The Billionaire's Fake Wife: A Ninety-Day Contract of Secrets, Lies, and Dangerous Obsession

The word hung in the chilled air of the penthouse study, heavy and suffocating.

Arthur Grant did not look surprised or defensive; instead, he smoothed the lapel of his jacket with slow, deliberate movements.

"Murder is such an ugly, pedestrian word, Alexander," Arthur corrected smoothly, his eyes cold as winter ice.

"Victoria Vance was a brilliant young woman, but she was entirely too curious for her own good. She stumbled into corporate ledgers that belonged locked away, and she made the fatal mistake of trying to play hero."

"She was innocent!" Sophie shouted, stepping out from behind Alexander, her voice shaking with righteous fury as she stared down the billionaire patriarch.

"She was a human being who didn't deserve to be erased just to protect your filthy empire!"

Arthur slowly turned his gaze toward Sophie, his eyebrow arching in mild curiosity.

"Ah. And who might this be? The temporary replacement? The desperate girl whose mother's hospital bills we so generously subsidized?"

Arthur stepped closer, his piercing eyes scanning Sophie from head to toe.

"You think you're safe under his roof, child? You think a ninety-day marriage contract and a diamond ring make you part of the Grant family dynasty?"

"She has nothing to do with this, Arthur!" Alexander roared, lunging forward, but one of the private security guards instantly stepped in, blocking his path with a heavy, unyielding arm.

"Lower your weapon, Alexander, unless you want your precious bride to share Victoria's fate," Arthur warned, his tone dropping into a chilling whisper.

"Victoria left a trail. Not just with the hospital accounts, but with a digital backup key hidden somewhere in the city. A key that exposes every shell company we use to fund our international acquisitions."

Arthur paused, letting his words sink in like poisoned arrows.

"And according to our intelligence, Victoria handed that digital key to someone before she died."

Sophie’s heart skipped a beat.

She stared at Arthur, her mind racing back to the strange events of the past few weeks, the anonymous calls, the sudden clearing of her mother's debt, and the cryptic note left in the cream-colored envelope.

She is the only key.

Victoria hadn't just given Alexander a name; she had given Sophie something much more dangerous—something Arthur Grant was willing to kill to get back.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sophie said, forcing her voice to remain steady as she met Arthur's gaze head-on.

"Is that so?" Arthur smiled thinly.

"People like you, Miss Reed, always think they can play in the high-stakes world until the house comes crashing down. You have ninety days until Alexander's birthday. Ninety days before he loses his company, and ninety days before this little game ends permanently."

Arthur turned sharply toward the door, gesturing for his guards to follow.