Married to a Billionaire Stranger

Chapter 27: Targeted 

The morning after the press conference, the media firestorm only grew.

Ella opened her phone to a flood of notifications. Photos of her at the podium. Video clips of Xavier stepping down. Speculative headlines that made her stomach churn.

"Who is Ella Carter, the woman who brought down a legacy?"

"Heiress or Homewrecker? Inside the mysterious rise of Ella Grace."

"Scandal Queen or Sacrificial Pawn?"

She tossed the phone aside and buried her face in her hands.

In the kitchen, Xavier poured coffee, tension in his shoulders as he watched the news. Every channel cycled the same story. Even the business networks had brought in psychologists and "legacy experts" to dissect their every move.

He muted the television. "They can't help themselves."

"They're painting me like I orchestrated all of this." Ella shook her head. "As if I had this master plan to seduce you, ruin the company, and burn your name into the ground."

He walked over and handed her a steaming mug. "They always need someone to blame."

She accepted it with trembling hands. "And the woman always gets it worse."

A sharp knock at the door shattered the moment.

Xavier opened it cautiously, a subtle reach to the drawer nearby where he kept the firearm.

A courier stood stiffly, holding a sealed manila envelope.

"For Miss Carter. From a confidential source."

Ella took it, noting the bold, all-caps handwriting. Inside: dozens of photocopied documents. Medical charts. Psychological assessments. A headline from an old, local newspaper:

"Local Nurse Disappears After Reporting King Family Abuse."

A sticky note clung to the last page:

> She tried to tell the truth too. And they erased her.

Ella sat heavily on the couch, her breath shallow. "Nurse Marian Rowe. She worked at Cypress Grove. The year my mother was committed."

Xavier scanned the pages quickly. "She reported abuse. Two weeks later, she vanished. No follow-up, no inquiry."

He grabbed his phone. "I'm calling an investigator. We need to find someone who knew her—a sibling, old co-worker, anyone."

They made lists. Names. Possible ties. Leads.

Ella worked until her eyes blurred, piecing together timelines. Every file felt like a puzzle piece, and every page written by someone who had whispered the truth but never lived long enough to shout it.

By evening, she needed air.

She stepped onto the penthouse balcony, the breeze cool against her skin. Below, traffic buzzed, and across the street, tower windows glimmered with city light.

Then a camera flash. Sharp. Deliberate.

She ducked.

"XAVIER!"

He ran out with his weapon drawn, instincts razor sharp.

"What happened?"

"Camera. Someone's watching."

He barked into his comm, calling for the private security team. Within ten minutes, three men in dark suits scoured the building. But when they returned, they had nothing.

"Whoever it was, they're gone."

But not before leaving something behind.

A single red rose lay outside the penthouse door, placed on the floor like a calling card.

Ella stared at it. "This is psychological warfare."

"They're trying to make you doubt everything," Xavier said. "Even your safety."

She looked at him. "It's working."

---

The next morning, the tabloids struck again.

"Secret Files Suggest Ella Carter Was a Willing Accomplice to King Takeover."

"Was Love the Real Weapon?"

"From Waitress to Heiress: The Cinderella Lie."

Ella stared at the headlines, her face pale. They had private photos—of her laughing on the beach, curled in Xavier's arms, kissing him on the rooftop. Moments meant only for them.

"They hacked us," Xavier said, jaw tight.

"These were never posted."

"No. They came from inside. Someone on the board."

Ella sat down, her voice low. "They want me to crack. To disappear like everyone else who came close."

He knelt in front of her. "They picked the wrong woman."

She forced a smile. "Good. Because I'm not going anywhere."

---

That afternoon, Xavier's team tracked the courier who had delivered the files.

He was found unconscious in a back alley downtown. Wallet untouched. No memory of who paid him.

"This isn't just about protecting secrets," Xavier told Ella later. "It's about silencing witnesses. One by one."

Ella stared at the ceiling. "We're next."

He nodded. "Unless we move first."