One Night With A Mysterious Billionaire (The Heiress's Revenge)-Chapter 40: Can you help me find out what happened to my mother

Chapter 40: Can you help me find out what happened to my mother

Selena was not about to let him beat her without retaliating. She pounced on him, and soon they were fighting viciously. Mr. Smith, being a man, had the upper hand. With everything that had gone wrong weighing heavily on him, he poured all his bottled-up frustration into the blows he rained down on Selena.

When it finally seemed they had both exhausted themselves, the house fell into an uneasy silence. They stayed on opposite sides of the living room, breathing heavily. Expensive jars lay shattered across the floor, home appliances were broken and scattered, and fragments littered every corner. Paintings worth millions had been torn to pieces by Selena.

Mr. Smith ignored the destruction. In his mind, the beating Selena had received was more than enough. She could burn the entire house down for all he cared. All that mattered was the company not ending up in Lena’s hands, and he would do whatever it took to seize it. Even if it meant unaliving Lena. He didn’t care anymore.

"I don’t want this marriage again," Selena snapped, unable to restrain her fury. "All you’ve done is drag me downhill with your stupid plans."

"You seem to forget where I picked you from," Mr. Smith replied coldly. "I cleaned you up and made you who you are today. The respect people give you now is because of me."

"And you forget all the atrocities I had to help you cover up," Selena screamed hysterically. "You pathetic loser! Always looking for someone to use. Look at how you destroyed Ashley’s life, you coward!"

"What did you just say?" he growled.

"I said you’re a pathetic loser," Selena spat back.

"Always using people. Did you forget the kind of life I had to live just to meet your needs and maintain your so-called lifestyle?"

"Yes, I said it, and I stand by it. You’re nothing but a selfish man who uses people for his own benefit."

"Well, at least I’m not someone who pestered me to get rid of my wife just so she could take her place," Mr. Smith sneered.

"She was never your wife, and you know it!" Selena shot back. "How could she be, when we were already married since college?"

Mr. Smith’s expression turned chillingly cold.

"Careful, Selena. These walls have ears. Keep babbling nonsense and you’ll get yourself into trouble. I won’t let you go easily."

"What will you do?" she laughed bitterly. "Kill me—like you killed your so-called wife? You know I know things. Don’t push me. Stick to our agreement for this marriage and leave Ashley out of your mess."

Mr. Smith scoffed. "Who needs that useless fool anyway? I gave her one simple task and she failed—then even managed to get herself humiliated." He sighed, shaking his head. "What a waste."

"If you’re so capable," Selena said tiredly, "why do you always send others to do your dirty work? Don’t worry, you’ll meet your match soon."

With that, she turned and walked into the bedroom.

Mr. Smith ignored her words and followed. There was no reason for him to remain in a living room destroyed beyond recognition.

When they were gone, a figure slowly emerged from hiding. The door opened quietly, and the person slipped out.

As if the heavens had heard Lena’s shattered heart, dark clouds gathered and rain poured down heavily.

Lena stood in the rain, dazed by everything she had just heard.

She had come earlier to confront her father, to inform him that she was cutting off his funds. When she arrived, the villa had seemed empty. Even the housekeeper was nowhere to be found. Since she still had a key, she entered.

She went to her room first. Everything was exactly the way she had left it. Deciding to pack a few of her belongings, she suddenly heard noises from the living room. At first, they were faint. Then they grew louder.

Her first thought was that robbers had broken in. But when she recognized the voices, shock rooted her in place.

She tiptoed toward the living room and hid behind a large flower vase. From there, she watched as they fought and destroyed everything in sight. For a brief moment, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction. She even thanked the universe for dealing with the shameless couple on her behalf.

But what she heard next shattered her completely.

Selena’s words hinted that her father had something to do with her mother’s death, and that he had been cheating even before she died.

All the fleeting happiness drained from Lena instantly. Fear crept in as well. Terrified of being discovered, she waited until they both left the living room. Only then did she step out, quietly slipping out of the villa.

Lena didn’t know how long she wandered under the rain. Her mind was in chaos.

What went wrong with my father?

Why did he become like this?

When she was younger, her father had been her shining armor. Everything changed after her mother’s death. Her parents had been childhood sweethearts, married in college—yet that was also when he met Selena.

Does that mean he had been cheating all along?

And... does this mean my father had a hand in my mother’s death?

The rain continued to pour as her thoughts spiraled.

Eventually, Lena boarded a taxi home. Earlier, she had dismissed Sullivan, insisting she would call him when she was done. He had left reluctantly.

When she arrived, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Raymond was seated at the dining table, engaged in a serious phone call. When he saw her, his brows lifted in surprise.

"What happened to you?" he asked, ending the call and standing up.

Lena broke down instantly, as if she had finally found her lifeline. Raymond crossed the distance in long strides and pulled her into his arms. She clutched him tightly, burying her face against his chest as her heart unraveled.

Raymond held her silently. Sullivan had told him she went to her family home, but he hadn’t taken it seriously. Now, he wasn’t sure he had made the right decision by letting her go alone.

He allowed her to cry until the storm in her heart slowly began to settle.

He scooped her up effortlessly and carried her into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, he settled her on his lap, her head resting against his chest. His arms wrapped around her firmly, as though anchoring her to him, shielding her from everything that had shaken her.

"Can you tell me what happened, kitten?" he asked softly.

Lena nodded. She hadn’t planned on keeping it a secret anyway. Taking a steady breath, she began to narrate everything, from the moment she entered the house to the moment she fled from it. She spoke of the words she had heard from her father and Selena. The changes in her father, that resurfaced like wounds torn open. As she spoke, Raymond’s expression gradually darkened, his jaw tightening with every sentence.

By the time she finished, his eyes were cold and dangerous.

"Will you help me?" Lena asked quietly. "Help me find out what really happened to my mother... and why, in the last moments of her life, she did everything she could to protect me."

Raymond didn’t hesitate. "I will."

Her fingers tightened around his shirt. "Please help me check when Selena and my father started their affair," she continued painfully. "I need to know if it was before my mother died." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Raymond lowered his head, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Leave it to me," he said. "I’ll get you the answers you deserve."

When he noticed that her breathing had steadied and her trembling had eased, he carried her upstairs. They stripped out of their damp, cold clothes and stepped into the shower. Raymond turned on the hot water, and as it cascaded over them, it seemed to wash away some of the heaviness lodged in Lena’s heart.

Afterward, they dressed in warm clothes and climbed into bed. Lena curled into him, resting her head against his shoulder. The warmth, the silence, and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat slowly pulled her into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When Raymond was certain she was asleep, he carefully slipped out of bed. He went downstairs, retrieved his phone from where he had left it, and placed a call.

"I’ll send you pictures and names," he said as soon as the call connected. "I want everything you can find on those old hags before the end of the week. Dig as far back as their college days. I want to know everything they’ve been up to."

"Yes, sir," came the immediate response.

"Don’t disappoint me," Raymond warned.

"I won’t, sir."The call ended.

Raymond returned to the bedroom and gathered Lena into his arms once more. Not long after, his own breathing evened out as he drifted into sleep.

Morning came quietly. Lena woke to an empty bed. A chill ran through her body, her nose stuffed, her head pounding painfully. She tried to sit up, but her limbs felt heavy and weak. Unable to do anything else, she called out for Bertha.

Bertha rushed in, checked her temperature, and paled. It was dangerously high. Without delay, she called Raymond.

"I’ll be back soon, with Damon," Raymond said firmly. "Stay with her until I arrive."

"Yes, sir," Bertha replied before ending the call.