The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

[The Night Annabelle Died]

It was quite late in the night, and Elias had just gotten back after finishing his group study. The butler greeted him at the door.

"Good evening, Young Master," the butler said with a slight bow.

Elias gave a tired smile. "Evening. Has Father returned?"

The butler shook his head. "No, Young Master. Mr. Wright is still at the company."

Elias sighed, feeling a pang of disappointment. "He’s been on his toes ever since Annabelle’s pregnancy got out," he muttered.

"Indeed," the butler agreed. "They’ve been working tirelessly to clear both Vincent and her image so they can marry off."

Elias nodded. "Vincent’s grandfather suggested they should send them both for a year-long vacation, and Father agreed."

"Yes, that was the plan," the butler confirmed.

Elias then asked, "Where’s Mom?"

"Oh, she must be in the Young Miss’s room, Young Master," the butler said, glancing up the staircase. "They seem to be arguing about something for over an hour. The maids overheard and informed me a few minutes ago."

Elias nodded and ordered, "Alright. I will check on them. You all should return to your quarters; it’s quite late."

As the butler and the remaining maids left, Elias walked upstairs, determined to put an end to their fight. Sophia had been frustrated and was pestering Annabelle to get rid of the child. Elias had no clue why, but he was sure his father would be angry at his mom if this news got out.

As he reached Annabelle’s room, he heard them shouting aloud. The door was half-open, and he saw Sophia and Annabelle fighting over a phone.

"Give it back!" Sophia shouted at Annabelle, trying to snatch away the phone.

"No! Prepone my marriage to next week! If not, I will show this to your precious son and darling husband," Annabelle grumbled, moving back. Her pregnancy was making her feel reckless and anxious; she wanted to get married and leave this house soon. But Sophia had been against it, and Annabelle needed to threaten her.

Elias noticed a video playing on the phone, the voices unclear, but he realized his mom must have messed up again. He opened the door and asked, "What’s happening here?"

Both women stopped and turned around. Sophia’s expression paled, while Annabelle smirked in glee.

"Weren’t you staying at your friend’s house?" Sophia barked at him.

Elias frowned at her reaction. She had been cranky and it was truly taxing. With a sigh, he replied, "We finished earlier, so I returned." He then turned to Annabelle, who was smiling eerily at him.

"Glad that you are back, little brother," Annabelle said, showing the phone. "Wanna watch something funny your mom did?"

"Don’t you dare!" Sophia growled and tried to snatch the phone away, but Annabelle quickly moved back. She pushed Sophia and walked over to Elias.

Annabelle passed the phone to him, and Elias, confused, looked at the screen. A video was playing, and his eyes widened as he saw his mom with someone in a laboratory.

"He is your real dad," Annabelle said, dropping the bombshell. Elias was shocked, his mind reeling from the revelation.

Sophia rushed over and snatched the phone. "This... This is fake..." she stammered. Grabbing Elias’s hand, she dragged him out. "Don’t listen to her bullshit."

Annabelle followed them, grumbling that she wasn’t lying. "I am not lying, Elias. Your mother tricked William. She made him believe you are his son, manipulated him to hate Evelyn all these years so you could take over this abundant wealth."

"Shut up!" Sophia snapped back, continuing to drag Elias toward his room. He was blank, still trying to process everything.

Annabelle, following them, threw another bombshell. "She even hired me to play the real daughter role. That maid and Evelyn being the fake daughter is all a lie."

Elias stopped in the middle, right before the stairs, and Sophia was forced to stop too. She turned around to him, her heart racing in panic.

"It’s all a lie, Eli. Don’t believe her. She is trying to create misunderstandings between us," Sophia said.

"Is it true?" Elias asked, his voice trembling. His expression was one of hurt and confusion.

Sophia shook her head. "No, I did not hire her! She is doing this to throw us out of the house. She—"

Elias shook his head and stopped her. "I already know everything about it, Mom. I am asking about my real father."

Sophia looked at him in shock, wondering when he knew about Evelyn and Annabelle. "Is it true that I am not William’s son?" Elias asked again.

"No! You are his blood!" Sophia lied as if it were the truth.

Annabelle scoffed and, at that moment, snatched her phone back. Sophia, focusing on her son, let the phone slip easily from her grip. Annabelle played the video again and said, "Then why were you making out with him in the lab? From the voices you are making, it seems like he is more than just a stranger."

Haunted by the humiliating moans of his mom, Elias tried to stop Annabelle from playing it. "Stop playing it."

Sophia joined him, trying to snatch the phone away from Annabelle. It became two versus one, a chaotic struggle in the dimly lit hallway.

"Give it back!" Elias shouted, his voice echoing in the house. Annabelle shook her head and raised her hand as both the mother and son tried to take it. Frustrated, Elias forcefully snatched it away. His force was so strong that Annabelle slipped off the stairs.

"Elias!" Annabelle cried aloud, trying to hold onto his hand, her hand flailing in the air for him to catch. But Elias felt someone pull him back, his hand gripping the phone tightly.

Annabelle’s shriek echoed in the hall as she rolled down the large stairs, landing on the ground floor, covered in a pool of blood.

Sophia and Elias stared in shock at the scene while a maid, Mary, who was about to leave, rushed out of the kitchen at Annabelle’s cry. She walked over and squatted beside Annabelle, her eyes then moving upstairs.

Sophia was the first one to rush down, and Elias followed her. Sophia checked Annabelle’s wound on the forehead, her body lying motionless. She placed a hand over her nose, and when she didn’t feel anything, she checked her wrist.

"Wh-what’s wrong?" Elias asked in panic.

Sophia dropped the hand in shock, her expression paler than a ghost. "She is dead," she murmured.

"What?" Mary shrieked out loud, her hand covering her mouth.

Sophia looked at Elias and declared, "Yo... you killed her, Eli."

Elias stared at Annabelle in utter shock. Sophia continued crying, "You should have not pushed her! God, what are we gonna do now?"

[Flashback End]

Elias heaved out a deep breath. He looked at the officer and continued, "She handled everything else later. Mary helped her to push Annabelle over the building."

"So you had no idea she wasn’t dead but only unconscious?" the officer asked.

Elias nodded. "I was in shock for almost a week, did everything my mom told me, and stayed silent. But later, slowly, I realized she was manipulating me and overheard her conversation about how she killed Annabelle and used it to keep me on her side."

The officer nodded, pitying the poor boy. His mother used him so badly, and he couldn’t fathom what it must feel like for him right now.

Elias continued, "And I decided to play along with her since there were many more secrets to uncover. That eventually led to finding Gracia and helping my sister find her quickly before they killed her."

The officer took all the information into his laptop, trying to piece together the situation. Something clicked in his mind. He looked at Elias and questioned, "So, when you were in the hallway, you were standing in front of Annabelle while your mother was standing behind you both?"

Elias recalled the scene and nodded in confirmation. The officer took a piece of paper and drew the image roughly.

"So you and Annabelle were standing parallel to the stairs, while she was right behind, between you two?" When Elias nodded at the diagram, the officer scoffed out loud in disbelief.

"Why? What’s wrong?" Elias asked in confusion.

The officer explained, "See, if you had really pushed her, she would have hit the railing behind, right? I mean, you both weren’t standing facing the stairs but were parallel to it. So Annabelle would have fallen back instead of falling to the side and rolling down the stairs."

Elias looked at the rough sketch he drew and murmured, "You mean..."

"It’s highly possible that your mother pushed her. Since she was facing toward the stairs, when you snatched away the phone, she pushed Annabelle at the same time, making it look like you were the one behind it."

Elias tried to recall and realized he hadn’t put much force on Annabelle. His aim was only at the phone she was holding in her hand.

"Trust me, this looks like the real situation. I am highly confident you didn’t push her by accident," the officer continued. Elias looked at him in a daze. So, does that mean he wasn’t responsible for all of it?

He couldn’t believe his mother would stoop to this level. But what would he even expect from someone who had her hands painted in blood?

The officer ended with a few more questions and walked Elias out. Lucius followed them out of the room.

Evelyn got up as soon as Elias emerged. She walked over and held his hand. "All good?"

Elias’s expression worried her. She looked at Lucius, who was equally confused, and then at the officer.

The officer sighed and said, "I think he is innocent. His mother was the one who pushed Annabelle that night." When everyone looked at him in confusion, including Ronan, he explained in detail.

"Wahhh, she is really something else," Avery scoffed in disbelief. "I mean, she killed someone and blamed her son?"

Evelyn shook her head, and Avery quickly shut her mouth. Everyone looked at Elias, pitying the poor boy. He must be feeling even worse now, and they couldn’t even guess what might be running through his mind.

After a few seconds, Elias sighed out loud. Looking at the officer, he asked, "Please catch her soon."

The officer nodded and replied, "We will give our best."

He started discussing things with Lucius. Evelyn patted Elias’s back, trying to comfort him. The young boy couldn’t hold it any longer and turned around to hug her, his emotions overwhelming him. Avery came forward and patted his back, trying to give him strength.

Just then, an officer ran toward them, panting loudly. Turning to his team leader, he declared, "We found her!"