Claimed by the billionaire のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

Christian POV She lied. I wanted to believe her. But there was something in the way her body stiffened when I asked, something too fast in her smile, too smooth in the way she said I was with Tessa. Elizabeth Harper couldn’t lie to save her life. And that’s how I found myself standing outside Tessa’s apartment the next day, my hand heavy against the door as I knocked. The moment Tessa opened the door, her face drained of color. Then she forced a nervous smile. “Please, I don’t want to lose my job again, Mr. Reed,” she blurted out, half-joking, half-pleading. “That depends,” I said evenly, my gaze pinning her in place. “If you tell me the truth. Was Elizabeth with you three days ago?” Her lips parted, her hand tightening on the doorframe. “Yes,” she said quickly. “We hung out, lost track of time. I swear I told her to go home before it got late, but she refused.” I studied her closely. I know a liar when I see one. I’ve dealt with too many of them—boardrooms, inves

CHRISTIAN POV The numbers on the screen blurred into nothing. Voices droned around me, but all I could hear was the sound of my own thoughts hammering against my skull. Whatever Elizabeth was hiding from me was eating me alive. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Every time I looked at her, I saw it—the flicker in her eyes, the hesitation in her touch, the way she guarded her words as if every sentence carried a secret. it was clawing at my mind, shredding my concentration until I couldn’t breathe without the question burning in my chest. “Mr. Reed?” One of the executives cleared his throat, hesitating as though he’d already repeated himself twice. “Should we move forward with—” “I asked for projections, not excuses,” I cut in sharply, but even I could hear it—the edge in my voice wasn’t business. It was personal. My men exchanged uneasy glances. They knew my focus wasn’t in the room. “…Mr. Reed? Do you agree with the proposed figures?” one of the directors asked careful

CHRISTIAN POV The two-hour drive home turned into forty-five minutes. I cut through the New York night like a madman, ignoring red lights, swerving past cars, horns blaring in my wake. Nothing compared to the chaos tearing through me. By the time I pulled into the drive, my pulse was a live wire, my grip on the wheel aching with restraint. I was a storm ready to split open. My shoes struck hard against the marble floor as I stepped inside. The front door slammed shut behind me, echoing through the house. My gaze swept the living room until it landed on Nana, who'd stepped out from the shadows, worry etched across her face. "Christi-" "Where is she?" My voice cracked like a whip. She hesitated. Just for a second. That was enough to make my blood boil hotter. I pinned her with a glare that left no room for argument. "In her room," she said at last, her voice low. "She refused to come out." "Good." I didn't wait for more. My steps pounded against the stairs as I to

ELIZABETH POV Seven days. That’s how long it had been since the night my world crumbled, since I last saw Christian’s face. Christian. I had spent most of that time crying, replaying the look in his eyes when the truth came out. The disappointment. The betrayal. The coldness that cut deeper than any words could. I wondered what he thought of me now… what he called me in his head when he remembered. But I couldn’t drown in sorrow. Not completely. Not with my daughter around. She made it impossible to collapse into the sadness I carried inside. She needed her mother whole, not broken. She needed warmth, not a crybaby who couldn’t pull herself together. Still, curiosity or maybe desperation got the better of me. I unlocked my phone and scrolled through the internet. Normally, I avoided gossip, the mindless cruelty of strangers. But this time was different. This was about me. About us. And I wanted—no, I needed—to know what the world thought of me. The first headline made my

Elizabeth POV “What are you doing here, Sam?” My voice came out sharper than I intended, but the sight of him standing at Grandma’s porch made my chest tighten. The one face I thought I could trust… and now, even that wasn’t safe. “I saw the news,” he said, like that excused everything. His eyes searched mine, almost pleading. “The news,” I repeated, bitterness coating every word, “the news you helped reveal.” His jaw slackened, the flicker of guilt on his face giving him away before the words did. “You… found out.” “Yes, Sam.” My voice cracked, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. “I did. God, I thought out of everyone in this world, you. I thought I could trust you. You were my brother.” “I did it to protect you, Elizabeth!” he burst out, running a hand through his hair like he was the victim here. “I didn’t know it was going to blow up on the news. I only gave it to Adrian because he promised—” I froze. My stomach dropped. “Wait. What?” My heart thudded painfully aga