The Billionaire's Debt.

She saved a dying boy and forgot his face. He survived and memorized hers. For a decade, Rob Stark was a shadow. He was the anonymous donor at her mother's funeral. He was the silent investor who saved her career. He was the reason every man she ever dated disappeared without a trace. Chloe Bishop thought it was fate. But fate doesn't break into your house and leave a marriage license on your pillow. "You tried to escape me three times, Chloe. There won't be a fourth." The man she saved didn't grow up to be a hero. He grew up to be her captor.

Chapters

Chapter 5

"You know my tolerance better than anyone," Chloe Bishop countered.

Jake Tully raised a hand in surrender. "Fine, half a bottle won’t get you drunk. But does that mean Rob Stark is the one who's crazy? Before today, he probably didn't even remember who Chloe Bishop was. And he says marriage isn't a game? Marrying a literal stranger is the definition of playing games."

"Hmm..." Chloe thought for a moment. "Based on my years of observing psychiatric patients, Rob Stark doesn't seem like his brain is malfunctioning. Besides, it really felt like he made the proposal after careful consideration. Let me think... he was silent for about ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Jake rolled his eyes. "Well, for a CEO whose time is worth millions every minute, spending ten minutes to contemplate marriage is practically an eternity. That’s 'careful consideration' for him, I guess."

Chloe felt the same way; otherwise, she wouldn't have used the word "serious" to describe those ten minutes of silence.

"So, what about you? Did you agree?" Jake calmed down and took another sip of wine.

"I don't know if I should. From a practical standpoint, marrying him is the choice that maximizes my interests," Chloe admitted.

As her best friend for over twenty years, Jake didn't need her to say the rest. Having witnessed the suffering and torment Chloe had endured over the past five years, Jake knew that marrying Rob Stark was, logically, her best option.

"Whatever choice you make, I’ll support you," Jake said, pulling his friend into a hug. "This time, Chloe, I promise I will help you overturn your case. I will wash away every drop of dirty water they ever threw on you."

Chloe’s eyelashes fluttered for just a second before her expression returned to normal. In that brief moment, her resolve hardened. She downed the rest of her wine in one go and, with a voice laced with the scent of alcohol, said, "Jake, help me prepare two more agreements."

________________________________________

The next day, Chloe Bishop slept until the sun was high in the sky. After waking up, she got ready and took the agreements Jake Tully had rushed to draft overnight. She hailed a taxi to the famous Lakeside Villa District on the outskirts of New York.

Though she hadn't been here in five years, she had lived here for ten. As she walked down the familiar path to a specific villa, she couldn't help but marvel at how sharp her memory remained.

She rang the doorbell, and a maid quickly came to answer. The woman was a stranger and didn't recognize Chloe. She looked Chloe up and down, seemingly trying to judge her status based on her clothes.

However, Chloe was a disappointment to her. Today, she was wearing an outfit she had made herself five years ago—it was worlds away from the style of a wealthy socialite.

"Can I help you? Who are you looking for?" Judging that Chloe wasn't anyone important, the maid’s attitude turned dismissive, carrying a hint of condescension.

"David Bishop," Chloe stated. "I’m looking for David Bishop."

"You’re looking for the Lord?" The maid was surprised. "Do you have an appointment? The Lord doesn't just see anyone who wanders by." Hearing that the girl wanted to see the man of the house, the maid grew suspicious.

Chloe let out a cold laugh. Losing the patience to argue, she pushed past the maid and stepped into the villa.

The maid froze for a second before reacting with a loud shout. "Hey! How can you be so rude? You can’t just barge into someone’s home! Get out of here right now, or I’ll have the bodyguards throw you out!"

The maid’s shouting attracted the other staff members and the security detail. Almost as soon as she finished her sentence, several bodyguards in black suits blocked Chloe’s path.

"Miss, please leave," one bodyguard said. He was relatively polite, but his tone carried a clear warning.

Chloe looked at the gathered staff with an expressionless face. Not a single face was familiar. It seemed that over the last five years, the Bishop Family’s old staff had been systematically replaced. In this house, there was no longer anyone who knew that Chloe Bishop was the rightful eldest daughter of the home.

"What’s all this noise? Don't you know the Lord is in a video conference?" Amidst the standoff, a scolding female voice drifted down from the staircase.

Continue to next part

Three years. Three years of loving Jake Morrison with every fiber of my being. Three years of supporting his dreams, celebrating his victories, and planning our future together. Tonight was supposed to be special—our anniversary dinner at Maison Laurent, the restaurant where we'd had our first date. I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror, smoothing a strand of hair behind my ear. The bouquet of white roses—his favorite—lay on the passenger seat beside me. I'd left work early to pick them up, along with a vintage watch I'd been saving for months to buy him. Jake had been working late all week on the Henderson campaign, and I wanted to surprise him, to remind him that even in the midst of his rising career at Blackstone Entertainment, we still had each other. The elevator hummed as it carried me to the fourteenth floor. The office was nearly empty at this hour, most of the staff having left for the day.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.2

Betrayal Leads to Collapse

8.2

Billionaire heir Arthur Sterling thought his empire was impenetrable until a series of calculated betrayals by his inner circle sent his world spiraling into chaos. As his fortune vanishes and his reputation crumbles, Arthur must navigate a web of corporate espionage and long-buried family secrets. To identify the mastermind behind his downfall, he enters a dangerous game of shadows where every ally is a suspect and the truth is deadlier than bankruptcy.

Billionaire Modern Mystery

7.9

Bound By The Legacy Pact: My Protector

7.9

The crystal chandeliers of the Plaza Hotel screamed money, framing the wedding of Chelsea Grimes and Julian Davidson as the ultimate corporate merger. But as the officiant prepared to unite two of the city's most powerful dynasties, the heavy double doors didn't just open-they exploded inward. Gideon Combs stood in the wreckage, a man in a frayed trench coat and grime-caked boots, looking like a stain on a pristine canvas. He wasn't there to object; he was there to enforce a "Legacy Pact," coldly informing the bride that her debt to a dead man hadn't been fulfilled and she didn't get to walk away. In seconds, the ballroom turned into a butchery as Gideon dismantled elite bodyguards with nothing but a broken wine bottle, eventually sending the groom flying into a tower of shattering champagne glass. When the military arrived, the room expected a firing squad, but instead, a four-star General snapped a sharp salute to the "vagrant," calling him a national asset. My family, the Singletons, saw this as a threat rather than a salvation; when I chose to stand by Gideon, my own grandmother stripped me of my keys, my cards, and my inheritance, casting me out into the pouring rain. I couldn't wrap my head around why the world's most powerful men trembled at the mention of Gideon's mentor, or what secret was etched into the black iron ring on his finger. I had traded my billionaire lifestyle for a man who looked like a drifter but fought like a god, and I had no idea if he was my protector or my ultimate ruin. As we stood on the sidewalk with nothing but twelve dollars and the clothes on our backs, Gideon's phone buzzed with a half-million-dollar bounty already active on the dark web. He didn't flinch; he just looked at the shadows closing in and whispered. "Game on."

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.6

Divorce After Discovering Husband's Betrayal

8.6

After uncovering her billionaire husband's devastating infidelity, a devoted wife decides to reclaim her dignity. The shock of his betrayal shatters her world, forcing her to choose between a hollow marriage and an uncertain future. As she navigates the legal and emotional complexities of a high-stakes divorce, she transforms from a shadow of her spouse into a woman of strength. This modern romance explores her journey of healing and self-discovery.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.5

Divorced By The Billionaire Who Still Owns Me

8.5

After a grueling divorce, a woman believes she has finally escaped her wealthy husband's reach, only to discover that her freedom is a fragile illusion. The powerful billionaire still manipulates the strings of her life, asserting control over her future and her heart. Trapped in a complex web of lingering desire and relentless obsession, she must navigate a dangerous game where her independence is the ultimate prize he refuses to surrender.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.6

Marrying The Wounded King: My Ex's Regret

8.6

I stood in the center of the rose garden, convinced the Underboss of the East Coast was finally going to defy his father and put a ring on my finger. Instead, Desmond walked toward me holding another woman's hand. "Dallas," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "This is Chelsea. My fiancée." He told me it was just business, a merger to secure shipping routes. He expected me to stay in the shadows as his mistress, his "pet canary." When I refused to be his dirty little secret, his family sold me like cattle to Kennedy Simmons, the crippled Don of the West Coast, just to get rid of me. But the ultimate betrayal happened the night before I left. On the family yacht, Chelsea pushed me overboard. I screamed for help in the freezing dark water. I watched Desmond dive in. I reached out for him, but he swam right past me. He chose to save his wealthy fiancée, the "asset," and left me to drown. In that moment, the girl who loved him died. I realized his brother Antone, who I thought was my friend, was just a stalker using me to get close to Chelsea. I was nothing but collateral damage to the people I had worshipped. I didn't die that night. I boarded the plane to Seattle with a frozen heart. They thought they were selling me to a monster. They didn't realize they were handing me a King. The next time the Morgans saw me, I wasn't their victim. I was the woman coming to burn their empire to the ground.

Billionaire Modern Romance

The Billionaire's Debt.

Chapter 5

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