Chapter 15 Find her
CHAPTER 15
FIND HER
“In public, Ruby and Leo must behave as a loving couple.”
Ruby’s eyes darted up. “As in… holding hands? Smiling? Sitting close?”
“Exactly,” Leo said. “Events—Dinners, Corporate functions, social media appearances if necessary.”
Her face heated. That felt too intimate. Too unreal.
Ruby continued reading—then froze.
“No physical intimacy in private settings.”
She blinked. “You don’t want anything intimate?”
Leo’s expression softened just slightly. “I’m not interested in using you. Public affection is for the cameras. In private, you have your boundaries. I have mine.”
Relief washed over her so strongly she almost sagged in her seat.
Her throat tightened as she read this line:
“No emotional attachment will be formed or expected from either party.”
Ruby’s fingers trembled. The words felt like knives—cold and sharp. He didn’t want love and closeness. He wanted distance.
Leo saw her expression and spoke quietly, “It keeps things simple. And prevents misunderstandings.”
Ruby nodded, though something inside her cracked.
Her breath hitched as she read:
“Ruby will receive a monthly allowance of 50 million dollars as well as additional compensation at the end of the contract.”
Her heart raced. That amount was unreal. More than she had ever seen in her life.
“And at the end,” Leo added, “you’ll receive a separate settlement of Ten thousand dollars”
Ruby stared at him, stunned. “This is too much.”
“No,” he corrected sharply. “It’s fair.”
Fair?
She felt unworthy of such kindness. She read the next part slowly, her eyes widening at each line.
She must not leave the mansion without permission, she must not bring guests without approval, she must maintain an appropriate appearance during public events,she must attend scheduled relationship training sessions and she must not disclose private matters about Leo or the Carter Group.
“Training sessions?” Ruby echoed.
Leo nodded. “You’ll be taught how to act in public. How to handle interviews. How to dress. How to behave around the board members. It’s necessary.”
Ruby hugged herself. She felt small, out of place, like someone pretending to fit into a world she didn’t belong in.
“If Ruby violates confidentiality or attempts to harm Leo’s reputation, the contract is terminated immediately.”
That's harsh, cold, and businesslike. Just like him. Ruby finished reading and set the papers down with shaking hands. Leo watched her, his gaze unreadable.
“Do you have questions?” he asked.
She had a thousand. But the one that slipped out was:
“Why me? Why help me at all?” Leo hesitated. A rare crack in his armor. “Because I saw you lying on the road,” he said quietly. Ruby’s breath hitched.
But he didn’t explain further.
“The choice is yours,” he said. “You can take the contract. Or you can walk away right now.”
Ruby stared at the pages. Everything she had ever dreamed of—safety, stability, shelter—was there in ink.
“If I sign it…” she whispered, “you’ll protect me?”
“Yes,” Leo said simply.
Ruby picked up the pen.
___
She paced her living room like a hunter in heels, her eyes sharp with anger. Clara sat on the couch eating chips, uninterested, scrolling through her phone.
“Find her,” Vivian snapped into the phone she held. “I don’t care how long it takes or how much it costs.”
The private investigator on the other end cleared his throat.
“Madam, we finally have something.”
Vivian froze. “Where?”
“A hospital first. Then…” He hesitated.
“She was taken by a man.”
Vivian stiffened. “What man?”
“He drove a black SUV Continental GTC. Plate number—”
Vivian’s heart stopped. She knew that car. She had seen it in magazines. On the news, even at charity events.
“That’s Leo Carter’s vehicle,” she whispered, stunned.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Vivian’s eyes widened in horror and greed.
Leo Carter. The billionaire heir. The man every business family wanted a connection to. And he had Ruby. Her useless, unwanted stepdaughter. Vivian’s face darkened with fury.
“That foolish girl,” she hissed. “She’s trying to trap a billionaire. She wants to ruin us.”
“It appears she’s staying in his mansion now,” the investigator added.
Vivian’s blood ran hot.
Leo Carter’s mansion. The most guarded estate in the entire city. Ruby… living there?
Her fists clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palm.
“She thinks she can escape me?” Vivian snapped. “She thinks she can embarrass this family?” “No.” Vivian’s voice dropped into a deadly whisper. “I’ll get her back. And when I do… she will regret ever running away.”
Clara finally looked up from her phone.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
Vivian turned, eyes blazing with obsession.
“Ruby,” she said. “We found her.”
Clara grinned cruelly. “Good, teach her a lesson.”
Vivian smiled, slow and vicious.
“Oh, I will, and I’ll start by going after the billionaire who thinks he can take her.”
She sat in her living room, eyes blazing, a glass of wine untouched in front of her.
“How dare she?” she hissed. “How dare she go to a billionaire… .
Clara rolled her eyes. “Maybe he didn’t choose her, Mom. Maybe he just helped her on the street.
Vivian froze.
“That’s even worse,” Vivian snapped. “If the media finds out she’s connected to the Carter family, people will start asking questions.”
“And they’ll find out she’s your stepdaughter,” Clara said, smirking. “And that we never treated her like family.”
Vivian’s breath caught.
N…….No scandal, not when she was building her influence among the wealthy wives’ circles.
“Call the investigator,” she ordered. “Tell him I want details, everything Ruby does, everywhere she goes, anyone she speaks to.”
“And if Leo finds out?” Clara asked.
Vivian’s lips curled sinisterly.
“He won’t. And if he does… I’ll say I was looking for my missing daughter.”
Clara burst into laughter at the word daughter.
Vivian joined her.
Then her phone lit up.