Page 101 of Falling for the Grump Billionaire

Elena’s eyes dart between us, wide and glassy. Her breathing is uneven, and then she breaks. “I can’t keep this to myself anymore,” she says, her words spilling out in a rush. “Conrad… he’s been using me. And Eva.”

I sit up straighter, her words sending a chill down my spine. “What do you mean, using me?”

Elena digs into her purse, her hands trembling as she pulls out a flash drive. She thrusts it toward Dominic, her gaze fixed on the floor. “This has everything. Emails, records, communications. Proof that Conrad’s been pulling the strings from the start—and Eva, he’s been framing you.”

The room tilts, and I clutch the edge of the couch to steady myself. “Framing me?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

Elena nods, her voice cracking as she continues. “Conrad planted evidence to make it look like you were involved in the leaks. He set you up so Dominic would question you—and so you’d question him. He wanted to keep you both off balance.”

I turn to Dominic, my vision blurring. His expression is unreadable, but there’s something raw and dangerous simmering behind his eyes.

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “That doesn’t make sense. I didn’t—”

“You didn’t,” Elena interrupts quickly. “But Conrad made it look like you did. He’s been manipulating everything from the start.”

Dominic takes the flash drive, his knuckles white as he grips it. “Why are you telling us this now?”

Elena hesitates, her tears spilling freely. “Because he threatened me,” she says, her voice breaking. “Conrad found something in my past—something I couldn’t let him expose. He made me help him, but I can’t keep doing this. I had to tell you the truth.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I want to be angry at her, but all I see is the same fear I’ve carried since this nightmare began.

“There’s more,” Elena says, her voice dropping to barely a whisper.

Dominic’s gaze sharpens. “What is it?”

Elena looks at me, her face pale. “Reyes contacted me. He sent a message through Conrad.”

“What message?” Dominic demands, his voice turning ice cold.

She swallows hard, her eyes flicking to me. “He wants you to step down from Kane Enterprises. To walk away completely. And if you don’t…” Her voice catches, and she takes a shuddering breath. “He’ll destroy Eva.”

The room falls into a suffocating silence. My knees buckle, and I grip the back of the couch to keep myself upright.

Dominic’s entire body goes rigid, his breathing sharp and uneven. “When did this happen?”

“Tonight,” Elena whispers. “I saved the message on the flash drive.”

The moment Elena leaves, the silence between Dominic and me is unbearable.

I collapse onto the couch, my hands trembling. “This is my fault,” I whisper, the words spilling out before I can stop them. “I let myself get pulled into this.”

Dominic kneels in front of me, his hands framing my face. “No, Eva. This isn’t your fault. This is on Conrad and Reyes. Not you.”

“But they’re using me against you,” I say, my voice breaking. “And now you’re being forced to choose between me and your company.”

His thumbs brush away the tears I didn’t realize were falling. “There’s no choice to make. You come first, Eva. Always.”

His words are a lifeline, but they can’t erase the doubt twisting in my chest. Reyes has forced Dominic into an impossible position, and no matter how much he promises, I can’t shake the fear that he’ll lose everything because of me.

Hours pass in a blur of tense phone calls and endless files. Adrian arrives with his laptop, plugging the flash drive into its port.

“It’s worse than we thought,” Adrian says grimly. “Conrad fabricated a paper trail connecting Eva to the leaks. If this gets out, it could ruin her—and Kane Enterprises.”

Dominic’s jaw tightens, his expression dark. “Can we trace it back to Conrad?”

“Not directly,” Adrian admits. “But the patterns match his previous work. If we can get him to slip, we’ll have him.”

“And Reyes?” I ask, my voice steady despite the fear curling in my chest.

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