All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Masked Obsession : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

CORINNEThe second that spotlight lit up the stage, everything else faded. I did my usual sweep of the crowd —not out of curiosity, but just to get a read on who I’d have to deal with tonight. Honestly, it was almost always the same scene: a bunch of half-wasted finance guys reeking of expensive cologne and unresolved issues, showing off their designer suits like it made them important. Old money heirs slouched in velvet chairs like royalty, trying to look bored while slipping bills into girls’ garters with sweaty fingers. And the frat boys with their backwards caps barely covering the empty space where common sense should be. Loud, red-faced, reeking of—My thoughts stalled as my eyes locked on someone who didn’t belong.He wasn’t like the rest. He wasn’t leaning forward, drooling at the sight of bare skin. He wasn’t laughing with his company or reaching for his wallet. He sat still like the whole place is a bad joke and he was just waiting for the punchline.It was his eyes that got

LUCIAN“Mr. Delacroix, you really don’t have to do this,” George said from where he was standing by the doorway in his ever-crisp suit, tablet in hand. “You already have a packed schedule today. I can handle the session with their homeroom teacher and report back to you.”I stood behind Lucas and tried smoothing his dark hair with the tip of my fingers. “Do you want it this way?” I asked, brushing it to the right. “Or this way?”He blinked up at me with a giggle and shoved all of it backward with his own small hands. “This way.”“Alright, my bad for asking.”After fixing it into the messy-slicked style he liked, I pressed an exaggerated kiss to his forehead. He laughed and wriggled out of my reach.Eli was already settled, legs tucked under him, quietly working through his coloring book with his eyes narrowed in focus. Every so often, he’d switch crayons without looking up, tapping one against his lip before picking a new color.Lucas tugged at my hand. “Are you really taking us to sch

CORINNEHe cocked his head at me when I didn’t answer. Those dark, piercing eyes tracking my every movement like he could see into the corners of my mind. The quiet attention made my skin feel too tight.I let out an awkward laugh, the sound thin even to my own ears. “Of course not, Mr. Delacroix,” I said quickly, before the silence swallowed me whole. “This is my first time meeting you and there’s no way a mere teacher like me would ever be found in the same… circle as yours.”The words landed and died.The corners of his mouth stayed flat and I could feel the weight of his scrutiny pressing down on me.My hands twisted together in my lap beneath the table, fingers tightening until my knuckles ached.There’s no way he knows who I am, I told myself, trying to convince my nerves as much as my brain. It’s not possible.The mask had been flawless. Everything about that night had been designed to disappear by morning. And besides, the lights in the club had been low, he couldn’t have —he d

LUCIANWhat the fuck am I doing here again.I’d asked myself that question at least six times already, maybe more, sitting in the back of the car with the engine idling and the windows half tinted. Just enough to see what was happening around.I hated that I was here.Hated that her words had followed me out of that office and straight into my head like they belonged there. About presence. About showing up.I’d barely gotten any real work done all day. Numbers blurred. Calls went unanswered. I’d stood up from my desk the second the clock hit 3:15 p.m. on the dot, coat already in my hand like my body had decided for me.Now here I was.Staring at the damn school.Kids started spilling out of the building in noisy waves. Backpacks too big for their frames, untucked shirts and laughter echoing across the parking lot. It was chaotic until I saw her.She was right in the middle of an array of tiny soldiers with one hand holding Eli’s and her head tilted down as she smiled at him.Lucas was

CORINNEMy hands were still shaking when I circled my desk and yanked my phone out of the drawer. I almost dropped it. Twice. I unlocked it anyway, thumbs clumsy, pulse loud in my ears, and went straight online like instinct knew where to run before my brain caught up.Search bar. His name. Mine. The company. Old cases. Anything.Nothing.No headlines. No sudden resurfacing of my name where it didn’t belong. No Nathan Caldwell dragging ghosts back into the light. I jumped from site to site, refreshed feeds, scrolled until my eyes burned. Still nothing. The quiet should’ve calmed me. Instead it made everything worse.I leaned back in my chair with my head hurting.“He doesn’t know where I am,” I said out loud, testing the words like they might fall apart if I didn’t hold them carefully. “He doesn’t.”The lie tasted thin.My fingers curled into my sleeves, then my arms, like I could physically keep myself from coming undone. I caught myself biting at my nails and forced my hands away, pr