Chapter 23 Rain-Soaked Revelations.
Chloe’s POV
I stood in the rain across the street from Seraphina’s new SoHo building with water running down my face and inside my hoodie while the phone in my hand felt hot enough to burn my palm. The message from B stayed lit on the screen. See you in the Maldives, little bird. Pack something red.
Brian.
Everything clicked together at once and made my chest hurt so badly I had to press my fist against it. Brian was Kim’s lover. Brian was switching the DNA. Brian wanted me dead so he could take the empire if Liam refused to marry Kim.
I shoved the phone in my pocket and wiped rain from my eyes. I almost crossed the street and walked straight into the building, but I stopped myself because I needed to know what Brian did next. I needed more than a feeling.
I flagged a cab two blocks away and waited with my hood pulled low. At 11:47, the front door opened. Liam walked out first with his hair messy and lipstick on his collar. Brian followed two minutes later, fixing his tie and smiling the same smile he had given me over whiskey.
I told the driver to follow Brian’s town car. We ended up back at the townhouse. Brian let himself in with a key. I paid the driver cash and walked the last block so no one would see the cab.
I used my own key to the connecting door between the penthouse and the townhouse, slipped inside quietly and went straight to the penthouse monitoring room. I could equally use my phone to watch them, but no... I decided to use a bigger screen to watch them then.
The master bedroom feed was live. Kim was waiting in a silk robe. Brian shut the door, pushed her against it and kissed her hard. She laughed into his mouth and pulled his shirt open.
I hit record on everything. Back in the room, I peeled off wet clothes, dried my hair and hid the burner and USB inside the lining of my winter coat. I called Olivia on the secure line.
“I just watched Brian leave Seraphina’s place with Liam. Then he went straight to Kim. Send me everything you have on him now.”
Olivia answered fast. “Already working. I confirmed Brian owns a five percent silent stake in Seraphina’s app company. That’s why the dinner was at her new place. He’s using her to get to Liam.”
At this point, I thank God for giving me a friend like Olivia and the best part is that she is super good with tech, which really helps me out in dealing with these people.
Lucy texted at the same time. Got the original lab vials. Meet me at the hospital garage at 9 a.m.
I typed back, "On my way tomorrow," and went to sleep before Liam came back. The next day, I decided not to wake Liam tonight. I needed the vials first. I needed proof he could not argue away.
I crawled into bed beside him. He rolled over in his sleep and his arm went heavy across my waist and his face pressed into my neck. I lay awake until the sky turned light.
Around 8:00 a.m., I watched the townhouse feed from the kitchen counter. A courier delivered a black box. Kim opened it on camera and lifted out a new silicone bump and ran her fingers over it like it was real. She took off the old one and strapped the new one on, turned in the mirror and smiled at herself.
She picked up her phone and texted someone, who I'm sure will be Brian. "Ready for the second test tomorrow. Sample switch set?"
Which he replied to in seconds. "Done. Your doctor has Liam’s razor hair. Matches 100%."
I recorded the whole thing and sent it to Olivia for backup. Olivia called back ten minutes later. “I got the vials from Lucy’s contact. The first paternity test used Brian’s DNA, not Liam’s. He’s the real father, not Liam. Kim’s been faking everything for God's sake; which one should we believe now? Kim’s been for Brian’s child to steal the heir clause.”
I sat down hard on the stool. “But I thought she was faking it. How is it real all of a sudden? And why is she using a fake bump?”
Olivia sighed. “She’s probably not far along yet, maybe only a couple of months. The bump makes her look further, so people believe the timeline and it helps her push back into Liam’s life faster. I don’t know for sure, but that’s what it looks like.”
I stared at the tablet as Kim walked past the camera again, with her hand on the fake bump and smiling, like she had already won.
When I woke up around 2:00 am to ease myself, Liam was still nowhere to be found. I was about to go downstairs when he entered.
Liam came home at 2:00 a.m. smelling like Seraphina’s perfume. He slammed the door and poured whiskey without turning on the lights. I stayed in the dark hallway and watched him drink half the glass in one swallow.
He saw me standing there. “Seraphina wants a quick LA scouting trip next week. Just me, her and you as assistant.” I crossed my arms. “You came home with lipstick on your collar.”
He looked down and wiped at it with his thumb. “She kissed my cheek for the cameras outside. That’s all.”
I stepped closer. “Brian told me to ask you about the redhead in Miami.”
He set the glass down hard. “Oooh! ... One night stand, that was three months ago. Before you mattered.”
I laughed once, sharp and bitter. “Before I mattered. Right.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me against him. “And did you think you mattered now?”
He kissed me hard and angrily and backed me into the living room until my legs hit the couch. He pushed me down and followed, mouth on my neck, hands shoving my shirt up.
I let him because I was too tired to fight and because part of me still wanted to feel something other than fear.
He pulled my leggings down, opened his pants and pushed inside me fast. I gasped at the stretch. He kept one hand on my hip and the other braced beside my head and moved hard and deep.
“You’re the only one at this moment,” he whispered against my ear. He bit my shoulder and sucked a new mark next to the old one. I wrapped my legs around him and met every thrust, but tears ran down my temples into my hair because I knew it was a lie.
He came with a low groan and stayed inside me, breathing hard. I stared at the ceiling and cried silently while he kissed my neck and told me I was his and that it was legally sealed with our signed contract.
When he finally rolled off, he fell asleep fast on the couch.
I lay there until the sky turned pink, then slipped out of the couch and showered alone. Around 9:00 a.m., in the hospital garage, Lucy waited by her car with a small cooler. She handed it over. “Vials and report. Brian’s DNA in the first test. Confirmed.”
We went up to see Mom and Mia. Mia hugged me tight. “That eeh! ...Aunty Kim came by again. She showed me new ultrasound pictures and said you’d be happy in the Maldives with a new family.”
My blood went cold. The doctor walked in looking pale. “We had a ventilator malfunction thirty minutes ago. Nearly fatal, but we caught it. Security is pulling footage.”
Olivia texted me the clip before we even left the room. Brian, in a maintenance uniform, with his face hidden under a cap, is tampering with the machine. I stared at the screen until my eyes burned. Brian’s accidents were already starting.
I met Voss at a quiet café in Brooklyn at noon. He sat in the back corner, wearing a baseball cap pulled low. He slid a folder across the table.
“Ten percent of Astor shares returned to you, patent fully restored and lifetime protection for your family.” He kept his voice low. “All you do is testify that the engagement was fake. One court appearance and you're done.”
I opened the folder and pretended to read. My phone recorded everything under the table. “You’re working with Brian,” I said quietly.
He smiled a little. “Smart girl. He feeds me intel. I take the company when Liam crashes. You walk away rich with everyone winning.” I closed the folder. “I’ll think about it.” He stood. “Clock’s ticking, Chloe; you have five days,” and left.
Then I went home. When I got home, my dad’s courier arrived at the penthouse at four with a thick envelope. Inside was the original confession letter from Astor Sr., admitting he stole the patent and framed my father. I hid it in the same spot as the USB.
At six, Liam came home with takeout and a bottle of wine. He kissed me softly and slowly, like he was trying to fix something.
“We leave for the Maldives in four days now,” he said. “After the gala, everything changes. I promise.”
I nodded and let him pull me into his lap on the couch. He kissed my neck and my shoulder and my mouth until I forgot how to breathe.
We ended up on the rug in front of the fireplace. He took his time, undressing me slowly and kissing every inch of skin he uncovered. When he finally pushed inside me, he moved gently at first, eyes locked on mine and whispering my name like a prayer.
I came twice before he did, clinging to him, tears and pleasure mixing until I couldn’t tell them apart.
After he carried me to bed and held me close, he fell asleep with his face in my hair. I waited until his breathing evened out, then slipped from the bed and opened the burner.
Olivia had sent one line. Brian just booked three tickets to the Maldives, on the same flight and at the same hotel. I looked at Liam sleeping and then at the connecting door that led to the townhouse where Brian and Kim were planning my death.
Four days... I had four days to decide who I trusted less, the man holding me or the one trying to kill me and neither answer felt safe.