Marked by her Billionaire

CHAPTER TWO

LEXI’S POV

Two scary men stood in the hallway. They weren’t friends, cops and they dressed too well for this building. They wore tailored coats with polished shoes but they still looked scary with cold eyes and aura.

One of them smiled and it did not help to de-escalate the situation.

“Ms. Carter,” he said gently, which surprised me. “May we come in?”

Every one of my instincts screamed no but fear had a way of stealing my voice. They stepped inside without waiting for my answer. One of them glanced around my apartment like he was taking it all in. The other stayed closed, his presence was suffocating.

“What do you want?” I finally mustered up the courage to ask.

“I'm sorry for your loss,” the smiling one said. “Tyler was….ambitious.”

My blood went cold. They knew Tyler. “ Who are you?”

“Friends of a man named Marcus Val,” he replied calmly. “Your brother owed him.”

I shook my head. “Tyler’s dead….”

“Yes..” he agreed. “Which is quite unfortunate.”

“But debts don't die with people.” The second man finally spoke, his voice low and thick.

The room tilted. “I don't….don't know what you are talking about,” I said, even as fear climbed up my spine.

The smiling man met my eyes, something dark flickered beneath his politeness. “Your brother owed Marcus Val. Now, you do.”

I stood there as I watched them walk out the door after leaving me an envelope on the table. And that’s when I understood that Tyler’s death wasn't the end of my nightmare.

It was the beginning.

The envelope sat on the table like it owned the place.

I stared at it long after the door clicked shut behind those men. My apartment felt smaller, like the walls had leaned in to listen to what they’d said.

Your brother owed Marcus Val. Now, you do.

My hands shook as I picked up the envelope. It was thick, expensive, the kind of paper that didn’t belong in a place like this. Inside was a single sheet with one word.

$100,000.

My breath left me in a sharp minute and out came a broken laugh. One hundred thousand dollars might as well have been a million, it might as well have been the moon.

I couldn’t even afford to replace the cracked stove burner that sparked when you turned it too high.

I sank into the chair, my chest tight, my head spinning.

“Tyler. What had you done?”

They had said it so calmly, like they were telling me the weather. They had no threats, no raised voices. That was what scared me most. Men like that didn’t need to shout. They already knew they would win.

I needed someone, anyone.

I grabbed my phone with fingers that barely worked and called Joe.

He answered on the third ring. “Lex? Hey, baby.”

His voice cracked something open inside me. I swallowed hard. “Can I come over?”

There was a pause, brief but sharp enough to register. “Uh… yeah. Sure. What’s wrong?”

“Please,” I whispered. “I just… I can’t be alone right now.”

Another pause. Then, “Okay. Come over.”

I didn’t even change. I threw on my jacket, grabbed my keys, and locked the door behind me like I was leaving a crime scene. The walk to Joe’s place felt unreal, my feet moving on autopilot while my mind replayed Tyler’s smile, the officers’ words, the envelope on my table.

Joe lived in a better part of town. It was not the rich side, but it was quieter and safer. I had always liked that about his place—the illusion that nothing bad could reach us there.

I didn’t knock. I had a key.

The apartment was dim, the curtains half drawn. I stepped inside, already forming his name on my lips.

That was when I heard it.

Soft sounds with a laugh. It was a familiar voice that didn’t belong to him alone.

My stomach dropped.

I walked down the short hallway, each step heavier than the last. The bedroom door was ajar. I pushed it open.

Joe was on the bed and so was Monica……My best friend.

The woman who had held my hands at Mama’s funeral. Who brought over cheap wine and bad jokes when money was tight. Who had hugged me yesterday and told me she was sorry about Tyler.

They froze when they saw me.

Time did something strange then. It slowed, stretched, gave me too much space to take everything in—Joe’s wide eyes, Monica scrambling for the sheet. The guilt and betrayal tangled together.

“Oh my God,” Monica said. “Lexi….”

I laughed.

It ripped out of me, sharp and broken, and it didn’t sound like it belonged to a sane person. “Wow.”

Joe sat up, running a hand through his hair like that was the problem. “Lex, listen….”

“No,” I said. My voice was eerily calm. “No, I don’t think I will.”

I looked at Monica. “How long?”

She hesitated and that was answer enough.

Joe sighed, like he was inconvenienced. “This isn’t what it looks like.”

I stared at him. “You’re naked. She is naked. I think it looks exactly like what it is.”

Monica started crying. Actual tears. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. We were just talking and….”

“Save it,” I said. I felt hollow, like someone had scooped everything important out of me and left the shell standing. “Both of you.”

Joe swung his legs off the bed. “You’re being dramatic.”

That did it.

I stepped back, the numbness cracking into something hot and dangerous. “My brother is dead,” I said quietly. “Men came to my house this morning and told me I owe them money he left behind. I came here because I thought…..” My voice broke despite my effort. “I thought you were my safe space.”

He didn’t apologize, either of them.

Joe just looked annoyed. Monica looked ashamed, but not enough to stop.

I turned and walked out.

I did not scream, or slam the doors. I didn’t trust myself to make a sound without shattering.

Outside, the air was cold and sharp, biting at my lungs. I kept walking until my feet hurt and my chest ached and the world blurred around the edges.

By the time I found a bar, it was dark.

I didn’t care what it was called. I didn’t care who was inside. I sat at the counter and ordered a drink, then another, then another. The burn was welcome. It drowned the images, the memories, the voices in my head telling me I wasn’t enough, that I never had been.

I laughed too loudly at nothing. I cried once, silently, tears sliding down my face while the bartender pretended not to notice.

Tyler’s face kept appearing at the bottom of my glass.

I’m quitting soon, he’d said.

Liar!

I stumbled out sometime later, the night spinning gently. The city lights smeared together like wet paint. I walked without direction, my heels clicking against the pavement, my thoughts unraveling.

That was when I saw it…….A casino.

It rose out of the street like a promise and a threat all at once with bright lights, sleek glass, music pulsing faintly through the doors. It didn’t belong in this part of town. It was too clean.

I stopped across the street, swaying slightly.

A laugh bubbled up in my chest. “Of course,” I muttered. “Why not?”

What did I have left to lose?

My brother was dead. My boyfriend was a lie. My best friend was a betrayal. Men I didn’t know wanted money I didn’t have.

I stared at the entrance, the glow washing over me.

“I’ve already lost everything,” I whispered.

Then I stepped forward and walked inside—unaware I was crossing straight into my enemy’s world.