New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 434 Who’s Behind This?

Matthew shifted awkwardly, unsure if he should follow Claire's order. She had a way of making everything sound like a perfectly reasonable idea, even when it wasn't. But, for now, he nodded, forcing a small smile. "Alright, Claire, no dangerous stuff. I'll play it safe." Claire tilted her head, giving him one of those "yeah, right" looks. "Promise me, Matthew. I mean it."

He hesitated, but only for a second. Internally, he made a different promise not to Claire, but to himself. No matter what, he was going to protect her. Dangerous or not, he wasn't backing out. "Yeah, yeah, I promise," he finally said, though his tone didn't quite match the words.

Claire narrowed her eyes but decided to drop it. She had more pressing matters. "So, about the investigation, I asked you to do on Adrian. What did you find?"

Matthew sighed and plopped onto the couch next to her, his laptop in hand. "Okay, so here's the thing. I got my hands on the guest list from that event," he began, scrolling through a document on his screen. "And there's one name that really caught my attention." Claire arched a brow. "Who?"

He turned the laptop toward her, pointing at a name highlighted in yellow. "Cindy Marshall. Sound familiar?"

Claire frowned, leaning in to get a closer look. The name stirred a faint memory. "Cindy Marshall..."

Matthew said, leaning back, "She's the woman whose career Alexander totally destroyed a few months ago. Remember? The one that you told me about when you met her at the salon?"

Claire's eyes lit up as the memory clicked. "Oh, right! Her. Yeah, I remember now." She crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "Wait-do you think she's the one in the photo?"

Matthew nodded. "I was wondering the same thing. So, I hacked into the surveillance footage from the event." He pulled up a grainy video. "Look here. That's her, wearing the exact same dress as the one in the picture."

Claire's lips pressed into a thin line as she watched the footage. "So, it is Cindy. But why on earth would Adrian kiss her? What's the connection?"

"That," Matthew said with a frustrated sigh, "is the part I haven't figured out yet. She just kind of shows up, mingles for a bit, and then leaves. No obvious reason for Adrian to be involved with her."

against the couch. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, her mind racing. "I'll talk to

considering her words. "Yeah, that's probably the right way to go. Get it straight from the horse's

brushing imaginary dust off her

You just got back from Las Vegas. Aren't you

rest later. I can't sit still while this is hanging over my

hair. "Do you want me to come with you? You know, in case it

all healed up, then you can jump back into the action."

shoulder as she

the door, Matthew called after her, "Just don't do anything reckless, alright? And keep me updated!" "Got it!" she shouted over her shoulder before

vel

situation than they realized. Something about it felt too convenient, too... orchestrated.

his head. "She's going to run herself ragged at this rate," he muttered to himself. But then again, that was Claire. Always diving headfirst into the

mind wandered. Cindy Marshall. Adrian. The photo. None of it added

he thought with a wry smile, "at least

She adjusted her coat, feeling the weight of the conversation she was about to have. As she reached the door, she pressed the doorbell, and within seconds, the familiar

said

with a polite smile. "Is

come in. I'll let him know you're here. You can wait

into the cozy living room, her heels clicking softly on the polished wooden floors. She sank

her

to calm her thoughts. Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps descending the staircase made her