Betrayed By The Billionaire

290

Xavier Grayson reached for his linen napkin, wiping his lips with a calculated, predatory elegance. The silence in the dining room was absolute as he spoke, his voice dropping into a low, crystalline command. "Gather everyone. Immediately. Vince, take the domestic staff and search every inch of the subterranean levels. I want the security detail in the basement as well. Search everything."

Vince’s eyes widened in genuine shock. Was the Master truly ordering a full-scale forensic sweep of the basement?

He knew Xavier held zero belief in the supernatural, viewing such things as the crutches of the weak-minded. Yet, for the sake of Chloe Bishop, the "Demon CEO" was compromising his own logic. Vince felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Yes, Master. I’ll arrange it at once."

An hour later, the relief had soured into a bitter, heavy frustration.

Dozens of staff members stood in the foyer, their heads bowed. They had overturned every crate in the storage vaults, inspected every rack in the wine cellar, and even swept the ventilation shafts of the Dungeon. The result was a total, mocking void. They had found nothing.

Xavier stood before them, his face a landscape of shifting shadows. He held the yellow silk talisman that Old Mrs. Bishop had left behind, his fingers tightening until the fabric groaned. "From this moment forward," he hissed, his voice echoing through the hall like a whip, "if I hear one more word about 'ghosts' or 'hauntings' in this house, you can all pack your bags and get out. Am I clear?"

With a violent flick of his wrist, he tore the talisman into a hundred golden shreds, letting them flutter to the floor like autumn leaves.

The staff remained paralyzed, terrified by the lethal intensity of his aura. Vince didn't dare look up. He understood the subtext of the Master’s fury: Xavier had staged this massive search to find a "logical" escape for Chloe—a way to prove it was a person or a prank so she could return with her dignity intact. Instead, the lack of evidence made her look like a liar or a lunatic.

For the first time, Vince began to doubt himself and Chloe. Is it possible the Master is right? Was the Young Mistress simply... pretending?

The Silent Line

Back at the Bishop Manor in the West Side, the evening was quiet. After dinner, Master Marcus Sr. encouraged Chloe to call Xavier. They needed to explain the physical evidence—the blow to her neck—and secure his cooperation to flush out the assailant.

Chloe dialed. The phone rang, pulsing with a hollow electronic rhythm, before the line was abruptly cut.

She tried a second time. Rejected.

A third time. The call was sent straight to voicemail.

Chloe lowered the phone, her face pale but her expression hardening. The Bishop elders remained silent, the air in the room turning heavy with disappointment. Jane Bishop tried to soften the blow. "Xavier might be in a meeting. Why don't you try calling Vince?"

Almost as if on cue, the phone in Chloe’s hand vibrated. It was Vince.

"Vince," Chloe said, answering immediately.

"Madam," the butler’s voice was strained, thick with worry. "Are you... are you recovered? Is your health stable?"

"I’m fine now, Vince. Thank you for asking. Is there something you need to tell me?"

"The Master... he ordered a full-scale sweep of the entire lower level this afternoon. Every inch of the basement and the lower sectors was searched by the security teams. They found nothing, Madam. Not a trace. The Master is... he is beyond furious." Vince paused, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Madam, did you... did you truly see something down there?"

Chloe’s brow furrowed. They searched everything and found nothing?

The person she saw was real. She was certain of it. If they couldn't be found, it meant one of two things: either they were a professional who knew the estate’s blind spots better than the security team, or they were a member of the staff who had simply blended back into the household after the attack.

"What is Xavier’s stance now?" she asked.

"He said... since the Young Mistress wants to stay away so badly, she should simply stay away for good."

Chloe felt a cold, familiar ache in her chest. "I understand."

She shouldn't have expected anything else. Xavier had never trusted her; to him, she was just a pawn in a game of debt and duty.

"Madam, you—"

"Vince." Chloe interrupted him, her voice regained its edge. "I will be coming back. I will prove to Xavier, and to everyone in that house, that I am not a liar."

As she hung up, Jane Bishop grabbed her arm, her eyes wide with fear. "Chloe, you’re going back? After everything? No! I won't allow it. Someone in that house tried to kill you—or worse. I can't let you walk back into that trap!"

Chloe has declared her intent to return to the lion’s den, but her mother is standing in her way. While Xavier is burning his bridges in a fit of arrogant pride, the "phantom" in the Grayson basement is still at large. Will Chloe’s return lead to the exposure of the truth, or is she walking directly into a second, more lethal strike from an enemy she still hasn't identified?

How should Chloe convince her mother to let her return—by revealing the mark on her neck, or by promising to take the Bishop family's secret "defensive" medicine with her?