betrayed. She was a stranger an accident. And yet, something about her lingered in his memory like a ghost refusing to be exorcised.
He poured himself a drink, the amber liquid catching the early sunlight. “Bella,” he muttered again, almost testing the taste of her name.
For the first time in a long time, Charles Montgomery the man who trusted no one wanted to know more.
Across town…
Bella sat in the small apartment she rented with the help of her best friend, Clara Wang. The space was quiet except for the faint hum of the ceiling fan. The curtains were drawn, the sunlight muted.
She hadn’t eaten all morning. She couldn’t.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw flashes the dark room, the stranger’s face, the weight of everything that had been taken from her. She pressed her hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing.
Clara stepped out from the kitchen, holding two cups of tea. “You need to eat something, Bells. You can’t keep shutting yourself away.”
Bella managed a weak smile. “I just need time.”
“You’ve been saying that for weeks,” Clara said softly, sitting beside her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Bella. You were tricked. You were drugged. You didn’t choose this.”
Bella looked down at her hands. “But I still have to live with it.”
Her voice cracked. “I can still feel it, Clara. The fear… the shame. I don’t even know who he was. I didn’t see his face properly until” She stopped, shuddering. “I just remember he looked powerful. Untouchable. Like someone who doesn’t belong in my world.”
Clara placed a hand on hers. “Then maybe it’s a good thing you’ll never see him again.”
Bella nodded faintly, though deep inside, something ached confusion, guilt, something unspoken.
But fate, it seemed, wasn’t done with her.
The next day.
Daniel stood before Charles’s desk once again, his tone cautious. “Sir, there’s one more thing you should know.”
Charles didn’t look up from his laptop. “What is it?”
“Miss Chen was recently let go from her job at Riverstone. It seems someone made a quiet call to the manager, requesting she be ‘reviewed for misconduct.’”
Charles’s eyes snapped up. “By who?”
“Ryan Xu,” Daniel said simply. “And her family didn’t defend her. In fact, her stepmother received a bank transfer from Ryan’s firm the same day.”
The silence that followed was deadly.
Charles’s fingers tightened around his pen until it cracked. “They used her. Then discarded her.”
Daniel hesitated, watching his boss’s composure tremble for the first time. “Sir, what do you want to do?”
Charles’s voice was low, deliberate. “Find out where she lives. I want to see her myself.”
“Sir, if I may”
Charles cut him off with a look. “Do it, Daniel.”
Daniel nodded. “Yes, sir.”
That evening, as rain began to fall, Charles found himself standing across the street from a small apartment building in a quiet part of Beijing. He didn’t know why he’d come he could have sent Daniel. But something inside him needed to see her again, to confirm what he already knew.
Through the window, he saw her silhouette sitting by a table, head bowed, a cup of tea untouched beside her. The soft light framed her face in a way that made her look almost fragile.
For a man like Charles, emotion was weakness. But tonight, he couldn’t look away.
He watched as she moved slowly, cleaning up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. There was a quiet grace in her pain, a stubborn strength that drew him in.
He should’ve left. He knew that. But his feet didn’t move.
Somewhere inside, a decision formed reckless, dangerous, but certain.
He would protect her.
Whether she wanted him to or not.
Because if the people who betrayed her thought they could use her and walk away unscathed, they didn’t know Charles Montgomery.
And if fate had made him part of her story then he would rewrite it.
- Writer
