THE BILLIONAIRE'S REVENGE

Chapter 1 - You're Fired Before You're Hired "You're fired before you're even hired." Lorenzo Knight didn't even look up from his laptop. His voice was low, cold, final. "I don't hire women who look like you. You are too much of a distraction." My hands tightened around the paper in my hand. It wasn't a resume. It was my mother's hospital bill. $50,487. Due in 7 days. Or they stop her treatment. I had walked two hours to get to this mansion because I couldn't afford the bus. My shoes were soaked from the rain. My black dress was the only good one I had left. I forced myself to stand straight. "Mr. Knight, please. I can clean, I can cook, I can work 16 hours a day. I don't need a day off. I just... I really need this job." Finally, he looked up. And God, I forgot how to breathe. Lorenzo Knight was more handsome than the magazines said. Sharp jaw, dark hair, a tailored black suit that probably cost more than my entire life. But his eyes... his eyes were cold. Grey and ruthless. The kind of eyes that had ruined companies and destroyed people without blinking. He looked me up and down. Not like a man looking at a woman. Like a king looking at a servant he was about to throw out. "How old are you? Twenty-two? Twenty-three? Let me guess, you saw my name on Forbes, you bought a tight dress, and you thought you could come here and trap a billionaire?" My face burned. "No! That's not-" "That's what they all say." He stood up, tall, towering over me. He walked around his massive desk until he was right in front of me. Too close. I could smell his cologne. Expensive and dangerous. "You think I haven't seen this before? Pretty girl, sad story, big eyes. What's your sad story? Rent? Boyfriend broke your heart?" "It's my mother," I whispered, hating how my voice shook. "She has cancer. Stage 3. This job... your housekeeper said it pays $4,000 a month. I need it." For a second, something flickered in his eyes. But it was gone so fast I thought I imagined it. "Everyone has a sad story, Elena." He knew my name. My heart stopped. How did he know my name? I hadn't told him. He reached out. I flinched, thinking he was going to touch my face. Instead, his fingers grabbed my wrist and turned it over. My scar. The small, faded, star-shaped scar on my inner wrist. His entire body went rigid. The cold look vanished. Replaced by something darker. Something shocked. Angry. Obsessed. He stared at that scar like he had seen it before. "No," he whispered, more to himself than to me. "It can't be you." My blood went cold. Did he remember me? Five years ago. A party. A rich boy who laughed at me. A night I tried so hard to forget. I pulled my wrist back quickly. "I should go. I'm sorry for wasting your time." I turned to leave, my heart pounding out of my chest. "Elena Hayes." His voice stopped me at the door. "Five years ago. Westlake High School graduation party. You were wearing a blue dress that was too big for you. You spilled punch on my shoes." The world tilted. He remembered. He actually remembered. I didn't turn around. I couldn't. Tears were burning my eyes. "You ruined my life that night," I whispered. He laughed, but there was no humor in it. It was a dark, dangerous sound. "I ruined YOUR life? You left and never looked back. Do you know what happened after you left?" I finally turned. He was right behind me. I hadn't even heard him move. He was so close now, I could see the small scar above his eyebrow. I could see the way his jaw clenched. "You get the job," he said suddenly. I blinked. "What?" "You get the job, Elena. $4,000 a month. Live-in. You start tonight. You will clean my house, cook my food, and you will be available whenever I call you. Day or night." It sounded like a prison sentence, not a job offer. "Why?" I asked, suspicious. "Five seconds ago you were firing me." His eyes dropped to my lips, then back to my eyes. And for the first time, I saw it. Not coldness. Hunger. A possessive, dark hunger that made my knees weak. "Because I don't like unfinished business," he whispered, leaning down so his lips were inches from my ear. "And you and I... we have a lot of unfinished business, Elena Hayes. You wanted revenge? Now's your chance. Come live in my house and try to destroy me." He stepped back, his cold mask back on. "Mrs. Pat will show you your room. Don't be late for dinner. And Elena?" He looked at my soaked shoes, my wet dress clinging to my body. "Don't ever wear that dress in my house again. You are distracting my staff." He went back to his desk and opened his laptop, dismissing me like I was nothing. But his hand... his hand was still clenched into a fist. Like he was trying to control himself. I walked out of his office, my heart beating so loud I was sure he could hear it. I got the job. I would save my mother. But as I closed the door, one terrifying thought hit me. I came here for revenge. But why did it feel like I had just walked right into his trap? And why did a part of me... want to be trapped by him?