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The Secret Butler: Capturing The Heartless Billionaire Novel Cover

The Secret Butler: Capturing The Heartless Billionaire

I spent a year hiding my lethal skills behind the stiff polyester uniform of a hotel butler. To the world, I’m just Betsey Madden, a "charity case" scrubbing floors at The Elysium to solve the mystery of my mother’s suspicious death. On the anniversary of her passing, my manager decided to humiliate me by assigning me to the Penthouse to serve Celestino Franklin, a billionaire known as the "Butcher of Wall Street" who supposedly eats staff for breakfast. When I stepped into the suite, I found the pristine white carpet stained with fresh blood and a wounded man lunging at me from the shadows. I didn't scream; I instinctively dropped into a combat stance I hadn't used since my days as a shadow operative in Vienna, pinning the billionaire before he could even blink. I had to choose between letting him bleed out or revealing that I was far more than a girl who folds napkins for minimum wage. I chose to save him, stitching his gunshot wound with a surgical precision that no ordinary servant should ever possess. As he gripped my wrist, the air turned cold. He didn't smell like a typical CEO; he carried the sharp scent of sandalwood and expensive scotch—the exact, intoxicating aroma of the man from the nightmares I’ve had since the night my mother died. "You have good hands," he rasped, his storm-gray eyes seeing right through my pale foundation and fake exhaustion. "You're wasting them on silver polish." I realized then that my cover wasn't just blown; it was the bait that had finally caught the monster I was looking for. I came to this hotel to find a killer, but I never expected my prime suspect to be the man now demanding I become his personal shadow. The hunt for the truth just turned into a deadly dance with a predator who knows exactly who I am, and I’m not leaving until I find out if he’s my savior or my mother's murderer.
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Chapter 8

Betsey stepped inside. The room was transformed.

The bloody towels were gone. The crystal vase was back on the table. A set of expensive leather luggage was stacked neatly by the door.

Celestino Franklin stood by the window.

He was no longer the wounded animal on the sofa. He was wearing a fresh, crisp white shirt, tucked into dark trousers. He held a glass of amber liquid in his hand.

He turned slowly. His face was clean shaven, radiating power and wealth. But the eyes were the same. Storm gray. Amused. Dangerous.

"You didn't jump out the window," she said. The words left her mouth before she could stop them. She was bold despite herself.

"I own the window," he replied smoothly. He took a sip of his drink.

He walked toward her. The limp was barely visible now, just a slight hesitation in his stride. He stopped a foot away, invading her personal space.

He reached for the chair next to him. His ruined suit jacket was draped over it.

He picked it up and tossed it to her.

Betsey caught it reflexively.

"Disposal," he ordered. "And... thank you."

The "thank you" was a whisper, intimate and low.

Betsey clutched the jacket to her chest. It was heavy. And it smelled of him.

That scent. Sandalwood and Scotch.

Her brain stuttered. It was the same scent from her dream. She dismissed it again, more forcefully this time. A coincidence. A popular, expensive cologne. Nothing more.

She looked at him sharply. Her eyes searched his face. The man in Vienna had been a shadow, bearded and rough. This man was polished, a prince of finance. It was impossible.

Celestino watched her reaction. He was gauging her. He saw the flicker of confusion in her eyes.

He decided to push.

"Call me Celestino."

Betsey stiffened. "I can't, sir. It's against protocol."

"I am the protocol here," he said. "Say it."

His voice was a command. It triggered a shiver that ran down her spine.

"Celestino," she breathed out.

The name tasted familiar on her tongue. It felt right.

He smiled. It was a satisfied, predatory smile. "Good. Now, pour me another drink."

He turned and walked back to the window, dismissing her like a servant. But the air between them was electric. He treated her like a butler, but he had looked at her like something more.

Betsey moved to the bar. Her hands trembled slightly as she reached for the bottle of scotch. She realized, with a sinking feeling, that she was trapped in a cage with a very large, very intelligent predator.

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