The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

Zevian’s expression creased in confusion again. This was getting really messy, and with the maid gone, it would be hard to defend Evelyn in court. "How did she die?" he asked, turning to Lucius.

"She left a death note and jumped off the building," Lucius replied, having confirmed with the jailer himself. With a small sigh, he continued, "They are still inspecting it and haven’t opened the letter yet."

"Is Mommy in more trouble?" Kiana asked her aunt, who had picked her up earlier. Avery looked at her and pursed her lips, unsure if the little girl could handle it. Her silence only worried Kiana more.

"Did you find any clues?" Zevian asked Lucius again. Whoever was behind this had planned everything, including the maid’s death, even before killing Annabelle. But just because Sophia was their major suspect, they couldn’t directly accuse her. It might have been the Blakes too, considering how desperate Vincent’s mother was to keep Annabelle from marrying her son. She even hated Evelyn and blamed her for all the mess they had brought on themselves. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

And then there was Annabelle’s real family. Someone must have let slip that she was related to them, and knowing how greedy Igor’s extended family was, they might have killed her to remove another potential claimant to the family’s patriarchal wealth. Or could it have been Ronan? The way he acted this morning was unlike the man who admired Grace. Ronan had also conveniently gotten Evelyn out of the city just as the crime occurred, which only made Zevian more suspicious of him.

"Nothing. The incident occurred quite late at night; no one was there to witness it. And there was no CCTV covering that angle of the mansion," Lucius answered, his expression grim. This was the first task Damien had personally asked him to oversee, to protect Evelyn from whatever was coming, and it seemed he was already failing. If Damien hadn’t left last week and had been still here, maybe they could have solved this together.

"What exactly happened?" Evelyn questioned, gesturing for Lucius to settle on the sofa. The Montedoro officers hadn’t shared much, and before she could be taken into custody, things got messy at the airport. Zevian hadn’t come home last night, working until morning before joining her to visit the Wright mansion, so she hadn’t been able to ask him about the details.

Everyone sat across from each other, and Avery sent Kiana off with Agatha. Once the little girl was gone, Lucius eyed his assistant, who took out a pen drive and connected it to the television.

"You should sit too," Evelyn suggested to Rita. The poor woman had been dragged into this mess, and Evelyn felt guilty for her injuries. When Rita shook her head and said it was fine, Avery simply pulled her to sit beside her, causing Rita to offer a shy smile and reluctantly take a seat.

"What we are trying to piece together is that Annabelle had a knife in her hand," Jack started, taking the remote to move through the slides. Everyone leaned closer, observing the diagrams Lucius and his team had made to reconstruct the scene. There were AI-generated characters on the terrace, with three women standing close together.

"She tried to use it to protect herself, but they attempted to snatch it away," Jack played the video and continued, "And during the struggle, somehow Annabelle was pushed off the building."

"It might have been accidental or intentional," Lucius continued, as his assistant moved on to display photos collected from the crime scene. Annabelle’s body was found on the mansion’s entrance pavement, where someone had discovered her while cleaning the next morning.

"It would have been clear if we had done the autopsy," Lucius added, making Evelyn sigh loudly.

"For now, don’t go out," Lucius suggested to Evelyn. "And don’t call anyone in the Wright family. In my eyes, everyone is a suspect," he added, specifically referring to Elias. Knowing his personality, it was too strange for him to remain silent about this incident.

Evelyn nodded, pressing her lips together. The only suspect she could focus on was Sophia. It seemed her stepmother had really gone crazy to save herself, even if it meant taking another life. Her head began to spin as she recalled the people tied to this mess who had died. First Reema and Mariam... now Annabelle... And perhaps there were others in the past that Sophia might have harmed to save her reputation.

"Let’s talk about it tomorrow," Zevian said, bringing her back to the present. "Uncle Theodore will make sure to keep you bailed, so there’s nothing to worry about." He added, gently rubbing Evelyn’s back.

"Yes! Dad will make sure you’re safe! And Uncle Johnathan too," Avery added, trying to reassure her friend. "And even if they fail, you have your husband, who would make the ground and sky meet to get you out of this. Don’t worry too much, Evy." She added, causing Rita to agree with a giggle.

Evelyn broke into a small smile. She glanced at Zevian, whose expression softened to see her smile and nodded. Even if he had to make heaven and earth move, he would do it for her.

"Staying at the Reign mansion might be safer," Lucius continued, wanting to ensure Evelyn’s security. Given what had happened at the airport, he was certain someone might try to attack her again.

"It’s much better here. Fewer people, more guards," Rita replied, having surveyed every corner of the lavish house. She had even observed the few maids working here; their actions and gossip in the quarters suggested they trusted Evelyn and believed her to be innocent.

"I’ll arrange for more men to keep watch," Lucius replied with a small smile. If Rita found this place secure, then it would be; she was an expert at this. He had missed seeing her back in action, and thanks to Evelyn, he had the chance to meet this talented junior again.

"Call me once you get the death note," Zevian asked Lucius, who nodded in response. They rose from their seats, and Zevian walked Lucius out, discussing a few details privately.

"I heard you like our traditional dishes," Avery started a conversation with Rita. With a smile, she added, "I already asked Agatha to prepare some. Freshen up and join us for dinner."

"Yes, we would love to toast you, Rita," Evelyn agreed with her best friend. Rita didn’t refuse and nodded excitedly before heading to her guest room on the ground floor.

Once everyone was gone, Avery stood up and walked over to Evelyn. Pulling her into a tight hug, she complained, "I missed you so much! You only called Kiana, and that little devil kept rubbing it in my face."

Evelyn smiled at her words. Hugging her best friend back, she replied, "I didn’t want to disturb you. The time difference was a pain, and you had to manage AWE alone."

Avery huffed but didn’t grumble further. Breaking the hug, she clung to Evelyn’s arm, and resting her head on her shoulder, she continued, "I’ve sent the team to finish the work. You won’t need to go there ever again."

"And never see them again!" Avery added after a pause. Zevian had told her what happened at Igor’s mansion, and that selfish family had lost all her respect. How could they shamelessly use Laila’s death to cover their dirt and stay silent? It stung as she remembered how Ronan had brushed Evelyn off this morning. If they met again, she would punch that bastard in the face.

"Let’s not talk about it," Evelyn replied with a heavy sigh, her voice almost pleading. Her life was only getting messier, and she felt like running away from it all.

"I’m cutting all company ties with them!" Avery declared firmly. It might cause them huge losses, but she would never work with someone who had hurt her best friend, especially someone she once thought would never harm Evelyn, given how much Ronan adored her.

"I’ll just go to Montedoro once to punch that bastard," Avery murmured, her anger simmering.

But fate seemed to have provided the opportunity sooner than expected as they heard a commotion at the entrance. They exchanged a look, then peeked toward the door, reluctant to engage in more drama.

"What shock do we have now?" Evelyn grumbled with a sigh. She got up and walked over to the hall, with Avery following. Their expressions shifted when they saw Ronan and Carson standing at the door.

Zevian and Lucius stood before them, their men behind Ronan, ready to shoot at a word. Carson looked troubled and weak, having come without his team, and it seemed that one word would get them killed without hesitation.

"I want to see Grace," Ronan declared, his voice desperate but commanding.

"She doesn’t want to see you," Lucius replied while Zevian simply stared at Ronan.

"We just want to apologize and leave, sir," Carson tried to persuade the two men. "And we’ve already made up for hurting her by killing the maid."

"What?" Evelyn and Avery, who had just approached, frowned in unison.

"Yes!" Carson repeated, nodding in confirmation. "We even had her write a death note stating Ms. Evelyn was innocent and that she had lied to the cops," he added as if they had resolved the issue for Evelyn. But little did they know, it had only fueled things for her, pushing her even closer to jail.