Chapter Fourteen: The Lie Behind the Photograph

The Billionaire's Contract Bride

Chapter Fourteen: The Lie Behind the Photograph.

The room was completely dark.

Claire could hear her own breathing.

Martin stood in front of her, his body tense.

The man's voice came again from somewhere beyond the door.

"You were never supposed to find this."

Claire's fingers tightened around Martin's sleeve.

"Who are you?"

No answer.

Martin reached for his phone.

The screen illuminated his face for a brief second.

Then—

CRASH!

The window shattered.

Claire screamed.

Martin pulled her down just as a bullet tore through the wall behind them.

"Get down!"

Another shot rang out.

Martin grabbed Claire and dragged her behind the heavy wooden desk.

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Stay here."

"Martin—"

"I said stay here."

He moved toward the broken window.

But there was nobody outside.

Only darkness.

Martin looked down.

A small object lay on the floor beneath the window.

A black USB drive.

He picked it up.

There was a single word written on it.

ISABELLA.

Five minutes later, security arrived.

The mansion was searched from top to bottom.

Nobody was found.

Ethan entered the room.

"Sir, whoever fired the shots escaped through the rear garden."

Martin handed him the USB drive.

"Can you access this?"

Ethan nodded.

"I'll try."

Claire stood silently beside the desk.

Her eyes remained fixed on the photograph.

The photograph that supposedly proved she was Isabella's daughter.

Something didn't feel right.

"Martin."

He turned.

"What?"

"Look at the photograph again."

He walked toward her.

"What am I looking for?"

"The date."

Martin examined the bottom corner.

His eyes narrowed.

"1998."

Claire shook her head.

"That's impossible."

"Why?"

She pointed at the photograph.

"My mother was pregnant with me in 2001."

Martin stared at her.

Silence.

Claire's heart began pounding.

"If this photograph is real..."

"Then something doesn't make sense."

Martin looked at Ethan.

"Find out when this photograph was actually taken."

Ethan nodded.

"Immediately."

Two hours later...

They returned to Blackwood Estate.

Ethan entered Martin's private office carrying a file.

"I found something."

Martin looked up.

"What?"

"The photograph was altered."

Claire's eyes widened.

"Altered?"

"Yes."

Ethan placed two photographs side by side.

"The original photograph doesn't contain the writing."

Martin picked it up.

"Then who added the words?"

"We don't know."

Claire looked at the second photograph.

The message—

CLAIRE IS HER DAUGHTER

—had been digitally added.

Martin's expression became cold.

"So someone wanted us to believe Claire was Isabella's daughter."

Ethan nodded.

"Exactly."

Claire sat down slowly.

Relief washed over her.

But it was quickly replaced by another feeling.

Fear.

"Why would someone go through all this trouble?"

Martin looked at her.

"To make us believe something that isn't true."

Claire whispered,

"And to make you believe I'm connected to your mother."

Martin didn't answer.

Because the implication was obvious.

Someone knew about their relationship.

Someone knew about Isabella.

And someone was deliberately manipulating both of them.

That night, Martin couldn't sleep.

He stood alone in his study.

The city stretched beneath the windows.

He replayed the events in his mind.

The chandelier.

The assassin.

The stolen Jacobs file.

The locket.

The memory card.

The photograph.

Someone had planned everything.

And every attack had one common connection.

Claire.

A knock sounded.

"Come in."

Claire entered.

She wore a simple white robe.

"I couldn't sleep."

Martin looked at her.

"Neither could I."

She walked toward him.

"Do you believe me?"

"About what?"

"That I didn't know anything about Isabella."

Martin's eyes softened.

"I never thought you did."

Claire lowered her eyes.

"Even after everything?"

"Especially after everything."

She looked up.

"Why?"

Martin took a step closer.

"Because if you were part of this..."

He paused.

"...you wouldn't be risking your life trying to uncover the truth."

Claire's eyes became moist.

"You trust me?"

Martin looked directly into her eyes.

"More than I trust most people."

Her heart skipped.

Neither moved.

Then Claire whispered:

"Our contract..."

Martin's expression changed.

"What about it?"

"What happens when it's over?"

He stared at her.

For once, the billionaire who always had an answer...

had none.

The next morning...

Ethan finally opened the USB drive.

There was only one video.

A woman appeared on the screen.

Isabella.

Martin froze.

His mother's face filled the monitor.

"If you're watching this..."

Her voice trembled.

"...then whoever I feared has finally found you."

Martin stepped closer.

Isabella continued.

"I need you to understand something."

"I did not die because of the money."

"I died because I discovered who was behind the Blackwood financial attacks."

Martin's eyes widened.

"Blackwood?"

Claire looked at him.

Isabella continued.

"The person responsible is not outside our families."

She paused.

"They are inside."

The video suddenly distorted.

Then Isabella spoke one final sentence.

"Martin, don't trust the person who tells you that Claire is my daughter."

The screen went black.

Silence filled the room.

Claire slowly turned toward Martin.

Someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to convince them she was Isabella's daughter.

But Isabella herself had warned Martin not to believe it.

Martin looked at Claire.

Then at Ethan.

His voice was cold.

"Find the person who created that photograph."

Ethan nodded.

"And when you find them?"

Martin's eyes hardened.

"Bring them to me."

That afternoon...

An unknown number appeared on Claire's phone.

She answered cautiously.

"Hello?"

A disguised voice spoke.

"You've been asking questions you shouldn't ask."

"Who are you?"

"You want to know what happened to Isabella?"

Claire's heartbeat accelerated.

"Yes."

"Then stop trusting Martin."

Claire froze.

"Why?"

The voice laughed softly.

"Because the biggest secret isn't what happened to Isabella."

A pause.

"It's what Martin's father did to her."

The call ended.

Claire stared at her phone.

Martin's father.

Another secret.

Another lie.

And suddenly Claire wondered...

How much did Martin really know about his own family?