Marked by the Billionaire's Secret

The Morning After

Sophia slowly opened her eyes as faint sunlight slipped through the curtains, the soft glow spreading across the unfamiliar room. For a few quiet seconds, she remained still, her mind clouded with exhaustion and half-formed memories she could not immediately understand.

Her body felt warm.

Too warm.

And then she realized why.

A strong arm was wrapped around her waist.

Her breath caught instantly.

Sophia’s eyes widened as she turned her head slightly, only to find the man from last night sleeping beside her. His face looked calmer now, the tension and desperation she had seen hours ago completely gone. In sleep, he appeared composed, almost untouchable, like someone who belonged in a world far beyond hers.

The memory of everything that happened came rushing back so suddenly that her chest tightened.

The dim lights.

His voice against her ear.

The way he touched her as though he was afraid of completely losing control.

Heat crept up her face, followed almost immediately by panic.

What have I done?

Sophia carefully moved his arm away from her waist, afraid that even the slightest movement might wake him. The moment she slipped away from the bed, she quickly grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around herself before searching frantically for her clothes scattered across the floor.

Her hands trembled while fixing her dress, her thoughts becoming more chaotic with every passing second. She shouldn’t have stayed. She shouldn’t have let things happen the way they did.

Before she could even finish dressing, voices suddenly echoed from outside the suite.

Deep male voices.

Sophia froze.

“Find out who entered this room last night.”

“We’re already checking the surveillance footage.”

“Mr. Hudson must be informed immediately.”

The color drained from her face.

Fear crept up her spine so quickly that her fingers turned cold. She glanced toward the door, her breathing becoming uneven as the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder.

Someone was coming.

Panic immediately overtook her thoughts.

She looked around desperately, searching for somewhere to hide. The room suddenly felt too small, too exposed, as if there was nowhere she could escape.

Then she heard the sharp sound of the lock turning.

Without thinking, Sophia dropped to the floor and hurried beneath the bed just seconds before the door opened.

Her heart pounded violently against her chest as several pairs of polished black shoes entered the room. Even without seeing their faces, she could already feel the shift in the atmosphere.

Cold.

Controlled.

Dangerous.

“Sir.”

One of the men spoke respectfully.

There was movement above her, followed by the low sound of sheets shifting. A few seconds later, Elija’s rough voice filled the room, still heavy from sleep.

“What time is it?”

“Nine in the morning, sir.”

Silence followed briefly.

Sophia pressed a trembling hand against her mouth, afraid even her breathing might betray her presence beneath the bed.

Then she heard him speak again.

“The woman.”

Her stomach tightened painfully.

One of the men answered immediately. “We’re currently reviewing the CCTV footage to identify her.”

Sophia’s fingers curled tightly against the carpet.

The air inside the suite suddenly felt suffocating.

“What happened last night?” Elija asked quietly, though there was something dangerous beneath the calmness of his tone.

Another man responded carefully, choosing his words with obvious caution. “The doctor confirmed that someone mixed a strong aphrodisiac substance into your drink during the event.”

A long silence followed.

Sophia could almost feel the tension spreading throughout the room.

“I knew something was wrong,” Elija muttered darkly.

“We already identified the employee responsible,” another man added.

Sophia lowered her gaze, her body slowly turning colder.

She remembered the woman from the club. The strange glances. The nervous behavior she ignored because she had been too busy trying to finish her shift.

Now everything felt terrifyingly real.

“Who ordered her?” Elija asked.

“We’re still investigating, sir.”

The silence that followed felt heavier this time.

Sophia could not explain why, but something about the atmosphere made her chest tighten painfully. These men obeyed him without question. The respect in their voices wasn’t ordinary fear toward a wealthy businessman.

It was something deeper.

Something darker.

Then she heard footsteps moving closer.

Elija had gotten out of bed.

Sophia instinctively pressed herself farther beneath it, terrified that he might somehow notice her there.

“Bring the woman to me,” he ordered coldly.

“Yes, sir.”

The room became quiet again before one of the men cautiously asked, “What about the woman you spent the night with?”

Sophia stopped breathing.

Her heartbeat thundered painfully inside her ears while she waited for his answer.

For a brief moment, Elija said nothing.

Then his calm voice filled the room again.

“Pay her.”

Sophia’s eyes slowly widened.

“If she accepts the money and stays quiet, there won’t be a problem.”

His words felt sharp enough to cut through her chest.

The warmth she remembered from last night disappeared completely, replaced by something painfully humiliating.

So that was all she was to him.

Someone to silence.

Someone disposable.

One of the men hesitated before speaking again. “And if she refuses?”

Sophia’s entire body tensed.

The silence that followed lasted only a few seconds, but to her, it felt endless.

Then Elija answered in the same cold voice.

“Make sure she understands what happens to people who become a problem for me.”

Fear crawled through Sophia’s chest instantly.

The words were not loud, yet they carried enough weight to make her hands tremble beneath the bed.

At that moment, reality hit her harder than anything else.

The man she spent the night with was not simply rich, he was powerful enough to make people disappear, powerful enough that the men around him obeyed every word without hesitation.

And if she stayed there any longer, she might become one of the problems he wanted erased.