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I became the white moonlight substitute for the president. After entering the luxurious mansion, the butler smiled at me ominously and said, "If you don't leave, you will die. The last one was..."
Chapter 1
Breaking news swept through Nevoria.
The elusive love of billionaire CEO Brenton Clayton died under mysterious circumstances.
And I, Juliet Patel, became her stand-in.
Stepping into the opulent estate, the butler Andy flashed a sinister grin. "If you stay, you'll die. Just like the last one."
I turned, my resolve unshaken. Who would die was far from certain.
The idea of being a stand-in repulsed me.
But the money was too good to refuse.
Everyone in Nevoria knew Brenton Clayton, the untouchable and reserved CEO, cherished a woman deeply.
Yet no one had ever seen her face.
She was guarded like a secret.
Some doubted she even existed, believing she was just a story Brenton used to fend off suitors.
I believed differently.
She was real.
In a dream, she told me she was murdered.
Inside the estate, Andy, dressed in a tailored suit, led me to a second-floor room. A painting hung on the long corridor wall.
I froze, staring at the woman in the portrait.
She wore an elegant white dress, sitting poised on a wooden chair.
Her dark hair cascaded softly, her beauty striking and refined.
The figure seemed alive, her faint smile revealing a single dimple on the left. Her expression was like a lingering spring rain, drawing you in.
I stared, entranced.
Aside from the clothes, her face was identical to mine, down to the single dimple.
Word was, she vanished without a trace, her body later found by the estate's lake.
Ruled a suicide.
In a flash, the woman's eyes in the painting welled with anguished tears of blood.
Her pale, bloodied hands reached out, her voice a desperate whisper only I could hear. "Find the truth. I died unjustly."
From the moment I arrived, something felt off. Black-clad guards stood at every corner, and the outer walls were lined with electric fencing.
Security was airtight.
It felt like a prison to keep someone in.
The estate brimmed with an eerie aura.
Andy led me to my room, then leaned close, his eyes glinting with malice. "Clean up. The master returns tonight. If you're scared, run now."
Scared?
What, was he going to eat me?
That night, I tossed and turned, waiting for Brenton.
Andy's words echoed, chilling my spine.
"If you stay, you'll die. Just like the last one."
The last one was Brenton's lost love.
Her killer was likely someone in this estate.
Lost in thought, the door swung open.
The legendary billionaire Brenton Clayton stood before me.
His deep brown eyes met mine, his tall frame striking and handsome.
Fresh from travel, his tailored suit jacket hung over a strong wrist, his black shirt slightly unbuttoned, revealing a glimpse of collarbone. His trousers fit perfectly over long legs.
Reserved, elegant.
He strode toward me, stopping at the bed to look down. "Miss Patel."
His voice was low, magnetic, stirring something within me.
I leapt from the bed, started undressing, and puckered my lips, moving toward him.
He pushed me back. "What are you doing?"
He stood there, brows furrowed, clearly baffled.
"Sleeping with you," I said. "You paid fifty million for a stand-in. Isn't that what you want?"
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