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Chapter twenty one

Penulis: Lily Grayson
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-07-05 07:38:11

Sophie's pov

The world tipped sideways during the most important board meeting of my sham marriage.

One minute I was eviscerating Marcus Kane with his own financial reports the damning spreadsheets I'd compiled during my midnight hacking sessions spread across the mahogany table like a feast for vultures the next, the room spun violently.

My vision tunneled to the horrified faces of Blackstone's executives, their expensive ties and judgmental mouths forming perfect O's of surprise as the marble floor rushed up to meet me.

The last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me whole was Damien vaulting over the conference table, his usually impeccable suit jacket flaring behind him like wings, his bellow of "SOPHIE!" reverberating through the soundproofed walls.

I surfaced in waves, floating in and out of consciousness like driftwood caught in a storm. Fractured moments imprinted themselves on my fever-addled brain:

- Cool fingers on my wrist, taking my pulse with clinical precisi
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  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter thirty-seven

    Sophie’s POV “The keycard should work. It must”I swipe it again, my fingers trembling against the sleek black panel beside the penthouse elevator. The light blinks red denied like a slap to the face. A security guard shifts uncomfortably nearby, his polished shoes squeaking against the marble floor. He won’t meet my eyes. "Try it once more, Miss Laurent," he murmurs, though we both know it won’t change anything. I do it anyway. Red again. My stomach twists into knots. "Mr. Blackstone revoked your access this morning," the guard finally says, voice low, as if he’s delivering news of a death. "I’m sorry." The words don’t fully register. “Revoked.” Like I’m nothing more than a terminated employee, a canceled contract. My phone buzzes in my pocket, the vibration sharp against my thigh. I pull it out with numb fingers, already knowing, already fearing what I’ll see. “Blackstone Holdings:All linked accounts frozen pending investigation.”The screen blurs. He didn’t jus

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter thirty-six

    Sophie's POV The storm outside the safe house didn't just rattle the windows,it shook the very foundations, as if the sky itself were furious. Rain lashed against the bulletproof glass in relentless sheets, each drop exploding like a tiny bomb against the reinforced panes. Somewhere in the distance, thunder growled like a living thing, the sound vibrating through my bones. Lillian slept fitfully in the next room, her breath hitching every few minutes as another nightmare took hold. The FBI agent the one with Damien's piercing green eyes and the same sharp cheekbones had left an hour ago, but his warning still hung in the air like the acrid scent of gunpowder after a shot. "Arthur Blackstone doesn't make empty threats."I was still staring at the door, my fingers curled into the fabric of my sweater, when Damien's shadow filled the hallway. He didn't speak at first. He didn't have to. The air around him was charged, electric, like the moment before lightning strikes. "Tell m

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter thirty-five

    Sophie's POV **8:03 AM** The first tremors weren't in the earth, but in my hands. The coffee cup slipped from my fingers when the Bloomberg alert flashed across my phone screen, shattering against the hospital linoleum in a burst of dark liquid that looked too much like blood. The notification burned my retinas: **BLACKSTONE GROUP (-39%) - TRADING HALTED** Lillian's hospital TV switched automatically to CNBC, where red banners screamed across the bottom of the screen. Analysts shouted over each other like vultures circling a corpse: "largest single-day drop in Blackstone history" "Scheherazade files show clear evidence of securities fraud" "SEC launching immediate investigation into offshore accounts" Damien's phone lit up with a single text from an unknown number: "Was it you?"I watched his knuckles bleach white around the device, the tendons in his hand standing out like steel cables. In all our years together, through all the dangers we'd faced, I'd never seen

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter thirty-four

    Sophie's POV The phone's vibration against the marble nightstand jolted me awake at 3:17 AM. A cruel coincidence that same minute when my father had taken his last breath years before. The hospital's caller ID glared up at me like an accusation in the dark. "Miss Laurent," the administrator's voice was crisp, sterile as an operating room, "we regret to inform you that without immediate payment, your sister's private care facility will terminate her treatment." A pause. The sound of papers shuffling. "The Blackstone Foundation has withdrawn its funding." The words hit like a physical blow. My stomach plummeted as the digital clock's red numbers seared themselves into my vision 03:18 AM now. "Marcus," I breathed, the name tasting like poison. Across the bedroom, Damien slept like a man who'd already conquered the world, one arm thrown carelessly over his face. Moonlight caught on the flash drive left carelessly on the dresser his so-called gift, his test. The silver casing win

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter thirty-three

    Sophie's POV The Bentley's tires hummed against rain-slick asphalt as we tore through the English countryside, its powerful engine growling like a caged beast finally set free. I watched the landscape blur through the window’s endless stretches of moors swallowed by mist, skeletal trees bowing under the weight of the storm. Damien hadn't spoken since we left London. His profile might have been carved from marble for all the emotion it showed, but I saw the truth in the way his fingers flexed around the steering wheel. In the barely perceptible tic in his jaw. The flash drive in my pocket burned like a brand. "Damien" "Don't." His voice was gravel. "Not yet." The first iron gates appeared like sentinels in the fog, their rusted bars twisted into intricate thorn patterns. As we passed through, something cold slithered down my spine. The estate's long-abandoned security cameras hung like dead birds from their mounts, their lenses shattered. Blackthorn Hall emerged from the

  • The Billionaire's Temporary Mistress    Chapter thirty-one

    Sophie's POVThe Blackstone archives smelled of old money and older sins a heady mix of decaying paper, leather bindings, and the faint metallic tang of the vault's climate control system. My fingertips left barely perceptible indentations on the cardboard banker's boxes as I worked through the 1990s financial records. The motion-activated lights flickered overhead, casting long shadows between the steel shelving units that stretched toward the vaulted ceiling. I was examining a particularly dense file of offshore transactions when the air pressure changed. The hairs on my nape rose before I heard the deliberate clearing of a throat. "Researching ancient history, Sophie?" Marcus's voice oozed across the space between us, smooth as aged whiskey over ice. I turned slowly, careful to keep my expression neutral as I took in his perfectly tailored Brioni suit charcoal gray with the faintest pinstripe, costing more than most people made in a month. "Provenance work for the Monet ac

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