Chapter 7 - The Sabotage
While an fragile, electric peace settled between Pedro and Abigail inside Breakers Mansion, dark forces were gathering outside its gates.
Julian Vance, smarting from his public humiliation at the dinner party and desperate to salvage his failing real estate bids, had hired a private corporate espionage firm to dig into Abigail Hill’s past. He knew that destroying Pedro’s most trusted household asset would be the ultimate blow to the billionaire’s newfound stability.
Two days later, a thick manila envelope was delivered directly to Pedro’s private office in Manhattan.
Inside were grainy photographs, old police reports from Providence, and a fabricated dossier claiming that Abigail had been fired from her previous counselling job for stealing from an elite family—and that she had a criminal record for assault.
It was a complete, malicious lie, crafted by professionals who knew how to manipulate paper trails.
Pedro sat at his desk, staring at the documents. The cold, logical part of his brain—the part trained to suspect betrayal at every turn—whispered doubts. What do you really know about her? She appeared out of nowhere. What if Vance is right?
He picked up the phone. His finger hovered over intercom to summon his security chief.
Then he stopped.
He remembered the way Abigail had looked him in the eye and called out his fear of abandonment. He remembered the way Ben and Jerry laughed during the thunderstorm. He remembered the letter in Elena’s secret box.
Trust the results, a voice in his head echoed—Abigail’s voice.
Instead of calling security, Pedro picked up his encrypted cell phone and dialed Marcus, his most trusted investigator.
“Marcus,” Pedro said, his voice cold and lethal. “Julian Vance just tried to plant a false dossier on my desk regarding Miss Hill. I want you to trace every single financial transaction behind that report. Find out which fixer Vance hired, get me their bank records, and have federal marshals waiting outside Vance’s office by tomorrow morning.”
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“Consider it done, boss,” Marcus replied instantly.
Pedro hung up the phone, a dark, dangerous smile touching his lips. Julian Vance had just made the biggest mistake of his career.
