His Billion-Dollar Secret

Chapter 6

"Mrs. Rose, we have a problem."

Rose Barker sat in her private study, talking on the phone with someone. It was past midnight, and everyone in the mansion was supposed to be asleep. But Emma, the young maid, was hiding in the hallway outside, listening to every word.

"What kind of problem?" Rose asked, her voice annoyed.

"Damson failed. Not only did he not get Hailey to agree to the merger, but he got thrown out of the Plaza Hotel. Apparently, Jayce Walker really does own it."

Rose was quiet for a moment. "So the rumors are true. That pathetic delivery boy is actually a billionaire."

"It seems so. Stephen is very interested in this information. He wants to move up the timeline."

"Move it up? We agreed to wait until my father dies naturally! If we move too fast, people will suspect something!"

"Stephen doesn't care. He says if Jayce Walker is involved, we need to act now before he figures out too much." The voice on the phone paused. "He's coming to the mansion tomorrow. He wants to talk to you in person."

"Fine. But tell him to be careful. That old man may be sick, but he's not stupid. And now we know his son-in-law has more power than we thought."

"What about Hailey? Can you control her?"

Rose laughed coldly. "Hailey is weak. She does what I tell her to do. I've controlled her entire life, and I'll control her now. If I tell her to divorce Jayce Walker, she'll divorce him. If I tell her to marry Damson, she'll marry him. She's too scared to stand up to me."

Emma's hands shook as she listened. She needed to tell Mr. Jayce about this. But before she could move, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth.

"Listening to private conversations, little girl?" It was Richard Stone, the lawyer. His eyes were cold in the dark hallway. "That's very naughty."

Emma tried to scream, but Richard's hand was too tight over her mouth. He dragged her down the hallway toward a storage closet.

"You're going to stay here and keep quiet," Richard whispered. "If you tell anyone what you heard, something bad might happen to your little brother. You have a brother, don't you? Ten years old, attends Westside Elementary School?"

Emma's eyes went wide with fear. Her brother! How did this man know about her brother?

"That's what I thought," Richard pushed her into the closet and locked the door. "Stay quiet, and your brother stays safe. Make noise, and... well, accidents happen to children all the time."

Emma sat in the dark closet, crying silently. She had to warn Mr. Jayce, but how? If she made noise, this evil man would hurt her brother. But if she stayed quiet, something bad might happen to Mr. Jayce and Miss Hailey.

Meanwhile, in Jayce's room at the mansion, he was on the phone with Leonard.

"Are you sure?" Jayce asked, pacing back and forth.

"Positive, boss. I checked the records myself. Ten years ago, Rose Barker received a payment of five million dollars from an offshore account. The account belongs to Stephen Winchestar." Leonard's voice was serious. "She's been working with him for a long time."

"So Robert was right. There was someone in the Barker family helping Stephen." Jayce felt sick. Rose had helped kill his parents, and now she was living in the same house as him, eating at the same table, pretending to be a normal person.

"There's more, boss. I found security footage from the night your parents died. You need to see this."

"Send it to me."

A minute later, Jayce's phone buzzed with a video file. He played it with shaking hands. The video showed a dark street ten years ago. A car pulled up to his family's house. The camera angle was bad, but he could see two people getting out of the car. One was definitely Stephen Winchestar. The other was a woman in a long coat.

The woman walked to the back of the house and did something to the door. Then she returned to the car and waited. Ten minutes later, smoke started coming from the windows. The woman got back in the car with Stephen, and they drove away.

Jayce paused the video at the moment when the woman turned toward the camera. The image was blurry, but he could see enough. It was definitely Rose Barker. She was younger then, but it was her.

"She unlocked the back door," Jayce said quietly. "My father always kept it locked from the inside. But that night, when the fire started, we couldn't get out because someone had jammed the lock. It was her. She made sure we were trapped."

"What do you want to do, boss?"

"I want to destroy her. I want to expose everything she's done and watch her go to prison for the rest of her life." Jayce's voice was filled with cold anger. "But first, I need more evidence. This video isn't clear enough. We need something solid."

"I'm working on it. Also, boss, Jason Cross called. The FBI agent. He says Stephen is planning something big, and it's happening soon. Maybe in the next few days."

"Do we know what it is?"

"Not yet. But whatever it is, it involves the Barker family. Jason thinks Stephen is going to make his move before Old Master Barker dies."

Jayce looked out the window at the dark gardens. Somewhere in this house, Rose was planning with Stephen. Somewhere, Hailey was sleeping, not knowing that her own mother was a murderer. And somewhere, danger was coming closer every minute.

His phone rang again. This time it was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Jayce Walker." The voice was cold and familiar. Stephen Winchestar. "Did you enjoy your little victory at the hotel tonight? Throwing out Damson Cole like he was trash?"

"What do you want, Stephen?"

"I want you to know that time is running out. Tomorrow at noon, I'm coming to collect what I'm owed. Seventy-five million dollars, or the Barker family loses everything. And since you seem to care so much about that family, I thought I'd give you a chance to save them."

"I'm listening."

"Walk away. Divorce Hailey, leave Metro City, and never come back. Do that, and I'll forget about the debt. The Barkers can keep their house and their company. Everyone wins."

"Except me."

"You're alive, aren't you? After what you did to my brother, I'd say that's a pretty good deal."

Jayce's hand tightened on the phone. "I didn't kill your brother, Stephen. You know that. You were there that night. You saw what really happened."

"I saw you standing over his body with blood on your hands."

"Because I was trying to save him! Your brother tried to help me escape from the fire, and the building collapsed on him. I tried to pull him out, but I couldn't. The last thing he said was 'tell Stephen I'm sorry.'"

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then Stephen spoke, his voice even colder than before.

"You're lying. My brother would never help a Walker. Your father destroyed our family. Everything we had, he took. And when we tried to get it back, you killed the only family I had left."

"Your brother knew the truth, Stephen. He knew you were the one who started the fire. He was trying to make things right."

"LIAR!" Stephen's voice was loud and angry now. "You have until tomorrow at noon, Jayce. Make your choice. Walk away, or watch everyone you care about suffer."

The phone went dead. Jayce stood there in the dark room, his mind racing. Stephen was more dangerous than he thought. The man truly believed his own lies. He had convinced himself that Jayce was the villain and that he was seeking justice.

But Jayce knew the truth. And somehow, he had to prove it before Stephen destroyed everything.

There was a soft knock on his door. Jayce opened it to find Hailey standing there in her nightgown, looking worried.

"I couldn't sleep," she said quietly. "Can we talk?"

Jayce let her in and closed the door. Hailey sat on the edge of his bed, looking nervous.

"I've been thinking about everything you told me tonight," she said. "About my grandfather asking you to protect me. About Stephen Winchestar. About all of it."

"And?"

"And I realize I don't really know anything about you. We've been married for six months, but I don't know your favorite color or your favorite food. I don't know what makes you happy or sad. I don't know anything except that you're rich and you can heal people." Hailey looked up at him with sad eyes. "I want to know the real you, Jayce. Not the delivery man you pretended to be, and not the billionaire everyone is talking about. Just... you."

Jayce sat down beside her on the bed. "My favorite color is blue. Like the ocean. I've never actually seen the ocean because I grew up in the mountains, but Master Chen used to describe it to me, and it sounded beautiful."

"You grew up in the mountains?"

"After my parents died, yes. Master Chen found me and took me in. He taught me everything I know about healing. He was like a father to me." Jayce smiled, remembering. "He was strict and tough, but also kind. He taught me that true power isn't about money or strength. It's about helping others and doing what's right, even when it's hard."

"He sounds wonderful."

"He was. He died two years ago. Heart attack. I tried to save him, but..." Jayce's voice broke a little. "He told me it was his time, and I shouldn't be sad. He said he lived a good life and was proud of me."

Hailey reached over and took Jayce's hand. "I'm sorry. Losing someone you love is the hardest thing in the world."

They sat there in silence for a moment, holding hands. Then Hailey spoke again.

"Jayce, whatever happens tomorrow with Stephen, I want you to know something. I'm on your side now. Not my mother's side. Not Damson's side. Yours. We're married, and married people should support each other. I haven't been a good wife, but I want to be better. I want to help you."

"You don't have to—"

"Yes, I do," Hailey squeezed his hand. "You've been protecting me for six months, and I didn't even know it. Now it's my turn to stand beside you and fight back. Whatever Stephen is planning, we'll face it together."

Jayce looked at her, really looked at her, and saw something different in her eyes. The spoiled, mean girl was gone. In her place was a woman who was scared but brave. A woman who was finally growing up.

"Together," Jayce agreed.

But neither of them knew that in the closet downstairs, Emma was still trapped and crying. Neither of them knew that Richard Stone was standing guard outside the closet, making sure she stayed quiet. And neither of them knew that at that very moment, Stephen Winchestar was gathering his men, preparing for the biggest attack of his life.

Tomorrow at noon, everything would change.