Surprise Marriage to a Billionaire-Chapter 415: Insane

Carla was practically glowing with satisfaction, soaking in the attention she was receiving from the cameras and the crowd. Her posture was perfect, chin lifted, smile radiant, as if she were the queen of the event. But amidst the spotlight, her eyes were constantly moving, scanning the room.

When her gaze landed on Alexander, talking to Eric and Sebastian, she couldn’t help but smirk. Her plan was falling into place. The night was still young, and everything had been set up perfectly for what she had in mind.

Her eyes quickly shifted to the waiters, and she gave a subtle, almost imperceptible nod.

The signal was clear, her men knew exactly what to do. Tonight wasn’t just another lavish event; this was the night she intended to ensure her future with Alexander, no matter what it took. And if things didn’t go according to her plan, she would make sure Alexander had no choice but to keep her in his life forever. She would make sure of that.

Carla excused herself from her grandfather and made her way toward Alexander. As she approached, she stopped by Sebastian first, offering him a polite smile.

"Congratulations on another successful year for Lane.com, Inc.," she said smoothly, leaning in to exchange a customary cheek-to-cheek kiss. She did the same with Eric before finally turning to Alexander with a smirk.

"I’d greet you the same way, but I wouldn’t want your wife to glare daggers at me," she remarked wryly.

Alexander didn’t take the bait. He simply turned to Sebastian and Eric and said, "I’ll go ahead and be with my wife."

"Oh, I’ll come with you," Eric added. "I need to speak with William anyway."

As they walked away, Eric let out a heavy sigh. "Geez, the tension. I can’t believe how things have fallen apart between us and Carla. We used to be close."

"It’s her fault, Eric," Alexander said flatly.

"I know... I just hate how ugly this is going to get," Eric muttered.

Alexander didn’t respond. His mind was already elsewhere as they approached Rain, who was seated with William and Sanya at a table tucked away from the main crowd.

William was on the phone, his expression sharp. The moment he hung up, he turned to him with urgency.

"We traced the burner phone’s signal," he said. "It’s coming from this venue."

Alexander’s expression darkened. There were countless powerful figures in attendance tonight, how were they supposed to pinpoint the owner of the phone?

"Burner phone?" Eric echoed, his brows furrowing. Then something clicked. "Wait... right, the evidence you sent me this morning, the burner phone..." He hesitated before continuing, "I don’t know how to say this, but I’ve seen that same phone before."

William’s patience thinned. "Where did you see it, Eric?" he urged, scanning the crowd.

Eric exhaled sharply. "Days ago, I ran into Carla in the hospital parking lot. She was on a call, holding that exact same phone. When I patted her shoulder, she got startled and dropped it."

Alexander’s entire body tensed. "Are you sure it was the same one?!" he demanded.

"Yeah, it was identical. Why? What-" Eric’s voice trailed off as realization dawned on him. He turned to look at Carla, who was still chatting with Sebastian, completely unaware of the conversation happening across the hall. "Are you saying Carla is the-"

"Could be the mastermind behind all of this, Eric," William finished grimly.

"But that burner phone belonged to Michael, and there-" Eric started, struggling to process the revelation.

"There were only three of those damn burner phones ever manufactured," William cut in. "One was Michael’s. The other two belong to his associates. And one of them... is Carla."

Eric was speechless, while Alexander’s blood boiled at the lengths Carla was willing to go.

"That woman is insane!" Sanya burst out.

Rain, however, remained calm. "We still can’t take her down without solid proof," she pointed out. "We need more than just suspicion."

William nodded. "We’ll get it. But now we know where to look."

Alexander clenched his jaw, his fury barely restrained. "When we have enough evidence, Carla won’t see it coming."

"This is frustrating..." Sanya muttered, her voice laced with irritation.

Rain remained silent, deep in thought. William had informed them that Rico wouldn’t talk yet but he had also assured them that the night wouldn’t end without breaking him.

Her gaze drifted toward Carla. Their eyes met, and Rain saw the confidence in the other woman’s expression. Carla knew she was untouchable or at least she thought she was. With the backing of the Cartier and Watson families, she had every reason to believe she was above consequences.

"GIS is compromised. Her father must know about this," Eric suddenly said, his tone sharp with realization.

Rain turned back to him as he continued, "I know Uncle Arlan well. He’s always valued justice, even when it meant going against his own family. But-"

"But what?" Sanya pressed, narrowing her eyes.

Eric let out a heavy sigh. "Carla is his only daughter. He and Aunt Summer already lost her twin, and I heard they were devastated. I... I don’t know if Uncle Arlan could bear losing another daughter now, especially with Aunt Summer in a coma. His world is already falling apart. If Carla ends up in prison... I just don’t know what he’ll do."

A heavy silence settled over them.

Rain exhaled slowly, her mind turning. Arlan Cartier was a man of integrity, but when it came to family... everyone had their limits and nothing was certain.

Tonight, Rain vowed not to let her guard down, especially against Carla. She knew the woman was scheming, likely plotting her next move to get closer to Alexander.

No matter what Carla had planned, Rain was ready.

*****

Carla was growing impatient, her men hadn’t found an opening to execute the plan. But then, fortune smiled upon her when Judge Lane pulled Alexander away to join a group of men for drinks.

This was the perfect opportunity. She discreetly signaled the waiters.

One of them immediately approached with a tray, offering Alexander a drink. Another carefully handed it to him. The moment Alexander finished it, a staged commotion erupted, a sudden clash that caused part of the drink to spill onto his suit.

"I’m sorry, sir," the waiter apologized.

Right then, Alexander quickly excused himself from the other guests and strode toward the restroom.

That was Carla’s cue. Without hesitation, she slipped away from the main hall, heading toward the room where she would wait for her men to bring Alexander to her. Her men would take care of what happened next.

Carla’s heels clicked against the marble floor as she made her way down the hallway, her heart racing with anticipation that she even hummed silently.

Tonight was supposed to be perfect. Every detail had been meticulously planned. Even the CCTV footage had been altered to work in her favor. There might be some loopholes, but that didn’t matter... what mattered was that she and Alexander would end up in bed together, with reporters and cameras providing the perfect intervention.

Immediately, Carla changed her gown into a nightdress without anything beneath it. She even put on the same perfume Rain was using. It was annoying as hell, but she would endure it for the night.

"Let’s see if you can still smile after tonight," she grunted with a satisfying smirk as she started imagining the devastating look on Rain once she found out she and Alexander were in the same room.

Alexander would be here soon, drugged just enough to weaken his resistance, and by morning, he would have no choice but to acknowledge what she wanted the world to believe. That they had spent the night together.

She smirked, adjusting the straps of her dress as she stepped into the lavishly prepared suite. A bottle of expensive wine sat on the table, two glasses beside it. The bed was perfectly made, and the ambiance carefully curated to set the scene. Everything was falling into place.

She couldn’t wait to spend the night with Alexander and finally have him, to be one with him in body, to make love to the man she had long loved and wanted.

"Ah, right," she murmured excitedly, adjusting the lighting to a dim glow, just perfect enough for Alexander to believe he was with Rain.

Her face soured at the thought. The idea of him thinking about his wife while being with her was infuriating, but for now, it would have to do. As long as she could share a bed with him, she could tolerate it.

Minutes felt like hours as she paced the room, her fingers drumming against her arms impatiently. Where were they? Her men should have been here by now.

Finally, the door creaked open, and two of her most trusted men stumbled in, dragging a semi-conscious figure between them. Carla’s breath hitched as she stepped forward, the thrill of victory surging through her veins.

She had a wide smile on her face as she instructed, "Good job, boys. Bring him to the bed this instant and then leave."

But as the figure groaned and lifted his head slightly, her stomach twisted. Something was wrong.