The Billionaire's Forbidden Secret

CHAPTER 1 THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOULDN’T EXIST The photograph arrived at 11:47 p.m. Amelia Laurent stared at the anonymous email on her laptop, unsure why her hands had suddenly gone cold. There was no subject. No greeting. Only one attachment. She almost deleted it. Then she opened the photograph. Her breath caught. A younger Adrian Vale stood outside a luxury hotel in Shanghai, dressed in a black suit. Beside him was a beautiful woman Amelia had never seen before. The date stamped beneath the image was twelve years old. Amelia zoomed in. She recognized Adrian immediately. Everyone did. At thirty-five, he was one of the most powerful billionaires in Asia—the untouchable CEO whose photograph appeared regularly in financial magazines. But the woman beside him was the problem. Amelia had seen her before. Not in person. In an old photograph belonging to her mother. The same woman. The same face. The same silver necklace. A second file appeared in the email. Amelia opened it. Five words appeared on the screen: ASK ADRIAN WHY SHE DIED. Her heart began pounding. Then another message appeared. Before midnight tomorrow. Amelia looked at the clock. 11:48 p.m. Someone had been waiting for her to find this. And suddenly, she understood. She wasn't investigating Adrian Vale. Someone had deliberately chosen her.