Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover

Chloe absentmindedly ran her fingers along the bookshelf, pulling down a copy of *The Count of Monte Cristo* from the very top shelf. As she slid the book free, something tucked behind it caught her eye-a small wooden box, beautifully crafted and easy to overlook.

Curiosity sparked, Chloe took the box down and opened it with care. Inside was a cellphone.

Everything came flooding back in an instant. This was the phone Ricky had once used to settle an old score-the phone that belonged to Shawn. It held the evidence of Linda and Shawn's under-the-table deals, and all the secrets they'd done their best to bury.

She hadn't intended to ever turn that phone on again. Maybe it was just that tonight felt endless, or maybe she was finally ready to face the questions she'd carried for years.

She needed to know how Aaron had really come into the world. Aaron, the so- called test-tube baby. But how had Linda managed it? What did she do to get Chloe's DNA in the first place?

Chloe had her theories, but she wanted the truth.

So she plugged in the phone and waited while it charged. It powered up quickly. When the lock screen lit up, Chloe's heart dropped.

A flood of old memories crashed over her, mixing with fresh confusion and surprise.

Linda. Why was it Linda?

The lock screen was a photo of Linda-not the adult Linda, but a teenage girl in her school uniform, standing on a sunlit track field. She was smiling, bright and hopeful, the kind of smile that belonged to someone untouched by the world's darkness.

Staring at that picture, Chloe felt a strange sense of foreboding, as if everything she believed was about to be turned inside out.

In Chloe's memory, Linda had always been the girl from Smoky Lane-a tough, chaotic neighborhood where nothing came easy. Her mother was violent and unstable, her father disabled and defeated. Linda survived in a world where kindness was rare.

Linda had told Chloe about another monster in her life: Shawn.

Shawn was a local thug, born and raised in Smoky Lane. He'd made Linda's life hell, always lurking around to harass her, bullying her at every chance.

Chloe had seen him at school a few times, hassling Linda in the corridors, Once, he'd even pulled a knife. Chloe had stepped between them and taken the hit for Linda. That day was the start of their unbreakable friendship.

They'd become best friends after that.

But things only got more

complicated. The cruelest part was that, because of Linda'snoveldrama

manipulations, Chloe ended up- being@ssaulted by Shawn. That was

the darkest time of her life. The trauma dragged her into a deep dépression she almost couldn't escape.

More secrets surfaced as time went on. When Ricky showed up, Chloe started to realize there were still layers she hadn't uncovered.

She wanted answers. But then Ricky was gone. Linda was gone. Shawn had already been dead for years.

Chasing the truth felt pointless, so Chloe hid the phone away for good.

Now, years later, the pain had faded into something distant and dull. Nothing from back then could cut her anymore. She just needed answers-how Linda had managed to create Tim.

Chloe stared at the phone's screen, lost in thought. Shawn's lock screen was Linda, laughing, glowing with life.

Something about it felt off.

When Chloe finally unlocked the phone, things only got weirder.

The first thing she checked was the photo gallery. It was almost all pictures of Linda. Some were posed, but a lot were clearly taken without her knowing.