New beginning: Billionaire love story

Claire squinted at the trunk, her gut telling her something was off. The lid was slightly ajar, just enough to make her suspicious. She hesitated for a second before lifting it fully, her eyes widening as a gasp escaped her lips. Stumbling back, she nearly tripped over her own feet, hands trembling. Matthew, who had been fiddling with something nearby, immediately rushed over at the sound of her gasp. "What happened? Claire, what's wrong?"

She pointed, too horrified to speak. Matthew followed her gaze, and as soon as he saw what was inside the trunk, his own eyes widened in shock. Lying there, sprawled out awkwardly, was the body of a man.

"Is... is he dead?" Claire stammered, her voice shaking. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight.

Matthew crouched down, squinting as if trying to figure it out from a distance. "I don't know. I can check."

He moved to reach for the man's neck, his hand hovering over where he'd feel for a pulse, but Claire grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. "Wait! What if he's dead, and your fingerprints are all over him? If the police show up, they'll think we did this!" Matthew gave her a look, half frustration, half understanding. "Claire, we need to know if he's alive. If there's a chance, we can still save him. If he's dead, we have to call the cops right away. Leaving him here is going to look even worse." Claire bit her lip, torn between panic and logic. She hated that Matthew was right, but she also hated the idea of them being implicated in some gruesome murder scene. After a moment's hesitation, she let go of his wrist. "Fine... but just be quick."

Matthew nodded, steeling himself. His fingers gently pressed against the man's neck, searching for a pulse. Claire held her breath, eyes wide, waiting for him to say something.

A few tense seconds passed before Matthew pulled his hand back and met her gaze with a hard, grim look. "He's dead."

Claire cursed under her breath, pacing in a tight circle, her fists clenching and unclenching. "This is getting out of hand. First the hacking, now this? Who the hell is doing this to us?"

Matthew stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans as if the mere act of touching the body made him feel unclean. "I know. But we need to stay calm. I'm going to call the police. If we leave this here and someone finds it later, they're going to think we killed him." Claire nodded, though her eyes kept flicking back to the man's body, no matter how much she tried to avoid looking. Matthew had his phone out, dialing emergency services, while Claire's gaze lingered on something odd sticking out of the dead man's suit pocket. A letter.

She swallowed, unsure if she should reach for it, but curiosity got the better of her. Slowly, she leaned in and pulled the letter out, trying not to disturb anything else.

Matthew, now off the phone, turned back to her. "The police will be here soon. What's that?"

Claire glanced at the paper in her hand, frowning in confusion. "I don't know. It's... just a letter."

She unfolded it, her brow furrowing deeper as she read what was inside. Or rather, what wasn't inside. "It's... just a number. A phone number, that's it."

Matthew stepped closer, looking over her shoulder. "A phone number? That's it?"

Claire nodded, both of them staring at the number as if it might reveal more information just by looking at it harder. But it didn't. It was just a string of digits on a blank piece of paper.

Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, his face twisted in confusion. "What does that even mean? Why would this guy have just a number on him?"noveldrama

Claire shrugged, equally baffled. "I have no idea. But I'm going to find out." She folded the paper and tucked it into her pocket, already thinking of ways to trace it.

Matthew frowned, crossing his arms. "Wait, wait, wait. You're not seriously thinking of calling that number, are you?"

"Of course I am!" Claire snapped, eyes flashing with determination. "This could be the key to figuring out who did this, Matthew."

"Or," Matthew said, his voice rising, "it could lead you straight into a trap! You don't know who this person is. Whoever killed this guy clearly doesn't care about getting their hands dirty."

Claire turned to face him, her expression hard. "The police aren't going to figure this out, Matthew. You know they won't. If we leave this to them, we'll be sitting ducks, waiting for someone else to come after us."

"Claire..." Matthew's voice softened; his eyes full of concern. "I don't want to see you get hurt. This is dangerous. Whoever did this, they're clearly not afraid of killing people. We can't just go chasing after them."

She glared at him, frustration

bubbling up. So, what, you think we

should just sit around and wait? Wait for what, Matthew? For the police to bumble through their investigation and come up with nothing? I'm not giving up. I'm going toofigure out who this is and why they're coming after us."

Matthew shook his head, stepping closer to her." get that. But this... this is different. We're not just dealing with some hacker now. There's a dead guy in that trunk. a Whoever did this is dangerous, Claire. Please, just let the police

handle it for once."

Claire's jaw tightened, and for a moment, she looked like she might back down. But then her eyes hardened again, that stubborn fire igniting I'm not waiting around for someone else to solve my problems, Matthew. I'm not stopping until I know who this person is. Ineed to see their faces. I need to know why they're doing this."

Matthew sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Then you know me better than I thought. I am not giving up until I find this person." Claire said, her tone sharp but with an edge of affection.

The sound of sirens in the distance made both of them pause, their attention snapping back to the body in the trunk. The police were on their way, and soon enough, they'd be swarming the scene, asking questions that Claire wasn't ready to answer. She glanced at Matthew, who was already looking at her with that worried expression she hated seeing. "I'll be careful," she promised quietly.

"You better be," he replied, his voice tight with concern. "Because if anything happens to you, I'm coming after whoever's responsible myself." Claire smiled, though it was a sad, tired smile. "Deal."

The police arrived moments later, and Claire tucked the number deeper into her pocket, out of sight, but not out of mind. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. And whoever was behind this mess? They had no idea what was coming for them. As the officers began taping off the scene, Claire and Matthew exchanged one last look. The game was only just beginning, and Claire was ready to play-no matter the cost.