All Chapters of THE BILLIONAIRE HIDDEN SIN : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Edwin’s POVThe open-plan workspace on level 32 felt like stepping into someone else’s dream.Glass walls on three sides, low-slung sofas in soft gray, whiteboards covered in colorful mind maps and sticky notes that looked like modern art. No cubicles. No fluorescent hum. Just natural light pouring through floor-to-ceiling windows and the quiet click of keyboards from people who actually seemed to enjoy being here.Sarah had pulled strings to get me reassigned after the mail-room incident with Victor. “You’re wasting talent pushing carts,” she’d said. “And frankly, you’re too visible down there. Up here you can breathe. And think.” Daniel had signed off on it without comment,his electronic approval landed in my inbox at 6:47 a.m. the morning after I told him about the hallway encounter. No meeting. No explanation. Just a single line in the transfer memo: *Effective immediately. Report to Marketing Strategy, Level 32.*Now I sat at a long communal table with a brand-new laptop open i

Edwin’s POVThe underground parking garage was dim and cool, the kind of quiet that pressed against your ears until you could hear your own heartbeat. I slid into the driver’s seat of the black SUV,Daniel’s personal Range Rover, still carrying the faint scent of his cologne and the leather conditioner he used obsessively,and let the door close with a soft, expensive thud. The engine purred to life with barely a whisper. I adjusted the rearview mirror, caught my own reflection for half a second,flushed cheeks, hair still mussed from his fingers, eyes too bright,and looked away.I’d just left his office on level 32 after the Meridian presentation. The meeting had ended twenty minutes ago. Everyone else had filed out,congratulations still ringing in my ears, Sarah’s proud grin burning into my memory,but Daniel had stayed behind. He’d waited until the last person left, then locked the door with one quiet click.Five minutes later I was bent over the conference table, trousers around my th

Edwin’s POVThe cafeteria noise pressed in like static,clinking trays, low laughter, the scrape of chairs on tile. I sat frozen at the table long after Victor Hale had walked away, his words looping in my head like a bad song I couldn’t turn off.“Flexible hours. High discretion. Willing to go above and beyond for the right client.”He knew.Not everything. Not the full story. But enough pieces to start putting the puzzle together. Enough to make my stomach twist into knots that wouldn’t loosen.I pushed my tray away. The half-eaten sandwich stared back at me like an accusation. My hands were shaking so badly I tucked them under the table before anyone could notice. Daniel had left five minutes ago,called back to the forty-fifth floor for an emergency board call,but his touch still lingered on my knee where he’d pressed it under the table. Steady. Reassuring. We’ll handle this.I wanted to believe him.I stood too quickly. The room tilted. I gripped the edge of the table until the diz

Edwin’s POVThe apartment was quiet when Daniel arrived that night,too quiet, the kind that made every small sound feel amplified. Ruby had gone to bed early after dinner, claiming homework but really just needing space to process the day. Mom was asleep in her room, the oxygen machine humming its steady lullaby through the cracked door. The living-room lamp cast a soft yellow pool over the couch where I sat, knees drawn up, staring at nothing.Daniel knocked once,soft, deliberate,then let himself in with the spare key I’d given him two weeks ago. He didn’t announce himself. Just closed the door, locked it, hung his coat on the hook, and crossed the room to me in three long strides.He didn’t speak at first.Just dropped to one knee in front of the couch so we were eye-level, cupped my face in both hands, and kissed me,slow, careful, like he was checking for cracks.When he pulled back, his thumbs brushed the dried tear tracks on my cheeks.“You’re still shaking,” he said quietly.I t

Edwin’s POVThe first “date” wasn’t supposed to feel like this.I’d expected something tense, stolen glances across a crowded restaurant, careful small talk, the constant awareness that someone might recognize him and start whispering. Instead Daniel had booked the entire rooftop of the Meridian Hotel. No other tables. No waiters hovering. Just one long, low table set for two near the glass railing, candles flickering in hurricane holders, and the city sprawling below like it belonged to us alone.The elevator doors opened directly onto the roof. A soft breeze carried the scent of river water and night-blooming jasmine from the planters lining the perimeter. A jazz trio, piano, upright bass, brushed drums, played in the far corner, volume low enough that the notes felt intimate, meant only for the two people who’d paid to own the entire space.Daniel was already there.He stood near the railing in a charcoal blazer, no tie, top button of his white shirt open. The city lights caught th