All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Betrayed Bride: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

CLAIRE'S POV I didn’t like him.That was the first clear thought I had the moment Riley stepped aside to let him into her apartment.It wasn’t anything obvious. He didn’t leer, didn’t smile too widely, didn’t say anything inappropriate. If anything, he was… polite. Almost forgettable. The kind of man you could meet twice and still struggle to recall clearly afterward.And that, I realized a second later, was exactly what unsettled me.“Claire, this is Drake,” Riley said, closing the door behind him. I didn't think the fake boyfriend was a bad idea, but this guy? Something didn't feel right about him.“He’s consulting on a few things for the company.” she continued.Consulting. Of course.Drake extended his hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”“Likewise,” I forced a smile, taking his hand.His grip was firm, practiced. Not warm or cold either. Just neutral. I met his eyes briefly, grey, unremarkable and felt that faint prickle crawl up my spine, the one I’d learned not to ignore.Ril

OWEN'S POV I sat alone in my apartment office, sleeves rolled, tie abandoned on the back of my chair, the city humming through the open window. Three monitors glowed in front of me. Call logs, metadata, financial overlays. Patterns layered on patterns until the noise began to thin. I wasn’t doing this officially. Which meant I could do it properly. Riley had asked for a favour, a private investigation on the strange number that frequently contacted her. “Just… look into it,” she’d said, voice too careful. “If you can.” Of course I could. And now, three nights in, I knew one thing for certain. Whoever was calling Riley wanted to be chased. The first phone number was a dead end by design. Burner, prepaid and activated with falsified credentials routed through three shell vendors. Amateur work on the surface, but layered just enough to slow down casual tracing. The kind of thing that spooked people who didn’t know how to peel past the obvious. I ignored the number itself and focused on

RILEY'S POV By the time Drake started calling it concern, I had already learned to hear the word control beneath it.At first, it slipped in quietly, the way all dangerous things did. A suggestion here, a gentle correction there. Nothing sharp enough to cut, nothing loud enough to alarm. Just small redirections, subtle shifts in my day that felt harmless when taken alone.“Let me handle that for you.”“You don’t need to go out tonight, you’ve had a long week.”“I’ll send a car. Walking isn’t safe these days.”I told myself it was temporary. That this arrangement, this fake relationship stitched together to neutralize rumors and deflect attention came with inconveniences. Boundaries I’d have to tolerate, performative closeness. A man playing a role a little too well.I told myself it was strategic, but then I was wrong.I noticed it first in my calendar.Meetings I’d scheduled days in advance suddenly conflicted with plans Drake insisted were “non-negotiable.” Lunches with Claire t

AIDEN'S POV I called Riley's phone repeatedly, not because I expected a different result, but because there was a particular kind of silence that demanded repetition. The way you knock harder on a door you already know won’t open.The phone rang, then went to voicemail.I didn’t hang up immediately. I stayed there, listening to the hollow click at the end of the line, the faint hiss of dead air. As if staying connected for a second longer might change the outcome.It didn’t.Riley didn’t miss calls. Not repeatedly like this. Not when everything around her had been tightening, closing in, turning hostile.Something was wrong.The certainty came all at once. It hits like an impact, like the moment before a collision when your body reacts faster than thoughts.Instinct. Raw, violent and absolute.I grabbed my keys and headed out, not bothering to lock my office or shut down my system.Whatever I was abandoning could wait, and whatever consequences followed could burn.I was already mov

CLAIRE'S POV The phone slipped from my hand, clattering against the counter, but I barely noticed. The room seemed to shrink, the walls pressing in as reality hit me like a brick. Riley hadn’t answered a single call all day. Not a text or a message. Nothing.My stomach churned. The unease that had been simmering since morning erupted into pure panic. I snatched up my phone again, thumbs trembling as I dialed her number for what had to be the twentieth time.“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line was clipped, professional, something I hated hearing right now.“Hello. My name is Claire” I said quickly, trying to keep my voice steady. “I…I need to report a missing person. My friend, Riley… she’s not responding to anything, and I’m..”The operator interrupted gently, asking for details, and I rattled them off, my words tumbling faster than my racing thoughts could manage. Name, age, last known location, work commitments, recent contacts, everything. All the while, a small vo