The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

Everyone rushed to the surveillance room, where the junior officer was waiting for them. He showed them CCTV footage of a woman in a blue dress and a loose hoodie buying stuff at a convenience store.

"The butler in the mansion confirmed this was the outfit she was wearing at dinner before she went to her room," the junior officer said, pointing at one of the screens. His mate zoomed in and showed the video. "Even her husband confirmed it."

"He was here?" Avery asked in confusion.

Lucius nodded and replied, "Mr. Wright came to give a complaint before you guys arrived. He doesn’t have a clue about our case." He explained how he was submitting the evidence when William came to meet his friend. They took the complaint and didn’t say anything about Gracia’s arrival.

Evelyn nodded, and they all focused on the woman in the convenience store. Elias leaned closer to get a clear picture and then sighed in disappointment.

"It’s not her."

Everyone turned to him, and the police officer questioned, "Are you confident?"

Elias nodded in response. "She is wearing worn-out shoes, and the dress seems very loose for her." Turning to the officer, he added, "My mom always wears tailored dresses. She hates it if they don’t fit her correctly."

Evelyn sighed, feeling her hopes crushed. The same went for Ronan. The officer nodded and said, "They already caught her and will be here soon. Stay until she is here. We might get some clues."

Everyone nodded, and they settled outside in the waiting room. The atmosphere was tense and filled with anticipation. The room was stark, with plain walls and functional furniture, making the wait feel even longer.

Soon, the woman was brought to the station. She grumbled and struggled, "Leave me! Leave me!" The female cops dragged her, and everyone walked over to her. She had dirt on her face, her hair was disheveled, and her shoes were worn out and scuffed.

"I am telling you! I did not steal them!" she grumbled again, trying to free herself, but the cops held her firmly.

Ronan stepped forward and questioned her, "Where did you find these?"

"They were in the dustbin down the alleywhere I lived," the woman replied, shivering under his murderous glare. She took out the wallet from the hoodie and said, "I found some money and cards too. I thought of using them since they were thrown out in the trash."

The police officer collected everything, and Lucius made a guess, "Seems like she left behind all the traces so we couldn’t track her."

Everyone felt a wave of frustration, especially Evelyn and Ronan, who were exasperated that Sophia had slipped away so easily. Elias felt even more disappointed, his heart heavy with the realization that they were back to square one.

The officer dragged the woman away and told them, "We will get her statement. If there are any clues, I will contact you."

Lucius nodded and shared a side hug with the officer. "We will proceed with the press conference."

The officer nodded in agreement. "We might be able to track her faster if the public gets wind of it. You should get it done quickly."

Evelyn nodded and thanked him, and they all walked out of the station.

"Guess it will be longer to find her," Benjamin murmured, gripping his cane tightly. Sophia had hurt his closest people, and if not, he would have hired her to work for him. She was wicked and could have done well in the underworld.

He turned to Evelyn and murmured, "Hang in there, dear. It will be all over soon." He patted her head, feeling bad for her.

Then he turned to Elias and said, "It’s not your fault, young boy. Don’t blame yourself for it." Elias smiled and nodded at him. Benjamin looked at Ronan, who was still annoyed but realized it was not on him anymore.

Ronan noticed Elias staring at him. He stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "Take care of your sister," he said with a small smile. When they all realized Elias had no part in Annabelle’s death and was merely a pawn, Ronan couldn’t be angry and felt bad for giving him a hard time until now.

Evelyn smiled in relief and asked Benjamin, "Will you guys be leaving tonight?"

Benjamin nodded with a sad smile. "My wife will be pissed if we stay for more days. She is already feeling lonely." Everyone smiled, and he added, "He also has business to run and cannot stay here until they catch her."

With a sigh, he added, "We will return when there’s good news."

Evelyn nodded and bowed to him in gratitude. "Thank you for all the help, Master Igor."

Avery also bowed and said, "If there are more projects, don’t hesitate to call us. We will be delighted to renovate more of your estates."

Benjamin chuckled and nodded in response. Patting Avery’s head, he shared his goodbye, and the duo left the station. Evelyn sighed, and Avery clung to her and Elias and murmured, "Let’s go."

They drove away, while Lucius drove back to his basement, calling Damien on the way to brief him on everything.

———

[A few hours later]

Everyone sat in the hall discussing the press conference. Rosalind and Penelope had taken Gracia on a meditation campaign for a day to keep her relaxed, and Elias had locked himself in his room ever since they had returned from the police station.

Zevian and Jonathan had brought in the PR team from Reign Constructions to handle it, giving Lucius some time to relax from the drama. He still participated in the discussions, but he had suffered a lot, and Evelyn felt bad for him.

Just then, Avery walked in with Kiana and Yael, Lucius’s son. Kiana ran over to her parents, while Yael nodded with his father before taking a seat beside Avery. Avery smiled at the little guy, who was cold to everyone, reserved, and didn’t speak much.

"Mommy!" Kiana hugged Evelyn tightly, having missed her the entire day. She thought they would finally spend time together, but some work had taken her away.

Zevian, sitting beside them, pinched Kiana’s nose, making her giggle. Despite being busy, he always made sure to greet his family warmly.

"Did you have fun, baby?" Evelyn asked, warmly caressing Kiana’s head. Kiana nodded and started telling everything she did at Yael’s house while they were out on some emergency work.

Avery noticed Yael looking at the family, his eyes longing to have someone beside him, too. She should have taken Kiana’s words seriously and tried sending Lucius on blind dates. She had set one, but when he didn’t show up and even sent her a text requesting not to do it again, she decided to respect his choice. But it seemed like Yael’s condition was worse than what Kiana went through before Evelyn came into their lives.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Yael suddenly spoke for the first time, his excited voice filling the hall. "Uncle!" The little boy got down from the sofa and ran toward the entrance. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Avery noticed Damien had returned. He picked up Yael and threw him lightly in the air, making the little boy laugh. Avery observed them, a smile playing on her face. Seeing Damien with a warm smile on his face, charming the way he lightened up Yael’s mood, was a rare sight.

She shook her head, cursing herself for such thoughts. Damien walked over and took a seat right beside Avery.

"You couldn’t find anywhere else to sit?" Avery chided him.

Damien looked at her and then turned to the other sofas. "They are occupied."

Avery huffed and smiled at the little boy sitting between them. Damien turned to Evelyn and apologized, "Sorry. We failed to keep an eye on her." He had been searching the entire day, but Sophia was nowhere to be found. It was most likely she had already fled to a different country, and it would take some time to find her.

"It’s fine," Evelyn smiled at him. "Ronan and Master Igor already left for their country."

Damien nodded. "Yes, Ronan called me."

Evelyn leaned forward and suggested, "I think you should return to Arecamia."

Damien stared at her in confusion. She added, "You all have wasted so much time on this, and I don’t want to hold you guys back anymore. I know there’s a ton of work, and you need to take care of Natalie too."

"Yeah," Avery agreed. "People might attack her and try to harm Emily. She is still your wife, after all." She mocked the fake marriage, something she still loathed him for.

Damien sighed in response. They were right. Running back and forth between two countries was tiring, and more importantly, things back there weren’t running smoothly, and his men needed him. Even Lucius had been pestering him to just return as staying here was a waste of time until Sophia was found again.

"Lucius will be here anyway," Evelyn added with a smile. "I can bug him all the time."

"Yeah, of course," Lucius agreed, making everyone break into laughter. Damien smiled and nodded, agreeing to it.

"I will leave tonight after the press conference," he stated, wanting to finish the main job at least. Once Sophia was all over the internet, they wouldn’t need to do things in the shadows, making it even easier for his brother-in-law and his men here.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Avery suggested, "Let’s have lunch first. I am starving."

Jonathan smiled and looked at the butler who walked away to make the arrangement. After finishing the final presentation, they all left for lunch.

Avery, who had walked to her room to change into comfortable clothes and was coming back, suddenly felt someone pulling her into a room.

"Who the fu—" Her words stuck in her throat, realizing it was Damien. He closed the door, and she grumbled, "What do you want? I am already annoyed, so don’t get on my nerves."

"And what if I do?" Damien challenged her with a sly smirk.

Avery felt the familiar urge to pull his hair, something she had missed all these months. He had been so busy that she rarely ever got to meet him. She was feeling happy about it and cursed herself for feeling such a way.

"Here," Damien passed her his tablet. Avery blinked in confusion and took it.

"What’s this?" Avery murmured, going through the presentation. Her eyes widened in shock. "You want us to open our branch in Helipan?"

Damien nodded in agreement. "One of my clients showed interest in AWE. He is willing to invest and spread more branches around Aracaemia and not just in Helipan city."

Avery murmured in confusion, "Why are you showing me this now of all times?"

"Because I want you to come with me tonight."

Avery felt her heart flutter for a split second at his words. She looked up at him to see him standing with a serious expression. He wasn’t teasing. All she could see was honesty in his eyes.

"You can start your branch there, and once everything is set, we can return and continue our lives here."

Avery wanted to shout at him. His use of "we" and "our" made her feel strange. It felt as though he was proposing to her. Yes, it was absurd, but she couldn’t help it. Though the timing was bad, really bad, she knew he might never show up again until his mission was complete back in Aracaemia.

Damien walked closer and ruffled her hair. "Think about it." With a smile, he left the room.

"Such an idiot!" Avery grumbled, watching as he walked out. She bit her lip and looked through the file again. Should she go? This would take AWE to the next level, but all she could think about was how this could mean she would be able to spend time with Damien, fight, and annoy him just like in the past.

"Ah, forget it." She threw the tablet on the bed and walked out of the room. Evelyn needed her the most right now, and she couldn’t just run away, dumping everything on her head. It would be too much, and Evelyn mattered more than anything to her right now.