Chapter 8: “I Need Your Help Tonight”

The note burned against my palm like a live coal as Julian’s hand stayed heavy and possessive on my thigh the entire ride back to the penthouse.

I didn’t dare unfold it in the car. One wrong move, one flicker of suspicion in those sharp eyes of his, and everything would crumble.

Julian looked at me, and my heart raced, hoping he had no idea about the paper. “You did excellent today at the merger event,” he said.

I looked at him and forced a smile as hard as I could so it would look as genuine as possible. “Thank you, fake husband.”

He looked at me for a moment and let out a low laugh, turning his gaze toward the window as the city lights blurred past. Then he moved his hand from my thigh and took my hand in his. A strange flutter spread through my stomach for the second time.

Why do I feel like this? I asked myself.

“Prepare yourself,” he said. “In three days, we fly to London. It’s the first official board meeting for the merger, and you, as my wife, will have to go with me.”

I frowned. “But why do I have to go? If my role in this is just being your wife? Do CEOs bring their wives along to business meetings?”

He smiled and shook his head. “You’re right. But you’re not going with me as just my wife. You still work for me, remember?”

I looked at him, confused. The thought echoed in my head. What does he want from me now?

“You’ll be going with me as my Strategic Advisor. So consider this a promotion. Your job is to follow me around, stay where I can see you, and speak when you’re asked to.”

The news was unexpected and unsettling, but I knew I had a mission to get close to him. Maybe this is my chance.

So I smiled and said, “Thank you, my husband.”

He pulled his hand away from mine and kept to himself for the rest of the ride back to the penthouse. I noticed his reaction but couldn’t tell what it meant. I didn’t ask either. My mind was still fixed on Diva’s letter.

The moment we stepped inside the gleaming foyer, Julian’s phone rang. Some urgent deal in London. He glanced at me, his expression unreadable.

“Stay where I can find you, fake wife,” he said quietly. There it was again, the name he had been calling me all week. He was already turning toward his private study. “We’re not done talking about tonight.”

I nodded, forcing a small, obedient smile that felt like glass on my lips. The second his study door clicked shut, I bolted upstairs to the master suite.

I rushed into the luxurious bathroom and locked the door behind me. Under the soft vanity lights, I finally unfolded the damp, tightly creased paper.

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐢 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬, 𝟐𝟐𝟏 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟏𝟒𝐭𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭. 𝐀𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟏:𝟑𝟎 𝐩𝐦. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞.

𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐚.

My breath caught in throat. The Velvet Shadow.

I quickly pulled out my phone and searched for it online. It’s a sleek, low-key bar and restaurant downtown, only twenty minutes from the penthouse on foot if I moved fast.

I wondered why she wanted to meet at a bar. Not some abandoned warehouse or dark alley, especially if she claimed she was being watched.

But still, everything in me screamed caution.

And Julian’s warning from earlier replayed in my head, reminding me just how dangerous the Goddards were.

It’s an obvious trap, I told myself.

The problem was, I was already considering going anyway.

Then I picked up my phone again and searched for the name Diva Richmond.

Nothing. No social media, no company records, no articles. Nothing at all.

It was as though the woman who had walked up to me in that hallway simply did not exist.

But Diva had looked genuinely frightened when she approached me. And if she knew anything about my father, maybe she would know something about the poison or point me toward the true monster behind all of this.

I couldn’t ignore that possibility.

Julian has the medical files locked away where I can’t reach them. And he controls the doctors now. He literally controls everything.

Me. The doctors. And maybe even the entire city.

“I had to go to Diva”, I said. “But how?”

The penthouse was already a fortress. Private elevators. Armed guards downstairs. Cameras everywhere.

And Julian…

Sometimes it feels like nothing happens inside this building without him knowing. Like the walls themselves reported back to him.

A soft knock at the bathroom door made me jump.

“Mrs. Cross? Are you in there? It’s Laura. I brought your evening tea.”

I cracked the door open slightly, keeping most of my body hidden behind it.

Laura stood there with her usual warm smile, a tray in hand. She was the only member of staff who treated me like a person instead of Julian’s newest possession.

Her eyes drifted past me and landed on my flushed face and the crumpled note I hadn’t fully hidden.

Something flickered across her face.

Concern. Maybe curiosity.

But she didn’t ask questions.

Instead, she lowered her voice.

“Are you alright, ma’am?”

The question was simple, but the look in her eyes said she was asking about more than my wellbeing.

“You look like someone who needs help with something, ma’am. Am I wrong?”

I hesitated for only a second. But then my desperation won.

I quickly pulled her inside and shut the door behind us.

Laura blinked in surprise. “Is everything okay, ma’am?”

“I need to leave the penthouse tonight,” I said. “Just for an hour. I have someone I need to meet downtown. It’s really important. And no one can know. Especially…”

“Master Cross?” she finished quietly.

I nodded.

“Yes, Laura.”

The room fell silent, and Laura’s expression changed immediately. The small smile disappeared from her face.

“Ma’am, that’s not a good idea.”

“I know it isn’t. If he finds out I left the house, he’ll be furious.”

“Then why are you asking me, ma’am?”

I looked down at the crumpled note still clenched in my hand.

“Because I don’t know who else in this house to ask.”

The words came out softer than I intended.

“I need this, Laura. Please.”

For a moment, she just stared at me. Then she let out a slow breath.

“Do you trust whoever you’re meeting tonight?”

“No.” I said calmly.

Her eyebrows shot up instantly. “Then this is an even worse idea.”

“I know,” I whispered again. “But I have to go.”

Laura pressed her lips together and glanced toward the bathroom door as if she’s making sure nobody was listening.

When she looked back at me, her expression had softened.

“If we do this, ma’am, please you cannot get caught..”

My heart jumped for a moment.

“Then you’ll help me escape for an hour?”

She sighed.

“The service elevator in the kitchen wing. The guards there change shifts at exactly 10:02 every night. I can create a distraction near the main entrance and pull their attention away for a minute. You should be able to slip out through the kitchen elevator.” Then she pointed a finger at me.

“But if you see anything suspicious, you leave immediately. And you have to be back before Master Cross finishes his call.”

I nodded so quickly it almost hurt.

“Thank you so much for this, Laura. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Laura shook her head.

“Don’t thank me yet, ma’am. Let’s just make sure you come back in one piece.”

She squeezed my arm gently.

“Just be careful, Mrs. Cross. He’s been watching the security feeds more than usual lately.”

A few minutes later, we moved quickly.

I changed into dark, unassuming clothes—black leggings and a hoodie I stole from Julian’s closet because it smelled like him and might buy me a little time if anyone glanced my way.

I tucked my hair beneath a cap and slipped the diamond ring off, hiding it under a pillow.

My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears.

At 9:56 p.m., Laura went downstairs first while I waited in the shadows of the upstairs hallway, counting the seconds.

Then a loud crash echoed from the main foyer.

Glass shattered, followed by Laura’s apologetic voice.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry! Let me clean this up!”

Footsteps moved.

The guards shifted.

This was it.

I crept down the back staircase, every step making my skin crawl.

The service elevator doors opened silently.

I stepped inside and pressed the button for the garage level.

Freedom felt so close.

The elevator descended.

Ten floors.

Five.

Two.

The doors opened.

I stepped out into the dimly lit service corridor and froze.

Two of Julian’s guards stood directly in front of me, their arms crossed and their expressions hard.

One of them lifted a hand to his earpiece.

“Target acquired on Sub-Level,” he said. “Yes, sir. The intruder is right here.”

My blood turned to ice.

Something had gone wrong.

They weren’t supposed to be here.

Maybe they had caught the movement on a secondary camera Laura didn’t know about.

Or maybe the service elevator had its own silent alert.

Either way, they had been waiting for me.