THE BILLIONAIRE’S COLD JUSTICE: The Street Kid Who Exposed His Golden Fiancée

Two days passed.

I survived on discarded bagels and dirty puddle water. My face was on every news broadcast in the city. Arthur had spun the story perfectly. The headlines read: HOMELESS "ANGEL" REVEALED AS DANGEROUS INTRUDER: Maxwell Blackwood in Coma After Brutal Attack.

They were blaming me. They said I had snuck into Maxwell’s study to steal his safe, hit him over the head, and fled into the night. Arthur had taken over as the temporary CEO of Blackwood Enterprises, citing his brother’s "tragic medical state."

But I knew the truth. Maxwell wasn't in a coma from my attack. Arthur had drugged him.

I needed to get back in. But how? The mansion was a fortress, now crawling with Arthur's personal goons.

"Hey. Kid."

I jumped, looking up from my cardboard box in the alleyway.

A tall man in a dark trench coat was standing at the entrance of the alley. His face was shadowed by a fedora, but as he stepped into the light, I recognized him.

It was Marcus, Maxwell’s chief of personal security. The man who had driven the Rolls-Royce the night we found Ethan.

I scrambled backward, looking for an escape route. "Stay away from me!"

"Lily, wait," Marcus said, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. He didn't draw a weapon. "I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here because I don't believe a word of Arthur’s story."

I paused, my eyes narrowing. "You don't?"

"I've worked for Maxwell for ten years," Marcus said, his voice quiet and sincere. "He’s a good man. And I know Arthur is a snake. The security footage from the study on the night of the attack was wiped. Arthur did it himself. And he dismissed Maxwell’s private medical team, replacing them with doctors on his own payroll."

"Maxwell is dying," I whispered, tears filling my eyes. "Arthur tried to poison him. I saw the vial."

Marcus’s jaw tightened. "I suspected as much. But without proof, we can't get the police involved. Arthur has the senator—Jennifer’s father—in his pocket. They’ve locked the estate down. Even Ethan is being kept in his room, isolated."

"We have to save them," I said, stepping forward. The fear that had kept me hiding for forty-eight hours suddenly burned away, replaced by a fierce, hot anger. "I know how to get in."

Marcus looked at me, a slow, determined smile spreading across his face. "Tell me."

"The service entrance near the pantry has a broken latch on the third window. The staff always leaves it unlocked so they can sneak out for cigarette breaks. If you can disable the silent alarms on that sector for just five minutes..."

"I can do that," Marcus said. "But we need more than just getting in, Lily. We need a confession. We need Arthur to admit what he did, on camera, where the public and the board can see it."

"I have an idea," I said, my mind spinning. "But it's dangerous. I have to be the bait."