All Chapters of The Billionaire's Kept Secret : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Catherine Hart's POV"Get out here, Cat, " Richard's voice rasped through the pain, his knuckles white on the steering wheel as he idled the beat-up sedan at the shadowy corner two blocks from my apartment. The streetlamp flickered overhead, casting jagged pools of yellow on the cracked sidewalk, and I could smell the copper tang of his blood soaking through his shirt. I hesitated, my hand on the door handle, my heart slamming against my ribs. "Richard, that wound, it's bad. Let me call someone, get you to a doc off the books." Worry clawed at me. It was raw and unrelenting; he'd taken that graze for me, and now he was playing tough guy while I slunk away like a coward.But as I leaned in to check the sound, his eyes flicked to the rearview, spotting a black SUV creeping down the cross street. "No time. Go. I'll handle it." He shoved a new burner phone into my palm, his fingers lingering a beat too long, warm and steady despite the chaos we'd just fled.He pulled away before I

Eve Peron’s POV The door to my office suite was unlocked because I’d been too buried in numbers to care about protocol. Nine o’clock at night, the building half-empty, and I figured the only person reckless enough to barge in unannounced was already in my life whether I liked it or not.I was wrong about the “only.”“Why the hell is your door unlocked at this hour?” Ronan’s voice rolled in before he did.I looked up from my laptop, letting the annoyance flash across my face for half a second before I locked it down behind the smile I’d perfected years ago. It was the one that said I was amused by his outburst, I was in control of my emotions, and I was already three moves ahead of him.“Ronan. Have you ever heard of the word knocking, or is that beneath the Northside lord?”I leaned back in my chair, crossed my legs slowly, felt the slit in my skirt slide just high enough. Old habits. Effective habits.His eyes flicked down to my legs, then up to my breasts, and I thought I had him—

Eve Peron's POV My father’s eyes burned into me, the kind of stare that had made grown men piss on themselves in boardrooms and back alleys alike. He didn’t slam the door. He didn’t need to. The weight of his presence did it for him. The air in the bridal suite thickened, heavy with the scent of sex still clinging to Catherine and me, and the sharp scent of his cologne. . I didn’t move from where I stood, shielding Catherine with my body. The ivory gown felt suddenly ridiculous, too pure for the filth we’d just indulged in and too fragile for what was coming. Papers lay scattered at my feet like fallen soldiers, and that name, Clementina Pierre, stared up at me in bold black ink. "Leave us..." He ordered Catherine. “ Please, close the door behind you, Catherine,” I said without turning around, my voice low but steady. She hesitated, not expecting that to be my response then seeing I wasn't budging, she walked out the room. My father’s jaw tightened. “You think locking me o

Catherine Hayes's POV The cathedral doors thudded shut behind the last guest, and for one breathless second I thought the lock had clicked on me alone. But then Eve was there—slipping through a side door in her cloud of ivory tulle, veil discarded, eyes bright with something reckless and urgent. She grabbed my wrist without a word and pulled me down a narrow corridor I’d never noticed before, past startled ushers and confused caterers. Her grip was iron.“Eve....” I started.“Not here,” she hissed. “Move.”We climbed a back staircase used by the choir, heels silent on the worn stone. At the top, a heavy oak door opened onto the private cloister overlooking the gardens. A black town car idled in the shadows, driver already in place. Eve shoved me into the back seat and slid in after me, slamming the door.“Go,” she ordered. The car peeled away before the partition was even up.I stared at her. “Your father....”“Thinks I’m greeting guests at the reception.” She laughed, low and bitte

Eve Person's POVThe heavy oak door of the honeymoon suite clicked shut behind me, and I leaned against it for a moment, letting the cool wood steady my shaking hands. My reflection in the full-length mirror looked like a stranger, veil slightly askew, cheeks flushed, the ivory silk of the dress clinging to me like a second skin. Catherine had fixed my lipstick with steady fingers, her eyes meeting mine in the glass, and for one dangerous second I’d almost said something reckless. Almost.Instead, I’d smiled. I felt small and apologetic. I told her I needed another minute alone. She’d nodded, understanding everything I didn’t say, and left me with a soft brush of her hand on my bare shoulder. That touch still burned.I couldn’t hide forever. Ronan would notice. His mother would notice. The entire ballroom of Westhaven’s elite would notice if the bride didn’t return soon. I smoothed the skirt, straightened the veil, and stepped back into the corridor. I got into the town car and retur