CHAPTER 3 : THE BILLIONAIRE'S WIFE
1715 Words
By eight o'clock that morning, Sydney had already begun to wake.
The rain had disappeared, leaving the city washed clean beneath a pale blue sky. Ferries moved across the harbour, traffic crawled along the streets, and the glass towers of the CBD reflected the morning sun.
But inside Blackwood Tower, nobody was celebrating the beautiful weather.
Isabella Hart stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the Sydney Opera House in the distance.
She had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the men chasing her through the rain.
Then she remembered Adrian's words.
Let them get married.
The thought made her stomach twist.
She turned from the window.
"How long?"
Adrian stood several feet behind her, fastening the cuff of his black shirt.
"How long what?"
"How long are you expecting this marriage to last?"
"Six months."
Isabella stared at him.
"Six months?"
"That's the initial term."
"And after that?"
"We decide."
She folded her arms.
"You say that like we're negotiating a business merger."
Adrian looked at her.
"That's because I know how to run businesses."
"And women?"
Something almost resembling amusement crossed his face.
"I've never had the need to run one."
Isabella rolled her eyes.
"You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
For a brief moment, the tension between them disappeared.
Then Adrian's phone rang.
His expression changed immediately.
He answered.
"Talk."
A male voice spoke rapidly on the other end.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"How many?"
A pause.
"Three."
"Where?"
Another pause.
"Bondi."
Adrian ended the call.
Isabella noticed the change in his face.
"What happened?"
"Nothing you need to worry about."
"That's not an answer."
He walked toward the elevator.
"Get dressed."
"Why?"
"We're leaving."
"Where?"
"Bondi."
Her heart dropped.
"Why are we going to Bondi?"
Adrian pressed the elevator button.
"Because someone just tried to kill one of my security officers."
---
Twenty minutes later, two black SUVs moved through Sydney traffic.
Isabella sat beside Adrian in the rear vehicle while two security cars travelled ahead and behind them.
She watched the city pass through the tinted window.
Bondi Beach appeared in the distance, its golden sand glowing beneath the morning sun.
Surfers moved through the water.
Tourists walked along the promenade.
Everything looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
"Why would someone attack your security team?" Isabella asked.
"They weren't attacking my security team."
"Then who?"
Adrian looked at her.
"They were testing our response."
"Our?"
"Yes."
The word made her uncomfortable.
"You're already calling us 'our.'"
"You signed the contract."
"I haven't signed anything."
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Not yet."
Before she could respond, the convoy stopped.
Two security officers approached.
One opened Adrian's door.
"Sir."
"What happened?"
"We found this near the vehicle."
The guard handed him a small black object.
Adrian examined it.
Isabella leaned closer.
"What is it?"
"A tracker."
Her blood ran cold.
"On your car?"
"No."
He looked at her.
"On yours."
She froze.
"My car?"
Adrian nodded.
"Someone has been tracking you since yesterday."
Isabella's mind raced.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
She looked toward the beach.
For the first time, the crowded promenade looked threatening.
Every stranger suddenly appeared suspicious.
Every vehicle seemed to be watching them.
Then she noticed something.
A man standing near the water.
Black baseball cap.
Dark sunglasses.
He wasn't looking at the beach.
He was looking directly at her.
"Adrian."
He followed her gaze.
The man disappeared behind a group of tourists.
Adrian's security team immediately moved.
"Find him."
Three guards ran toward the promenade.
Isabella's heart pounded.
"Who was he?"
"I don't know."
"You looked worried."
"I'm not worried."
"You are."
Adrian turned toward her.
"I don't get worried."
"Then what do you call that?"
He stepped closer.
"Preparation."
Their eyes locked.
For one strange second, Isabella forgot where they were.
The distance between them was barely a few inches.
She could smell his cologne.
Feel the warmth of his body.
His normally cold expression softened.
Then his phone rang.
The moment shattered.
Adrian stepped away.
"Yes?"
His security chief spoke.
Adrian listened.
"Don't touch anything."
He ended the call.
Isabella noticed his expression.
"What?"
"We found the man."
"Where?"
"Dead."
---
That afternoon, the news exploded across Australia.
Every major media outlet carried the same breaking story.
BILLIONAIRE ADRIAN BLACKWOOD SEEN WITH MYSTERY WOMAN AFTER SECURITY INCIDENT.
By three o'clock, Isabella's photograph was everywhere.
Her phone wouldn't stop ringing.
Her editor.
Friends.
Unknown numbers.
Journalists.
Then came the headlines.
WHO IS THE WOMAN WITH AUSTRALIA'S MOST ELIGIBLE BILLIONAIRE?
BLACKWOOD'S SECRET ROMANCE?
ISABELLA HART: THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BLACKWOOD MYSTERY?
She stared at the screen in disbelief.
"They're already reporting about us."
Adrian sat across from her in the private dining room.
"They'll report more tonight."
"Why?"
"Because we're getting married."
She nearly dropped her phone.
"What?"
Adrian calmly continued eating.
"Our wedding announcement goes public at seven."
"You didn't tell me that."
"I just did."
"Adrian!"
He looked up.
"You wanted protection."
"Yes."
"Protection requires credibility."
"So you're going to announce that we're married?"
"Engaged."
She stared at him.
"There's a difference."
"A very important one."
He leaned back.
"Once the engagement is public, anyone trying to reach you has to move carefully."
"And what happens when they discover the marriage is fake?"
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"It won't be fake."
Isabella's breath caught.
"What?"
He looked at her for several seconds.
"To everyone else, it will be a contract."
He paused.
"But inside this house, we follow the rules of a real marriage."
Her heart began beating faster.
"Which rules?"
"You sleep in the east wing."
She exhaled.
"Good."
"You attend every public event with me."
"Fine."
"You don't leave the property without security."
"Fine."
"And you don't lie to me."
She looked at him.
"That's difficult."
"Why?"
"Because you're terrifying."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"You'll get used to me."
"I'm not sure that's possible."
"Neither am I."
---
At exactly seven o'clock, the Blackwood Group released the announcement.
ADRIAN BLACKWOOD AND ISABELLA HART ANNOUNCE THEIR ENGAGEMENT.
Within minutes, the internet exploded.
Isabella's name became one of the most searched terms in Australia.
Photographs of her appeared beside images of Adrian.
Commentators debated their relationship.
Some called it a fairytale.
Others called it a calculated business move.
Nobody knew the truth.
Except the people who wanted them dead.
Inside the Blackwood penthouse, Isabella watched the news coverage.
A reporter spoke from outside the tower.
"Sources close to the Blackwood family say the billionaire CEO has been secretly dating investigative journalist Isabella Hart for several months..."
Isabella nearly choked.
"Several months?"
Adrian looked amused.
"People believe what they're told."
"You made them believe we've been dating?"
"It makes the engagement believable."
She shook her head.
"You've thought of everything."
"No."
He looked toward the television.
"Not everything."
His security system suddenly beeped.
Once.
Twice.
Then every light in the penthouse went dark.
Isabella froze.
"What happened?"
Adrian immediately stood.
"Stay here."
A red emergency light illuminated the hallway.
Then came the sound.
A faint metallic click.
Isabella's eyes widened.
"Adrian..."
He raised one finger.
Silence.
Another click.
Then—
BANG!
A bullet shattered the window behind them.
Isabella screamed.
Adrian grabbed her and pulled her to the floor.
Glass exploded across the room.
Security alarms erupted throughout the building.
"Stay down!"
Another bullet tore through the wall.
Adrian drew a weapon from beneath his jacket.
Isabella stared at him.
"You have a gun?"
"I have many things."
He moved toward the reinforced interior corridor.
"Stay behind me."
"But—"
"Isabella!"
She obeyed.
The security team rushed into the penthouse.
"Sir! Sniper from the southern building!"
"How many?"
"One confirmed."
Adrian looked toward the shattered window.
"Where?"
"Rooftop across the harbour."
"Get him."
The guards moved.
Isabella's hands trembled.
"This is because of me."
Adrian turned toward her.
"No."
His voice was strangely gentle.
"This is because they are afraid of what you know."
She looked at him.
"What do I know?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the wall and opened a concealed compartment.
Inside was another file.
He handed it to her.
"Your father."
Isabella stopped breathing.
"My father?"
"You told me he died when you were twelve."
"He did."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"That's what you were told."
She slowly opened the file.
Inside was a photograph.
A man standing beside Adrian's father.
Isabella recognized him immediately.
Her hands began shaking.
"No..."
Adrian watched her carefully.
"Who is he?"
She couldn't answer.
Because she knew him.
Everyone in Australia knew him.
He was one of the most respected businessmen in the country.
A philanthropist.
A former government adviser.
A man whose name appeared on hospitals, universities and charitable foundations.
Her father had worked for him.
She looked up at Adrian.
"That's impossible."
Adrian's voice was quiet.
"Your father didn't die."
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"He disappeared."
"No."
Adrian stepped closer.
"He was murdered."
The room seemed to spin.
"Why?"
Adrian looked at the photograph.
"Because twenty years ago, your father discovered the Consortium."
Isabella couldn't breathe.
"And now..."
Adrian looked directly into her eyes.
"They believe you inherited everything he knew."
A terrible silence followed.
Then Adrian's phone vibrated.
He answered.
His security chief spoke urgently.
"Sir, we've recovered the sniper's rifle."
Adrian's expression changed.
"What was engraved on it?"
A pause.
Then the answer came.
"The Blackwood family crest."
Adrian's face became completely still.
Isabella stared at him.
Someone had just fired a bullet into his home using the symbol of his own family.
The enemy wasn't simply attacking them.
They were sending a message.
And somewhere in Sydney, someone who had been waiting twenty years had finally decided to come out of the shadows.
Adrian turned toward Isabella.
"You're not leaving my side tonight."
She swallowed.
"Why?"
His eyes held hers.
"Because whoever killed our parents has just declared war."
"Our parents?"
Adrian's expression softened for the first time.
"Yes."
He stepped closer.
"And if I'm right..."
He looked toward the shattered window.
"...your father may have left us the key to destroying them."
Outside, Sydney glittered beneath the night sky.
But somewhere beyond the lights, a figure stood on a rooftop watching Blackwood Tower.
The man lowered his binoculars.
Then smiled.
"Let the billionaire marry her."
He turned away.
"Once she remembers everything, they'll destroy themselves."
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