The Billionaire's Unexpected Proposal by Samantha

The room was bathed in the soft glow of the bedside lamp as Derek lay beside Evelyn, his arms wrapped around

her. His fingers absentmindedly stroked her hair as he watched her sleep peacefully.

He could tell she was pretty exhausted, seeing how she had slept off in the middle of their conversation about

getting more help around the house to reduce Maya's workload. That way, Maya could focus solely on Samantha.

Suddenly, a sharp ping broke through the stillness of the room.

Derek's phone lit up on the nightstand. Frowning at the noise and worried it might disturb Evelyn's sleep, he

carefully extracted his arm from beneath Evelyn and reached for the device.

More pings followed, causing his curiosity to be piqued as the screen flashed with a string of notifications.

Derek unlocked the phone to see a series of voice recordings and videos from his source, who was monitoring

the bugs and camera in Michael's apartment.

His stomach tightened when he saw the subject line of one of the auread: Urgent.

Before he could delve deeper, Evelyn stirred beside him. Her eyes fluttered open, dizzy and confused by the

sudden noise. "What's that?" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Who's messaging you at this

hour?" Derek sighed, giving her a sheepish smile. "Sorry for waking you, babe. It's... it's about Sandra and

Michael. | think it's important.”

At the mention of those names, Evelyn immediately sat up straighter, concern, etching lines on her face. "What

did they do this time?"

Derek's eyes narrowed as he stared at his phone. "I haven't listened yet. It's a bunch of recordings and videos.

The fact that they're sending it this late means it must be important."

He played the urgent recording, and both of them listened intently as Sandra's voice crackled through the

speakers. Her tone was calculating and full of malice as she suggested they get rid of Evelyn.

Evelyn's breath hitched, her skin paling as the blood drained from her face. She clutched the blanket tightly, her

heart pounding in her chest. Derek's hand froze around the phone as he felt a rush of fury surging through him.

"She's planning to... kill me," Evelyn whispered, her voice trembling and full of disbelief.

She had known that Sandra didn't like her, but it shocked her to hear Sandra hated her to the point of talking

about getting rid of her so casually. What did she ever do to deserve such a level of hatred?

Derek slammed his phone down on the bed after the recording ended, his expression dark and unforgiving. His

jaw clenched, barely able to contain the rage simmering beneath the surface.

"What kind of a person is she?" He asked, and then when he turned to Evelyn and saw how pale she was, he

shook his head.

"I won't let that happen. | swear to you, Evelyn, Sandra's going to pay for this. | will submit this to the police and

get her arrested.

She won't get anywhere near you," he promised fervently.

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Evelyn shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "We can't use this evidence, Derek. It was obtained illegally. If

we go to the police, how will you explain planting bugs in Michael's house?"

Derek's face hardened, his mind racing as he tried to find a solution. When he planted the bug and cameras, all

he had wanted was evidence to show their family that those two were having an affair. He hadn't expected

Sandra to go this far or to capture something like this. "I didn't think she would actually plan something this

extreme..."

Evelyn bit her lip, still shaken. "Neither did I. | don't understand why she hatesso much."

Derek took her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm going to have her phone bugged. It's obvious that Sandra is more

dangerous than Vichael at this point. I'll make sure she slips up somewhere that can be used against her."

Evelyn swallowed hard, her voice barely audible. "How am | supposed to look her in the face now? How do | act

normal around someone who's plotting my murder?"

"You won't have to put up with her for long," Derek said firmly, pulling her back into his arms. "I'll deal with this. |

promise you.

But you need to try and get ssleep."

Evelyn stared at him incredulously. "How do you expectto sleep after hearing my sister is planning to kill

me?"

Derek sighed, holding her tighter as he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I know that was hard to hear, but

staying awake won't solve this. You're going to work tomorrow, so you should try to get srest. | promise |

won't let her touch even a strand of your hair. I'll keep you safe."

"If she plans to kill me, what do you think she would do to Samantha if she finds out she is yours?" Evelyn asked,

her thoughts drifting to Samantha.

"Do you trust me?" Derek asked, lifting her chin with his forefinger so we would look into his eyes.

Evelyn held his gaze for a moment before giving him a nod, "Then believewhen | say no harm will cto

you or Samantha.

There is no length | wouldn't go to keep you both safe. Now go to sleep," Derek said as he turned off the bedside

lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

As Derek held Evelyn close in the darkness, he felt her body trembling against his, her silent tears soaking into

his shirt. His heart broke for her, but beneath his sadness, anger boiled within him.

He held Evelyn closer, his mind already calculating his next move.

He was going to protect her, even if it meant destroying Sandra in the process.

Sandra had crossed a line in her schemes, and he would make sure she paid for it whether or not she was

Evelyn's sister. No matter what it took, he was going to catch her red-handed and put an end to her plans.

Evelyn pulled into the company parking lot in her new car the next morning. The silver exterior gleamed under

the morning sunlight as she found a spot near the entrance.

It was a new model, the latest, and for a moment, she allowed herself a flicker of pride as she got out of the car,

but that flicker of pride vanished the moment she saw Sandra's car pulling in beside

her.

Evelyn stiffened, her heart thumping as memories from the previous night surged back. The voice recording of

Sandra's cold clipped words echoed in her mind - telling Michael they should kill her. She had tossed and turned

all night, barely sleeping. And when sleep did come, it was full of nightmares- nightmares of Sandra standing

over her with a knife.

Now, seeing Sandra step out of her car, every muscle in Evelyn's body tensed. She wasn't sure what to do or

what to say. Could she act like everything was normal and pretend to know nothing? Telling herself that she

didn't have to say a word to Sandra, she started to walk away, but that didn't stop Sandra from hurrying to catch

up with her.

"Evie, | see you've got a new car. It's

a beauty. Congratulations," Sandra said lightly with a smile plastered across her face, even though her stomach

churned with jealousy and annoyance at the sight of Evelyn driving such an expensive car.

She couldn't help but wonder how Evelyn had been able to afford it or if it was her daughter's father who had

gotten her the car.

On the other hand, Evelyn's mouth went dry, her thoughts racing.

Her stomach churned as she imagined Sandra getting someone to tamper with the car while she worked, cutting

the brakes and setting her up for an "accident."

Sandra's eyes narrowed slightly as Evelyn remained silent. "Why so quiet this morning?" she asked, her voice

taking on a mocking edge. "Con, we should get inside. We have a lot of articles to review."

As Sandra turned to head toward the

building, something inside Evelyn snapped. She couldn't let it go on

like this, She couldn't live in fear,

constantly wondering what sheet

to make Sandra hate her to

the point

of wanting her dead all for a man.

"Sandra," Evelyn's voice cout more forceful than she had intended. Sandra paused, her back still turned.

"Why do you hateso much?"

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Sandra slowly turned around, her face blank, as if she hadn't heard Evelyn properly. "What are you talking

about?" she asked, her tone casual, but there was an edge beneath it.

Evelyn clenched her fists at her sides. "Don't act like you don't know. We're alone now. Just tell me. Why do you

hate me? Why have you been doing everything to make my life miserable? What did | do to deserve this?"

Sandra sighed, the smile vanishing from her face. She glanced around the empty lot before her eyes landed back

on Evelyn. "Is this another one of your attempts to recordand use it against me?" she asked coldly. "I'm not

recording anything. | just want to know. | need to know." Evelyn's voice wavered slightly, but she held her

ground.

Sandra didn't respond right away. Instead, she pulled out her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. After a

moment, she turned the screen toward Evelyn.

[How can you ask that? Have you forgotten already how you treatedlike trash the first tyour father

married my mother?]

Evelyn's eyes widened as she read the words. Her mind raced back to those years, but nothing about Sandra's

accusation seemed right.

"That's not true," Evelyn said, shaking her head.

Sandra snorted, her fingers moved again, furiously typing out another message.

[Your father spent all his time

treating you like a princess and trying to make you happy, while my mother tried to be good to you and win your

heart as your stepmom. You got all the attention while | was ignored. You always got everything first-every

decision, every gift, every bit of attention. | was always left with your leftovers, always standing in your shadow.

You decided where we went to high school and where we went to college. You were always in control, and | was

just... there. Wherever we went, you took all the attention. You were always the golden one.

Nothing I did could ever compare to you. | hate you for it. | always have.]

Evelyn felt a cold chill sweep through her as she read the message. She opened her mouth to protest, to defend

herself, but the words stuck in her throat. Was that really how Sandra had seen things all this time? She had

never thought about it that way- never thought that Sandra felt so overshadowed. "But that's not true..." Evelyn

whispered, her voice small, her chest tight with disbelief and hurt. "I am your older sister and...

"Sister? You're not my sister," Sandra interrupted, her eyes dark with old resentment as she lowered her phone

for a moment and locked eyes with Evelyn.

Evelyn felt like the ground had been pulled from under her. "Have you always felt this way? Has there never

been a moment when you thought ofas your sister or friend? Not even once?" Evelyn asked, her voice

breaking slightly. Sandra's lips curled into a bitter smile. "Sister? Friend? No, Evelyn.

Never. You ve never been either to me. I've hated you for as long as | can remember," Sandra replied coldly. She

turned on her heel and walked toward the entrance, leaving Evelyn standing there, frozen in place.

Evelyn stared at her, stunned into silence, her heart pounding. This whole time, she had thought it was mere

jealousy and greed, but now she realized she was wrong. She was facing a hatred so deep it shook her.