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."

the couch. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, her mind

tilted his head, considering her words. "Yeah, that's probably the right way to go. Get it straight

stood up abruptly, brushing imaginary dust off her pants. "I'll do

now? You just got back

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

through his hair. "Do you want me to

on nursing your bruises and wounds first. Once you're all healed up, then you can jump back into the action." Matthew rolled his eyes, huffing in mock annoyance. "Sure, make jokes about me while

shoulder as she

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

vel

Marshall situation than they realized. Something about it felt too convenient, too... orchestrated. But for now, he'd let Claire handle Adrian. She was good at getting to the bottom of things-when she wasn't running on pure adrenaline,

rate," he muttered to himself. But then

Cindy Marshall. Adrian. The photo. None

a wry smile, "at least things are

driver stop in front of Adrian house, she took a deep breath, and stepped out into the cool evening air. She adjusted her coat, feeling the weight of the conversation she was about to

the maid said warmly, holding the door

replied with a polite smile.

let him know

her again and walked into the cozy living room, her heels clicking softly

her hands

to calm her thoughts. Moments