CHAPTER 2 – The Billionaire Who Refused to Die
Sophia's hands trembled so violently that she nearly dropped her phone.
The voice on the other end was unmistakable.
Richard.
The very man she had watched disappear into the endless ocean.
"No..." she whispered. "That's impossible."
Silence.
Then the call ended.
She immediately tried calling the number back.
"Number unavailable."
Her breathing became uneven.
She told herself it had to be a cruel prank.
Someone must have edited Richard's voice.
Someone wanted money.
Someone wanted attention.
But that night...
She couldn't sleep.
Every sound inside the enormous mansion made her jump.
The grandfather clock echoed through the empty halls.
The ocean waves crashed against the cliffs below.
At exactly 2:17 a.m., security cameras suddenly went offline for twelve seconds.
When they came back...
One frame caught Sophia's attention.
A tall elderly man wearing a black coat stood at the entrance gate.
His face couldn't be seen.
By the time the guards reached the gate...
No one was there.
The next morning, Richard's attorney, Michael Harper, requested an urgent meeting.
Sophia arrived wearing black designer sunglasses, pretending to be the grieving widow.
Michael placed a thick envelope on the table.
"Richard instructed me to deliver this only if he died unexpectedly."
Sophia forced herself to remain calm.
Inside was another sealed letter.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
If you are reading this, it means my death was sudden... perhaps too sudden.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
Richard continued.
I spent my career learning that enormous wealth attracts two kinds of people—those who build with you, and those who wait for you to die.
Sophia swallowed hard.
If my death appears accidental, no inheritance will be released for ninety days while a private investigation is completed. During that time, every financial account remains frozen.
Her face turned pale.
Ninety days?
Everything was frozen?
No mansion.
No companies.
No millions.
Nothing.
Michael calmly added,
"These were Richard's personal instructions."
Sophia forced a smile.
"I understand."
Inside...
She was furious.
Weeks passed.
Police officially considered the case an accident.
But private investigators asked strange questions.
Had Richard argued with anyone?
Did he have enemies?
Why had Sophia removed her seatbelt moments before the accident?
She answered every question perfectly.
Still...
Something felt wrong.
One rainy evening, Sophia returned home to find every light inside the mansion switched on.
She knew she had turned them off.
The piano in the living room was playing softly.
No one was sitting there.
She slowly walked closer.
The music stopped.
On the piano rested a single photograph.
It showed Richard smiling during their honeymoon.
Across the picture, someone had written in red ink.
"Greed always leaves fingerprints."
Sophia screamed.
Security searched every room.
Nothing.
No intruder.
No broken windows.
No evidence.
For the first time in her life...
Fear became stronger than greed.
Meanwhile...
Far away on a private island hidden from public maps...
Richard Ashford slowly opened his eyes.
Months earlier, long before the wedding, he had secretly hired former military security experts after noticing inconsistencies in Sophia's behavior.
Her late-night phone calls.
Her obsession with his finances.
Her internet searches.
Everything had been quietly monitored.
Richard hadn't wanted to believe it.
Until hidden cameras recorded Sophia secretly practicing how to open a helicopter emergency door.
That was the moment everything changed.
Instead of canceling the wedding...
Richard designed a trap.
The helicopter had been modified.
A concealed emergency harness attached beneath his jacket activated automatically the moment he fell.
Within seconds, another hidden aircraft recovered him beyond Sophia's sight while an emergency dummy weighted with metal sank into the ocean.
Only three people knew the truth.
Richard.
His chief of security.
His attorney.
Now...
The game had begun.
Richard looked toward the ocean through the island villa window.
"Money didn't change her."
He sighed.
"It revealed who she truly was."
But he wasn't interested in revenge alone.
He wanted the truth exposed before the entire world.
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And he had a plan that would make Sophia destroy herself.
END OF CHAPTER 2
