The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

"Is that your brother?" Ronan asked, breaking the silence that had settled in the room. He glanced at Damien, who nodded with a sigh, causing Ronan and Carson to frown deeply. They had always heard good things about this young man, so what had changed?

Evelyn hastily replayed the video, and her heart broke again as Elias appeared on the screen. It was understandable for Vincent to say such things—to curse and insult her for losing his unborn child. But Elias? Her little brother?

"He knows everything about Annabelle, doesn’t he?" Damien asked Zevian. His friend had mentioned how Evelyn had to reveal everything to Elias in the hospital when William was admitted. And even he couldn’t understand this drastic change in the one family member Evelyn had.

Zevian slowly nodded with a sigh. He reached out and gently rubbed Evelyn’s back, trying to help her cope with the betrayal.

"What the heck is wrong with him?!" Avery groaned, turning around to run a hand through her hair, her other hand on her waist in frustration. The Wright family was getting eerily weird with each passing day, and Evelyn was going through all of it when she wasn’t even a part of it to begin with. Fate was playing a cruel game with her!

"Sophia... Sophia must be blackmailing him with something," Evelyn murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked at Zevian hopefully, but his doubtful expression shattered all her delusions.

"Let’s go and ask him!" Avery suggested, finding no valid reason for Elias’s behavior. He had been the best brother to Evelyn—many times, she’d envied their bond herself—and for him to target Evelyn now didn’t sit right.

"Yes!" Evelyn nodded firmly. Passing the tablet, she turned to leave, but Zevian grabbed her arm.

"This isn’t the right time, Eva," Zevian stated, against the idea of meeting any of the Wright family. They might twist it into something they could use against Evelyn in court. Though the maid’s confession letter was enough and his uncle Theodore would easily keep them away from all the trouble, they still couldn’t take risks.

"I can’t sit quiet, Ian!" Evelyn retorted, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I don’t care what William thinks of me. I don’t care if he starts hating me again; I’m used to it. But Eli..." She trailed off, her voice shaking slightly with fear. If Sophia had manipulated him, she needed to clear it out before it was too late.

Elias was her only family, the little monkey she had raised all these years. And losing him... No, she couldn’t handle it if he started hating her too.

Understanding Zevian’s concerns, Avery stepped forward and suggested, "I’ll go with her. We’ll make sure to avoid the media."

Rita limped forward and nodded. "We’ll accompany them, Boss," she declared, turning to John, who was all set to accompany his Lady Boss.

Zevian sighed softly and nodded. "Alright. I’ll come with you," he declared. Whatever happened, he wouldn’t let her face it alone.

Damien and Ronan stepped back, giving the couple space to exit. Damien looked at Rita, who assured him with a nod. If there was any commotion, she needed to alert him immediately so their team could come out of hiding to protect them.

Zevian escorted Evelyn out, with Avery following closely behind. Rita and John went with Damien’s assistant to gather some weapons, while the three mafia bosses looked at Brianna.

"What should we do with her?" Lucius wondered, feeling she was no longer useful. She was already dead to the outside world; her funeral had been held by her parents, so they didn’t need to keep their promise. After all, she should never have messed with Evelyn in the first place.

"Let’s keep her alive. She might be useful in the future," Damien suggested, thinking about Sophia. They needed as many pieces of evidence and weak points as possible to bring her down. Sophia seemed to have some greater power if she was casually going around killing people. This might also lead them to learn how she was involved in Gracia’s murder.

Suddenly, the words of Evelyn’s grandfather’s old maid, Mariam, echoed in the back of Damien’s mind, as well as how everything about Gracia’s death was erased as if it had never happened. Turning to Ronan, he spoke in Italian, "I need your help."

Ronan’s brows shot up before he nodded in response. For Evelyn, he would do anything as long as Annabelle wasn’t brought up again. His grandfather might kill him if he accidentally revealed to the world that she was his stepsister. It was cruel, and something Laila never deserved, but that’s how his family had been running all these years. One slip and the whole bunch of Igors would eat them alive.

---

Evelyn’s heart thundered louder as they reached the Wright mansion. Much to their surprise, the security at the gates didn’t stop them from entering. It was as if they were waiting for her to arrive, and Zevian’s brows creased in confusion.

Evelyn held onto his hand, gripping it tightly as the car slowly pulled up to the grand building. The more she tried to run from this family, the deeper she became entangled in their mess. It was as if she was tied to them by a thread, one that wasn’t ready to break yet, though Gracia was no longer there to hold it together.

"No bodyguards," one of the guards at the front door declared, stopping Rita and John. Looking at Evelyn, he continued, "Only family members are allowed, ma’am."

Rita wanted to argue, her hand instinctively reaching for the pistol hidden on her waist, but John stopped her. He forced her to step back and replied, "But we’ll be right here."

The bodyguard didn’t mind and made space for the two to stand beside him. Elias had ordered them to ensure no weapons entered the house, and the other three didn’t seem to be carrying anything.

Evelyn stepped inside, the eerie silence in the hall welcoming them. A maid escorted them to a couch, and once they were settled, she went to call the current head of the household, Elias Wright.

A few minutes later, Elias made his entrance, descending the grand stairs at the center of the room, still in the same black suit he had worn during the press conference.

"Sis!" he chirped in his usual tone, but Zevian could catch the sarcasm in it. Even Avery frowned at his dark, mocking expression. Why did he suddenly look like a male version of Sophia?

"Eli, what’s going on?" Evelyn asked, her tone thick with frustration.

Elias raised a brow, an amused smile spreading across his lips. Reaching out, he sat on the couch opposite them, crossing his legs smugly. "Oh, everything is going great if you ask me."

Avery gritted her teeth while Zevian clenched his fist, their anger visible on their faces. They didn’t have time for his twisted jokes or beating around the bush.

Evelyn’s mind-numbed for a moment at his strange behavior. She stared blankly at Elias, their eyes locked. No, he wasn’t her little brother. He was sounding more like Sophia’s son today. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"One question," Evelyn murmured, steeling her heart. Taking a shaky breath, she looked at Elias and asked, "What happened to Annabelle?"

Elias’s brows creased in confusion as if he were hearing something strange. Leaning forward, he replied, "I should be asking you that question, sis. What did you do to her?"

"Elias!" Avery screamed, unable to hold her anger any longer. She glared at him, as did Zevian, but Elias didn’t bother to spare them a glance.

Staring intently at his dear sister, he continued, "And did you kill that poor maid too in jail? Tch, she was only following orders."

And Evelyn didn’t need to hear anything more. He was truly sounding like Sophia’s son—maybe this was his real face, the one he had hidden all these years.