Bought By The Billionaire

Chapter 9: The Mask Falls

The Shadow in the Garden

While William and Maria were caught up in their emotional moment inside the house, the world outside hadn’t paused for them.

The night was still alive.

Out in the garden, beyond the glowing windows of the mansion, someone moved quietly between the trees. The wind rustled the leaves, covering his footsteps as he stayed close to the darker corners, careful and alert.

He didn’t belong there.

He wasn’t a reporter trying to sneak in for a story.

And he definitely wasn’t one of the guards.

He knew this place too well.

He knew where the cameras stopped.

He knew which paths stayed hidden in the shadows.

Silas.

To Maria, he was just the kind flower shop owner—the man who always smiled warmly, who smelled like fresh roses and soil, who sometimes gave her extra flowers for free.

But the man standing in the garden right now felt like someone else entirely.

His face was calm, but his eyes had changed. There was no warmth in them anymore—only sharp focus, like he was watching everything and missing nothing.

He adjusted his cap slightly, pulling it lower over his face. In his hand was a small burner phone.

He brought it close and spoke in a low voice.

“The plan is working,” Silas said quietly. “The father showed up, just like I expected. The media’s already picking it up. The company’s stock… it’s starting to fall.”

For a second, there was silence on the other end.

Then a voice answered.

It was deep… but something about it felt off. Almost like it was being hidden on purpose.

“And the girl?”

Silas’s lips curved into a small smile.

“She’s getting closer to him,” he replied. “Maybe even starting to trust him.”

He paused for a moment, then added softly—

“Honestly… that makes things easier for us.”

On the other hand, the voice didn’t react much.

“Explain.”

Silas let out a quiet breath, his gaze lifting toward the bright windows of the house where Maria stood, unaware.

“When we bring him down,” Silas said, “she’ll be right there in the middle of it. She won’t even realize what she’s doing… but she’ll help break him.”

There was a short pause.

Then the voice spoke again, colder this time.

“Good. Keep feeding stories to the media. I want the Thorne name everywhere—for all the wrong reasons. By the end of the week, no one should be talking about them without mentioning scandals.”

Silas nodded slightly, even though the other person couldn’t see him.

“Understood.”

The voice didn’t hang up immediately.

Instead, they added one more thing.

“And Silas…”

Silas’s expression didn’t change, but his grip on the phone tightened just a little.

“Make sure she never finds out about you.”

For a second, there was silence again.

Then Silas let out a quiet chuckle.

A soft, almost amused sound—but there was nothing kind about it.

“She still sees me as that harmless guy,” he said. “The one who hands her flowers and smiles like he doesn’t have a care in the world.”

His eyes slowly moved back to the house.

To the girl inside.

“Don’t worry,” he continued. “She’s looking in the wrong direction. She thinks the danger is inside that house.”

His smile faded slightly, turning colder.

“She has no idea…” he murmured, almost to himself, “that the real danger has been right in front of her all this time.”

Suddenly, a security light flicked on.

A bright beam swept across the garden, cutting through the darkness.

Silas reacted instantly.

Before the light could reach him, he stepped back, slipping behind the trees with ease. His movements were quick but silent—like he had done this many times before.

Within seconds, he was gone.

The garden fell quiet again.

As if no one had ever been there at all.

The Morning Light

Back in the nursery, the night had quietly passed.

The sky outside the windows was slowly changing color. The dark blue was fading, and soft morning light was beginning to slip into the room.

Everything felt still.

Maria had fallen asleep in the small armchair by the window. Her head rested slightly to one side, her hair falling loosely around her face.

On the floor beside her, William sat leaning against the chair. At some point during the night, he had closed his eyes too.

His hand was still holding hers.

Not tightly. Just enough… like he didn’t want to let go.

For a few peaceful hours, nothing had existed except the quiet.

No media.

No accusations.

No past.

Just them.

After a while, Maria slowly opened her eyes.

For a moment, she didn’t move. She just blinked softly, still half asleep. The first thing she saw was William sitting there beside her, his head slightly tilted, his hand still in hers.

And for that one small moment…

Everything felt okay.

Safe.

But then—

The memory hit her.

Her father’s voice from last night.

Clear. Angry. Final.

“I’m coming back with the police.”

The calm feeling inside her broke instantly.

Her chest tightened.

Reality came rushing back all at once.

Maria slowly pulled her hand away, trying to be careful, not wanting to wake him.

But the moment her fingers slipped out of his—

William’s eyes opened.

He looked up at her immediately, as if he had never been fully asleep.

For once, that usual cold, unreadable look in his eyes wasn’t there.

He just looked… tired.

And real.

Maria swallowed slightly, then spoke in a soft voice.

“I have to go see them, William,” she said. “I need to talk to my dad.”

William didn’t argue.

He slowly pushed himself up from the floor, running a hand through his hair before straightening his slightly wrinkled shirt.

“I’ll take you,” he said calmly.

Then he paused.

“But before we go… there’s something you need to know.”

Maria looked at him, her expression tightening a little.

“What is it?”

William’s face grew more serious.

“The leak,” he said. “My team tracked where the first email came from. The one that started all of this.”

Maria felt her breath catch.

Her mind immediately went to one name.

“Was it Victoria?”

William shook his head.

“No.”

He hesitated for a second before continuing.

“It came from a public computer.”

Maria frowned slightly.

“In a library.”

Something about that didn’t feel right.

Then William added quietly—

“The same library where you used to work.”

Maria’s body went still.

It felt like the surrounding air suddenly turned cold.

Her thoughts started racing.

The library…

Mr. Bennet?

No. That didn’t make sense. He was quiet, kind, always lost in his books. He didn’t care about people’s business, let alone scandals like this.

“This doesn’t make sense…” she whispered.

“There’s more,” William said.

Maria looked back at him, her heart beating faster now.

“What else?”

“The photos of the debt files,” William continued. “They weren’t just randomly sent. They had a digital signature attached.”

Maria didn’t fully understand, but the seriousness in his voice made her nervous.

“Only three people in the company have access to that signature,” he said.

Maria waited, her hands slowly tightening.

William spoke carefully.

“Me.”

A small pause.

“Sarah.”

Another pause.

“And your old boss… from the flower shop.”

Maria blinked.

For a second, her mind didn’t catch up.

“…Silas?”

Saying his name out loud felt strange.

Unreal.

The room suddenly felt unsteady, like everything around her had shifted.

“That’s not possible,” Maria said quietly, almost shaking her head. “Silas? He’s just a florist. He—”

William cut her off gently.

“No,” he said. “He’s not.”

Maria looked at him, confusion and fear mixing together.

William’s face had completely changed now. The softness from earlier was gone.

“I checked his background last night,” he said. “Before the flower shop… Silas was the head of security for my father’s biggest rival company.”

Maria just stared at him.

She couldn’t process it.

The man who gave her flowers…

The man who smiled so easily…

The man who always seemed so harmless…

“He didn’t hire you by chance, Maria,” William continued. “You were there… working for him… it wasn’t random.”

Each word felt heavier than the last.

“He planned it,” William said quietly. “He’s been waiting for the right moment.”

Maria felt her throat go dry.

Before she could even respond—

DING DONG.

The sound of the doorbell cut through the silence, loud and sudden.

Both of them flinched slightly.

It rang again.

Maria and William exchanged a quick look, then moved toward the window.

As they looked outside—

Everything changed.

The large gates of the estate were being pushed open.

A crowd had gathered.

Reporters. Cameras. Microphones. People shouting at each other, trying to get closer.

It was chaos.

But in the middle of all that noise…

One person stood out.

Maria’s eyes locked onto him instantly.

Silas.

He stood right at the front, holding a microphone. His posture was confident, almost commanding.

But his face—

It wasn’t the same.

There was no warmth. No kindness. No gentle smile.

This was a completely different man.

Before Maria could even react—

His voice blasted through the loudspeakers.

“Maria Blackwell!”

Her heart dropped.

“Tell the world the truth!” Silas shouted. “Tell them what the Thornes did to your father’s back!”

The surrounding reporters grew louder.

Cameras turned toward the house.

“Tell everyone,” he continued, his voice sharp and cruel now, “how they bought you… like a bouquet of dying roses!”

Maria felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Slowly… very slowly… she turned her head and looked at William.

Just a few minutes ago, they had been sitting quietly in that room.

Holding hands.

Sharing something real.

But now—

That moment was gone.

Completely.

The world had come crashing back in.

And this time…

It wasn’t just a problem anymore.

It was a fight.

A serious one.

A war.