New beginning: Billionaire love story

Rafayel's eyes darted between Claire and Matthew, his suspicion growing by the second. The two strangers had just barged into his apartment like they owned the place, and he had no idea who they were or what they wanted. "Who the hell are you?" Rafayel demanded, narrowing his eyes to Claire.

Claire, arms crossed over her chest, gave him a cold, dismissive look. "You don't need to know who I am," she replied, her voice calm but laced with authority.novelbin

Rafayel's frown deepened. "Then what do you want from me? I don't know who the hell you are, so you better get out of my apartment."

Matthew, who had been quietly standing behind Claire, took a step forward. Claire didn't bother to look at Rafayel as she spoke again, her voice cutting through the tense air. "I want to know who the woman is that ordered you to hurt Abigail Hastings." Rafayel's body stiffened at the mention of Abigail's name, but he quickly tried to cover his reaction, pretending not to understand. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his voice slightly shaky but still defiant.

Claire raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed with his attempt to play dumb. "Really?" she asked sarcastically. "You and your friends aren't exactly good at keeping secrets."

Rafayel's frown deepened. "What do you mean by 'my friends'?"

Claire smirked, finally turning to face him. "The yellow-haired guy and the one in the red hoodie. I met them earlier."

Rafayel's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly realized he was cornered. Claire's smirk grew. "So, are you done pretending not to know what I'm talking about?"

Rafayel stood up from the couch, shaking his head, trying to appear innocent. "I genuinely don't know what you're talking about," he insisted, but the panic in his voice was becoming harder to hide.

Claire sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes as she started pacing around the small apartment. "You know," she began, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'm getting really tired of hearing that same excuse over and over again."

She gestured toward Matthew, and in a swift movement, Matthew grabbed Rafayel's arm and twisted it behind his back. Rafayel let out a pained shout, his face twisting in agony. "What the hell! It hurts!" he cried out, his voice filled with panic. Claire tilted her head, scoffing at his reaction. "Still want to deny it?" she asked, her tone almost bored as if she had better things to do than deal with Rafayel's lies.

Rafayel, wincing from the pain in his arm, stayed quiet, his teeth gritted as he tried to tough it out. But Claire wasn't in the mood for his silence.

She nodded to Matthew, and Matthew applied more pressure, causing Rafayel to yelp louder, pain searing through his arm. "Okay, okay!" Rafayel shouted, trying to catch his breath.

Claire stepped closer, her hand gripping Rafayel's jaw tightly, her nails digging into his skin. "Talk," she commanded, her voice cold and threatening. "Who's the woman?"

Rafayel's breath came out in quick, shallow gasps. "I don't know!" he stammered. "She never told me her name."

Claire's eyes narrowed, her expression growing even colder. "How convenient," she said sarcastically, clearly not buying his story. "I find it funny how you still managed to accept her dirty work when you don't even know her name." "She never tells me her name even when I ask her twice. She kept saying to focus on the task at hand."

"So, how are you going to tell me who she is if you don't even know her name?"

Rafayel winced, his heart racing. "I swear, I don't know her name! But... but I have her phone number," he added quickly, his words tumbling out in a rush. "I don't know if it's a real number or if it still works, but that's all I've got." Claire nodded at Matthew, signaling him to let Rafayel go. Matthew released his grip, and Rafayel stumbled forward, clutching his sore arm.

"Give me the number," Claire demanded, holding out her hand.

Rafayel, desperate to get out of this situation, quickly rattled off the digits. Claire handed them to Matthew, who immediately began tracking the number on his phone.

As Matthew worked, Rafayel glanced nervously between the two of them. "So... will you let me go now? I gave you the number," he asked, his voice small and unsure. Claire turned to him, her eyes cold and piercing. Rafayel felt a shiver run down his spine under her gaze, and he quickly looked away.

"Why did you hurt Abigail Hastings?" Claire asked, her voice sharp.

"I didn't hurt her!" Rafayel blurted out. "I was just supposed to scare her. That's all!"

Claire raised her eyebrows, her expression incredulous. "You call what you did 'scaring'? I saw the footage. You and your buddies ran off the moment she got hit by that car."

Rafayel swallowed hard, realizing

there was no use in lying anymore. "I... I didn't mean for that to happen he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "We were just supposed to rough her up a little, make her back off. But things got out of control..."

Claire's eyes darkened, her anger bubbling just beneath the surface. "And you think that makes it okay?" she asked, her voice dangerously calm. "You think you're off the hook because you didn't mean for her to get hurt?" Rafayel shook his head quickly, panic creeping back into his voice. "No! No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. I swear, I didn't know it would go that far."

Claire stared at him for a long moment, her gaze icy and unforgiving. "Sorry doesn't fix anything," she said quietly, her tone deadly serious. "You helped ruin someone's life. Do you really think an apology is enough?" Rafayel stayed silent, his head hanging in shame. He knew there was nothing he could say to defend himself, not anymore. "I swear, it was an accident."

"Accident? The footage doesn't look like an accident."

"I needed the money and I-"

Claire cut him off. "You have no

other choice but to do it. Is that what

you're going to say? Look if you need money, work. Don't do this idiotic work by hurting others." Claire said coldly. "But don't think for a second that you're off the hook. If this phone number turns out to be fake, say goodbye to your life."

Just then, Matthew's phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. "I've got a hit on the number," he said, holding up his phone to show Claire. Claire turned her attention to the phone, her mind already racing with possibilities. "Good," she said, her voice steely. "Let's see where this leads."

Claire turned back to Rafayel who

stayed silent. "Thank you for your cooperation. Just to enlighten you, you can hide anywhere you want or even run away to other countries, but know this, I am watching you: Every Single. Move." She headed out of his crampy apartment with Matthew trailing behind her. "Matthew, find anything you know about Rafayel and make his life miserable." She said as they both descended the stairs.

"Roger, that, boss."

"Now let's not waste time and visit this woman."