Chapter 5

Rachel’s POV

The moment I stepped into Racheal Enterprises, I knew something was wrong, the lobby was polished and luxurious, gleaming marble floors, crystal lighting hanging from the high ceilings. The employees moving through the building in tailored suits while soft instrumental music drifted through hidden speakers. 

But the atmosphere was different, conversations stopped when I walked through the revolving glass doors, several employees standing near the reception desk glanced toward me before looking away. A woman carrying coffee nearly bumped into someone because she was staring at me. 

There was whispers everywhere I go. “That’s her…” “I heard the rumors are true.” “They said she’s connected to Kane’s people.” 

My heels echoed across the marble floor, near the elevators, two young women suddenly stepped aside in fear the moment I approached. Inside the executive elevator, there was silence nobody looked at me directly. 

I just stared ahead until a movement on a phone beside me caught my attention, it was a news article with my photograph, it was blurry but easily recognizable. 

The image showed me leaving the cafe with Lucas, below the photograph were words that made my blood go cold. Possible criminal connections. Someone had created this deliberately and people already believed it. I forced myself to breathe slowly.

I’m sure it was Clarissa’s doing, nobody has the motive to want to destroy me. I looked away from the phone before anyone noticed me staring. The elevator slid open softly and I stepped out. 

The ballroom inside Raphael Enterprises looked beautiful. Golden chandeliers reflected against polished floors while wealthy guests filled the space with expensive perfume, and quiet laughter. There were politicians, investors, CEOs, the most powerful people in the city stood beneath one roof. 

The moment I entered the ballroom, dozens of eyes landed on me, I had the urge to turn around and leave immediately but before i could escape, Clarissa appeared beside me gracefully. She was elegant as always, she was on a deep emerald gown that matched the expensive jewels around her neck. 

“My dear Rachel,” she said in a warm voice, loud enough for nearby guests to hear. She reached forward and adjusted my sleeve gently, pretending to be affectionate. But when she leaned closer, she whispered, “Try not to embarrass us further.” I moved back instinctively. 

I sighted my father across the ballroom, he was surrounded by business executives, he looked directly at me once then looked away, like acknowledging me publicly would damage his reputation. 

Elena walked through the crowd happily, enjoying the attention from wealthy young socialites. Unlike me, she looked perfectly comfortable here. 

I noticed conversations lowering whenever I walked past, people smiles nervously, one investor’s wife subtly pulled her daughter away when i approached their gathering. 

Clarissa moved elegantly through the crowd nearby and I heard her speaking softly to a circle of women “Rachel has always been emotional.” She sighed dramatically. “We’re trying to help her through certain difficult influences.” 

The women nodded sympathetically. Clarissa wasn’t spreading the rumors openly, she was planting them carefully making people believe they reached the conclusions themselves. Elena joined the conversation smoothly, “We’re all worried about the people she has been spending time with lately.” 

They were intentionally destroying me publicly while pretending to be concerned, and nobody questioned it because wealthy people love scandals as much as they feared them. 

I nearly snapped when I notice another guest looking at me, but then I noticed cameras and reporters across the ballroom. Clarissa wanted a reaction, a public breakdown. I forced myself to stay calm, that’s when I noticed men in black suits standing near the edges of the ballroom. 

They were not the usual kind of security, one of them touched his earpiece after receiving a call. Then his gaze shifted directly towards me, “She’s here,” he said quietly. 

In the private upper - level lounge, Matthew Kane watched everything silently. From there, he could see everything. Antonio Virelli stood nearby holding a tablet filled with information, “The rumors spread faster than expected.” Antonio said calmly. 

The whole time I stood isolated, Matthew’s attention never left me.

“Clarissa Raphael started the stories herself,” Antonio continued. 

“Why?” Matthew asked. 

Antonia gave a humorless smile, “Fear controls people than truth.”

I suddenly looked up and our eyes jammed, and everything else disappeared. I was scared but I couldn’t look away even after recognizing who he was. 

It was my father voice, that made me remove my eyes from him. My father stepped onto the ballroom stage for the charity announcement. He began speaking about family legacy, corporate honour, and the future of Raphael Enterprises. 

Then suddenly, a reporter’s voice cut sharply through the ballroom. “Miss Raphael, are the rumors about your criminal connections true?” I froze, my father’s expression became cold, Clarissa faked her shock, because I knew she was the happiest person in that room that moment. Elena his a smile behind her wine glass. 

It was then I realized all this was planned. The room exploded into whispers, everyone was staring. My father stood motionless, he did not even say a single word to defend me. 

“None of those rumors are true,” I said quietly. But people already believed what they wanted to . 

Questions began coming in from different angles “are you involved with Matthew Kane personally? I felt trapped, my pulse rate increased. Then, a deep male voice sounded cleanly through the chaos, “That’s enough.”

There was instant silence, fear spread as he walked through the crowd without rushing, yet the room seemed to part of him automatically. Even the reporters stepped backward instinctively. 

Matthew stopped beside me, then he looked towards the reporters coldly, “if you intend to accuse someone connected to me, bring proof,”  then he turned to me and said, “Come with me.” 

Cold wind greeted us outside on the private balcony overlooking the city. Below us, lights stretched endlessly through the darkness while distant thunder rolled across the skyline. For several moments, neither of us spoke.

I studied Matthew carefully, he looked even more intimidating up close. Matthew rested one hand lightly against the balcony railing, “You handled the reporters better than most politicians.”

I laughed softly without humor, “You mean while my family watched me drown?”

He noticed the pain beneath my anger immediately, I crossed my arms tightly, “Did you know about these rumors?”

“Yes, But I didn’t create them,” he added calmly.

I searched his face carefully, “Then why help me?”

Matthew stepped slightly closer, “Because frightened people make reckless decisions,” he said quietly. “And right now, everyone around you is frightened.”

I frowned slightly, “What does that mean?”

Instead of answering directly, he looked toward the city lights, “Your stepmother is hiding something.”

I stiffened, the certainty in his voice terrified me, but before I could question him further, Matthew added calmly, “The rumors are only the beginning.”

Fear settled inside my chest, then he looked back at me. His eyes lingered briefly on the fading bruise near my cheek, and jis expression darkened. 

I suddenly became very aware of how close he stood. When I finally returned inside, my phone immediately began vibrating nonstop. Message after message flooded the screen, news alerts, social media posts, headlines spreading faster every second.

My blood ran cold as I read them.

RACHEL RAPHAEL LINKED TO MAFIA INVESTIGATION.

RAPHAEL HEIRESS UNDER CRIMINAL SUSPICION.

MYSTERY WOMAN CONNECTED TO MATTHEW KANE.

I slowly, lowered the phone. Around me, the ballroom buzzed with whispers once again, but now something had changed. People were no longer looking at me with simple suspicion, now they looked at me with fear.