Hidden Behind the Billionaire's Signature

Chapter 2: The Taste of Truth

I didn’t cry when I left the house. I didn’t even look back. I just walked, my body moving on autopilot. I knew I didn’t belong there anymore. I wasn't a wife; I was leveraged.

I didn’t care about my belongings. Everything in that house felt like a lie now. I headed straight for the one person I could trust: Riley. She’s my best friend and, more often than not, my partner in crime.

I arrived at her door with nothing but the clothes on my back. I knocked just as she was about to head out.

“Elena? What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes widening. “And why is your hair such a mess?” She checked her watch. “It’s seven in the morning.”

I didn’t say a word. She saw the hollow look on my face and stepped aside. “Come in,” she said softly.

I walked straight to her fridge, pulled out a bottle of wine, and poured myself a glass.

“Out with it,” Riley demanded, crossing her arms.

“Why do you always assume there’s a problem?” I tried to deflect. “Maybe I just want to spend time with my best friend. We haven't done anything fun lately. It’s not like we murdered someone.”

“Elena, stop,” Riley said, her face dead serious.

I paused, my eyes rolling back as the weight of it hit me. “I’m being played, Riley. I’m being played.”

“Played? Since when do you care about sports?”

“Not a game,” I whispered. “My ex showed up at my house today. And my husband? He already knew him. They had this... strange conversation. Then Victor showed me a contract. Something about a debt, a trust fund—some family bullshit.”

I showed Riley the documents and played the audio message Victor had sent to my phone. She froze. I know Riley; when she goes quiet like that, it means she’s putting pieces together that I haven't seen yet.

I saw her flinch.

“I knew it,” she muttered. “I knew he was up to something.”

“You knew what?” I asked, my heart sinking.

“I’m sorry, Elena. I saw a post on Victor’s social media a few days ago about him looking for a ‘new wife.’ I thought it was a joke or some publicity stunt. I had no idea it was about you. It all happened so fast.”

“Victor wants something,” I said, the anger finally bubbling up.

“Hell yeah he does,” Riley responded. “And he’s back to make sure he gets it.”

While Riley was distracted by a noise at the front door, the shadows at the back of the apartment shifted. Two men slipped through the rear entrance before she could even turn around. She went to investigate the noise at the front, but when she found no one there and returned to the kitchen, the back door was wide open.

I was already gone.

The next thing I knew, I was blindfolded. When the fabric was finally ripped away, I was in the back of a luxury SUV. Victor was sitting across from me, his bodyguard like a statue beside him.

“What do you want?” I spat.

“Nothing much,” he said smoothly. “I just need a small favour.”

“What kind of favour?”

“We’ll discuss it at the hotel. You look exhausted, Elena. You need rest.”

The SUV pulled up to the City Point hotel in Brooklyn around noon. I was escorted straight to a high-end suite. Victor followed me inside.

“What do you want?” I asked for the third time.

“Sleep, Elena. We’ll talk in the morning.” He whispered something to his bodyguard, and they both slipped out, locking the door behind them.

Luckily, they hadn't checked my pockets. I still had my phone. I saw nine missed calls from Riley. I called her back immediately.

“Elena! Are you okay? Where are you?”

“I’m... I’m safe for now,” I told her, keeping my voice low. “I’m at a hotel. I’m waiting to see what Victor’s move is. But Riley, something is wrong. I can feel it.”

“It’s worse than you think,” Riley said, her voice

shaking. “I went back to your house. Julian is there, and he’s wasted. He was rambling about 'selling' you to Victor to cover his company’s debts. He said the only reason he stayed with you was to keep the creditors at bay. Elena... I recorded it.”

She played the tape. I turned the volume up, listening to Julian’s slurred voice confirm my worst fears. I froze. The world seemed to stop spinning.

“Riley, what am I going to do?” I whispered. “I was sold. By two brothers who used me like a piece of property.”

“Don’t worry,” Riley said, her tone turning sharp. “I have a plan. We’ll figure out what Victor is really after, and then we’re going to burn it all down.”

She hung up, leaving me in the silence of the hotel room. Everything replayed in my head—the day I met Victor, the day I married Julian. It was all a setup. A long, cruel game.

This time, I had had enough. I lay back on the bed, but I didn't want to sleep. I wanted revenge. I wanted something that would leave their lives in ruins. I didn't want them dead; death was too easy, too quick. I wanted them to feel the cold, heavy weight of the pain they had handed me.

I was going to teach them a lesson they wouldn't survive. They treated me like collateral. Now, I was going to show them exactly what happens when the collateral strikes back.