Claimed by the Billionaire at My Ruined Wedding

Chapter 6: The File Beneath His Bed

Roman kept no photographs in his penthouse.

That made the one beneath his bed impossible to ignore.

I found it after midnight while searching for the deleted call. His office server required a biometric key, and Roman had left for an emergency meeting. I told myself I was gathering evidence, not betraying my husband three days into our marriage.

The photograph showed me at seventeen.

I was standing outside a courthouse with my father. Behind us, a nineteen-year-old Roman watched from the steps.

On the back, my father had written: If Ava ever learns what we did, tell her I was trying to save her.

"You search quietly."

Roman stood in the doorway.

I rose with the photograph in my hand. "You walk quietly."

"That is my bedroom."

"Our contract says shared residence."

"It does not say shared evidence theft."

He closed the door.

I should have stepped away. Instead, I held up the photograph.

"What did you and my father do?"

Roman removed his jacket. "He sent you overseas after that picture was taken."

"For school."

"For protection. You witnessed Conrad paying a judge. Vivian convinced you it was a nightmare."

Memory flashed: rain, courthouse lights, my father's hand over my mouth.

"You were there."

"I got you out."

"Then why don't I remember you?"

"Your father made certain you would forget my name."

He came close enough to take the photograph, but I did not release it.

"And the deleted call?"

"Your father confessed that he had used Monroe Hotels to move Conrad's money. He asked me to destroy the evidence so you would not inherit his crimes."

"Did you?"

"No."

"Where is it?"

"Missing."

I laughed bitterly. "How convenient."

Roman caught the edge of the photograph. Our fingers met.

The room changed.

We had spent three days pretending the gala had been only s*x and the wedding only business. My body rejected both lies.

"Tell me to move," he said.

I should have.

Instead, I asked, "Did you know who I was that night?"

"The moment you removed your mask."

"And you still let me leave."

"You asked me not to follow."

His restraint again. It was becoming more dangerous than force.

I lifted my face.

The kiss began as a challenge. It became hunger before I could defend myself. Roman's hand settled at my waist, careful of the life neither of us had planned.

My phone rang.

We broke apart.

The building's security chief spoke without greeting. "Mr. Blackwood, someone accessed the garage using Mrs. Blackwood's credentials."

Roman looked at me.

I still held the photograph with both hands.

"Where is the intruder now?" he asked.

A crash sounded downstairs.

Then Celeste screamed my name.