New beginning: Billionaire love story

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Revenge? You mean this is all because of Alexander Harris?" She threw the name out like a grenade, waiting to see if it would blow up in Lisa's face.

It did. Lisa's eyes lit up for a second, and then she smiled, a wide, unhinged grin spreading across her face. "Oh, I see you're not as clueless as you look."

Claire's lips curled into a smirk, enjoying the slight power shift, even if she was tied to a chair. "You're pathetic, you know that? Even after Alexander rejected you not once, but twice, you're still stuck on him. He doesn't even care about you." Her words were sharp, designed to cut deep.

Lisa's smile faltered, her expression going icy in an instant. Claire could tell she'd hit a nerve. Good. She needed to keep Lisa distracted, and off-balance. Sure, being tied to a chair in the middle of a deserted shack wasn't ideal, but Claire wasn't about to sit there quietly and wait for things to get worse.

Lisa, trying to shake off the blow, crossed her arms. "He does care about me," she said defensively. "He moved me to the VIP room at the hospital when I had that accident."

Claire snorted. "Please. Do you mean the accident that you caused? Don't act like it wasn't part of your plan. That venue didn't just go up in flames by itself, Lisa."

Lisa's lips twisted into a smug smile. "Maybe your brain needs a little break from overthinking, Claire."

"Ha!" Claire leaned back in the chair, knowing she'd just gotten confirmation. "I knew it. You're so easy to read, Lisa."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Oh, really? If I'm so easy to read, then what am I thinking right now?"

Claire pretended to ponder for a moment, then answered with a casual shrug. "You're thinking about how you're gonna get Alexander. You've got this whole twisted plan mapped out in that psycho brain of yours."

Lisa nodded, mockingly impressed. "Wow, Claire, you can really read minds." Then her tone turned deadly serious. "And you're right. But there's one part you're missing-I'm also thinking about how I'm going to kill you."

The way she said it, so straight-faced and matter-of-fact, caught Claire off guard for a second. But then, to Lisa's surprise, Claire burst out laughing.

Lisa blinked, completely thrown. "What's so funny?"

Claire wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, still chuckling. "It's just the way you said that. Like, oh, I'm planning on killing you." She mimicked Lisa's voice in a flat, exaggerated tone. "It's hilarious."

The laughter vanished from Claire's face in an instant, replaced by a cold, challenging glare. "But let's be real, Lisa-you don't have the guts to do it."

Lisa's face twisted with rage. She hated being underestimated. Without thinking, she stormed over to Claire and slapped her hard across the face.

Claire's cheek stung, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she cracked her neck to the side and slowly turned back to Lisa with a mocking grin. "If you're gonna hurt me, you'll have to hit a lot harder than that."

Lisa's frustration was boiling over now. She leaned in close, her breath hot with anger. "No one's going to find you here, Claire. This place is in the middle of nowhere. By the time anyone realizes you're missing, you'll be long dead-starved, and dehydrated. You'll be nothing but a headline."

Claire arched an eyebrow, unphased by the threat. "Let me guess, that's not the only reason you kidnapped me, right?"

Lisa straightened up, a wide smile spreading across her face again. She patted Claire on the head, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Wow, aren't you clever? Figuring things out just like that." She snapped her fingers mockingly.

Claire rolled her eyes but kept her tone calm. "You always did like playing the long game, Lisa. But I don't get it. What's your angle? Do you think if I'm out of the way, Alexander will suddenly fall into your arms? Newsflash-he's not interested. And he never will be."

Lisa's expression darkened, but she quickly masked it with another sly grin. "You think I'm doing this for Alexander? Sure, he's part of it. But I'm not that stupid, Claire. I know he's not going to come running just because you're out of the picture." "Then why?" Claire asked, genuinely curious now.

Circled around Claire slowly, like a predator. "You've always been in the way, haven't you? Always the perfect one, always in control. Everyone loves Glaire-the smart, capable Claire. Well, I'm tired of living in your shadow. I'm going to take what's mine."

Claire smirked. "And what, exactly, is that? A life of crime and kidnapping? Wow, Lisa, your future's really looking bright."

Lisa's smile faded, replaced by a simmering anger. "You think you're better than me, don't you? You always have."

Claire raised an eyebrow, her smirk never leaving. "I don't think. I am better than you and we both know that's true."

That was enough to push Lisa over the edge. Her hand swung out and slapped Claire across the face, but Claire barely flinched. Instead, she chuckled, which only made Lisa more furious.

"Are you done?" Claire asked, still smiling through the sting on her cheek.

Lisa glared at her, clearly not amused. "You think this is funny?"

"Not funny, just... unfair," Claire said with a shrug, as best as she could while tied to a chair. "I mean, look at this. You can slap me as much as you want, and I can't do anything back. That's not really a fair fight, is it?" Lisa crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. "What's your point, Claire?"

"My point," Claire said, leaning

forward slightly, "is that if you were really confident, you'd untie me. We could settle this, woman to woman, see who's actually better. But I get it," she added with a mock sigh. "You're scared I'll kick your butt." novelbin

Lisa's eyes widened, then she burst out laughing, her anger shifting into amusement. "Dream on, Claire. Do you think I'm stupid enough to untie you? Nice try."

Meanwhile, outside in the quiet park,

a black sedan pulled up near the entrance. Matthew stepped out of the car first, his face all business as he scanned the area, staring down at his phone like it was some kind of treasure map. Alexander followed, looking around the deserted park with a frown.

"Are you sure this is the right park?" Alexander asked, peering around at the empty benches, the rustling trees, and the lack of people. "It's like a ghost town here."

Matthew sighed, clearly frustrated. "This is the spot. The location tracker on Claire's phone leads right here." He kept his eyes glued to his phone, muttering something under his breath about technology being unreliable. Alexander, hands on his hips, looked around skeptically. "Well, if her phone's here, where is she? I don't see anything."

Just then, Matthew stopped in his tracks. He lowered his phone, staring at a nearby trash can. "Wait a second..." He walked over to it and peered inside. "No way."

Alexander followed curiosity piqued. "What? What is it?"

Matthew pulled out a small purse from the trash, holding it up so Alexander could see. It had the initials "CP" embroidered on the front. "Claire's purse." Alexander's face darkened as he glanced from the purse at Matthew, then back at the park. "So, her phone's here, her purse is here, but she's not." Matthew opened the purse and found Claire's phone tucked inside. "This is a trap. I knew it was too easy."

Alexander clenched his fists. "This isn't good."

"No kidding," Matthew muttered, slipping the phone into his pocket for safekeeping.

Alexander doesn't want to tell Matthew about Lisa but if Claire is really in danger, he doesn't have much choice. "I think I know who's behind this." Matthew's brow furrowed, looking both confused and skeptical. "You do?"