Chapter 8 Find Her And Eliminate Her

• Claire
• The thought alone made my stomach turn violently, a sickening wave of nausea creeping up my throat. I gritted my teeth, inhaling deeply in an attempt to steady myself, but it did little to calm the storm raging inside me. The worst part was that I didn’t even know who she was.
• Had it been someone from the hotel? A maid? A guest? A whore?
• Was she someone who had deliberately sought him out, or had she simply been in the right place at the right time?
• I clenched my fists tighter. I needed to find her. I needed to know if she was a threat. Because if she was, if she was carrying his child, then she had signed her own death sentence.
• The thought sent a chilling wave of calm through me. Christian had always been so careful about protection—at least with me. It was only in recent years that he had made sure to use condoms every single time we were together, and while I had suspected that it was his way of deliberately preventing me from getting pregnant, I had never imagined that he would go as far as to refuse marriage.
• The engagement ring on my finger suddenly felt heavier, as though it no longer held the promise of a future but instead, a reminder of everything I had wasted my time on over decades.
• That was how long I had been with him. How long I had stayed by his side, faithfully, loyally, endlessly waiting for the moment when he would finally see me as more than just a fixture in his life.
• I had played my role perfectly—the patient woman, the loyal fiancée, the one constant presence in his world, always there when he needed me, never demanding too much, never pushing too hard.
• And how did he repay me? By avoiding marriage, introducing condoms into our relationship, and fucking spending the one night that was supposed to change everything in the arms of another woman.
• My breathing grew heavier, and I had to remind myself to stay composed. Losing control now wouldn’t do me any good. I had one goal, and I needed to focus.
• The woman. Who was she? My mind raced through the possibilities.
• If it had been someone important, I would have known by now. The media would have already started whispering. The Ricci family would have gotten wind of it. Someone, somewhere, would have mentioned a woman leaving Christian’s suite that morning.
• But there was nothing. No gossip. No scandal. Which meant whoever she was, she wasn’t someone from Christian’s world.
• That narrowed it down.
• I leaned back, exhaling slowly, already forming my next steps. Derrick had been too quiet since that night, and I wasn’t a fool—I knew he suspected me. But suspecting and proving were two different things, and as far as Christian knew, I was just a concerned fiancée who had gone upstairs to check on him.
• Derrick’s words from that night replayed in my mind, his careful, calculated tone as he stared at me like he could see straight through my lies.
• “Did Mr. Ricci need to be checked on?”
• I had answered too quickly.
• “I thought he was drugged.”
• That was when I knew I had given myself away. But even if Christian knew I had done it, there was something far more important than that.
• Did she know who she had slept with?
• Did she remember Christian’s face?
• Did she think it was just a stranger in the dark, or was she out there searching for him? I felt my jaw tighten. If she was looking for him, then I had to find her first. Because I refused to let her take what I had spent years securing for myself. I would not allow some nameless girl, some nobody, to ruin everything. Christian was mine!
• He had always been mine, and if I had to erase this woman from existence to keep it that way, then so be it. I had spent too long waiting for my chance. And I wasn’t about to let anyone steal it from me.
• I was still seething when I left Christian’s penthouse later that evening, my mind spiraling into dangerous thoughts as I tried to piece together what had gone wrong. It should have been me in that bed. It should have been me waking up beside him, finally carrying his child. Not some random girl he wouldn’t even remember.
• I needed answers and if there was one person who could guide me through this mess, it was my mother.
• The moment I stepped into my mother’s house, the air was thick with the scent of jasmine and cinnamon—her signature fragrance, one that had been ingrained in my senses since childhood. She was seated elegantly in the grand sitting room, a glass of red wine in her perfectly manicured hand, wearing one of her expensive silk dresses that screamed sophistication and power.
• She barely glanced at me as I walked in, her eyes flicking to me for only a second before returning to the pages of the book she was holding.
• “Mother,” I greeted, my voice tight with frustration.
• She finally looked up, setting the book down with slow, calculated movements. My mother never rushed—she moved with purpose, always in control of her surroundings.
• I had learned everything from her. To be patient. To wait for the right moment. To never lose sight of the endgame.
• Yet, somehow, I had failed her. I could already feel the disappointment in her gaze before I even spoke.
• “I drugged Christian,” I admitted bluntly, watching her reaction carefully. “I made sure it was done at the hotel’s event, in front of everyone, where no one would suspect me. Everything was supposed to go according to plan, but somehow… somehow, he ended up with another woman instead.”
• She didn't respond. And then, my mother let out a soft, elegant sigh, setting her glass down as she leaned back against the couch. She studied me for a long moment, her expression unreadable, before finally speaking.
• “You are incompetent.” My stomach twisted, but I kept my face neutral. I had expected this.
• “This was your one opportunity,” she continued, her voice smooth yet cutting, like a blade laced with silk. “One simple task—ensure that you are the woman in his bed, ensure that you conceive his child, and solidify your place in his life once and for all. And you… failed.”
• I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. “It wasn’t my fault. I did everything perfectly. The drug worked, and I saw him leaving the ballroom. He was barely holding himself together. But by the time I got upstairs, the door was locked. Someone else was already in there with him.”
• “And you have no idea who she was?”
• I swallowed hard, shaking my head. “None.”
• She exhaled, rubbing her temple as if my stupidity was physically exhausting her. “You’ve had years to secure this man, Claire. Years. Yet, here you are, at thirty-seven, still chasing after him like a desperate little girl instead of ensuring that your position is unshakable.”
• I bristled at her words. “I have been patient. I have played my role perfectly—”
• She scoffed. “Clearly not, if another woman was in his bed the night you drugged him.”
• I felt humiliated. I hated that she was right, that all of my efforts had led to this disaster. My mother had always been brutally honest with me, but this—this was a new level of disappointment.
• “If he wanted to marry you, he would have done it years ago,” she continued, her tone flat, as if she were stating something as obvious as the color of the sky. “But he didn’t. And now, he’s making sure you never carry his child by using condoms. Do you see the pattern here, Claire?”
• My teeth clenched, my nails digging into the couch cushion. “I am not going to lose him.”
• A long pause stretched between us before she spoke again.
• “Then fix it.” I blinked at her. “Find the woman,” she said, picking up her glass of wine again and swirling it gently. “Find out who she is, what she means to Christian. If she was just some whore he slept with in a moment of weakness, then eliminate her. But if she’s something more…” She trailed off, her gaze sharp and knowing.
• I understood exactly what she meant.
• If this woman wasn’t just a mistake—if she was someone Christian cared about—then she was a threat. And threats had to be dealt with permanently.
• I took a deep breath, nodding. My mother’s words were cruel, but they were necessary. She was right. I had wasted too much time. This was my last chance.
• I had to find her. Because if she was carrying his child—then she had to disappear. Forever.