The Billionaire's Temptation: Love, Family and Revenge-Chapter 72: The news

Jane’s hands trembled as she stared down at the photograph in her hands. Her breath caught in her throat. On one of the pictures, she was clearly seen hitting Elena in the stomach. Her expression was cold and angry, her hand frozen mid-swing. Another picture showed her slipping out through a doorway, glancing over her shoulder, her face fully visible in the light. There was no denying it—she was the one in the photo.

She quickly covered her mouth, trying to stifle the gasp of horror that escaped her lips. Tears welled up in her eyes as panic set in. With shaky hands, she gathered the photos and hurriedly stuffed them back into her bag, as if hiding them could erase what had happened.

Her voice was barely a whisper as she slid her chair closer to the table. "How... how did you get these?"

Daniel leaned in with a sly smile and casually placed his hand under her chin, lifting her face toward him. "So, baby girl," he said coldly, "do you now believe I don’t speak empty words? I come with facts and solid evidence."

Jane jerked her chin away from his grip, disgusted. Her skin crawled from his touch. But more than anything, she felt trapped. Completely and utterly trapped. Her fingers clenched the edge of her seat, and her pulse pounded in her ears.

Daniel leaned back slightly, folding his arms with amusement written all over his face. "But really, how could you be so foolish?" he asked with a mocking laugh. "You didn’t think about the CCTV cameras? You didn’t think anyone might be watching?"

He shook his head in disbelief, then continued, "You can’t imagine how much money I had to spend to get those. I tried to convince the guards to delete the footage. But no... they said their boss wouldn’t allow it, and they’d lose their jobs if they did."

He took a long breath, then smiled again—this time with a twisted sense of pride. "But I found a way. I paid more, a lot more, and finally got them to blur the images in the official copies. The videos that are left now? They don’t show much. You should actually be thankful to me for that. Really, Jane, you should be kissing my feet, not acting rude and stupid."

With a smug grin, he picked up his wine glass from the table. He gently clinked it against Jane’s untouched glass and took a long sip, savoring the moment.

"So," he said slowly, "where were we? I hope you understand everything now. And I trust you’ll be a good girl for me... right?"

Jane sat frozen. Her heart was pounding, and her body felt cold. She couldn’t speak. All the fear she had buried deep inside now rushed to the surface. How could she have been so careless? How had she forgotten about the security cameras?

She had two options—agree to Daniel’s demands or go up against Ford and face complete destruction.

Finally, she raised her head, forcing a weak smile onto her lips. "I definitely won’t fail you," she said softly, her voice steady but filled with hidden cunning.

Inside, her mind was racing. She had no intention of going down without a plan but at that moment she had to just agree with him.

"That’s my baby girl. I knew you would come around," he said with a confident grin. "Don’t worry. Once I’m done with the Almighty Ford, you can have whatever’s left of him."

He sounded calm, almost proud of himself, as if everything was going exactly as he had planned. Then he added casually, "You also don’t need to worry about Elena. She won’t be remembering much. I took care of that," he said with a smile that made Jane uneasy.

Jane’s eyes narrowed in confusion. She couldn’t ignore the strange feeling that washed over her. "Did you do something to Elena?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

He shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Not much. Just gave her some drugs. Nothing serious. It’ll mess with her memory for a while. When she wakes up, she won’t remember most of what happened. That gives you more time to do your job."

He adjusted the cuffs of his suit and stood up from his chair, clearly preparing to leave. "I’ve helped you in a big way. So now, I expect you to do your job perfectly."

Jane’s heart pounded as she processed his words. She stared at him in disbelief. "Wow, you drugged her. But I seriously doubt you did that for me," she blurted out, unable to keep quiet any longer.

He didn’t look fazed at all. Picking up his briefcase, he walked over to where she sat. Leaning in close, he lowered his voice, his tone threatening. "I don’t need your opinions or your thoughts about what I do. Just remember this—when you look at yourself in that picture, know that your time is ticking."

His cold gaze held hers for a moment. "Right now, all you have are words. No evidence. So next time, Miss Jane, I’ll be watching you."

With a laugh filled with mockery, he walked out of the restaurant, leaving Jane alone with her thoughts and rising anger.

Her hands were clenched into fists, her nails digging into the skin of her palms. Her whole body trembled, not with fear—but with rage. She had never felt so helpless and furious at the same time.

"I will get evidence," she muttered under her breath. Her voice was low but filled with determination.

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her phone. She didn’t have all the answers yet, but she knew someone who might—her mother. If anyone could help her find a way to expose this man, it was her.

Without wasting another second, Jane dialed the number. The time to act had come. She would not let him get away with this.

Jane’s hands trembled slightly as she dialed her mother’s number. Her heart was racing, and her mind was full of fear and frustration. She couldn’t wait for the call to connect. There was so much to say—too much happening too fast. She needed her mother’s help.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Mrs. Johnson sat comfortably with her legs crossed, smiling as she watched television. She was completely relaxed, chewing on some popcorn while enjoying a heated discussion airing on a popular gossip show.

On the screen, bold letters flashed across the bottom: "Elena Johnson the gold digger should not be with our handsome and kind billionaire Ford Lugard." The statement sparked a lively debate between two men on the show. One of them strongly agreed with the claim, arguing that Elena was only after Ford’s money, while the other man defended Elena, saying people were being too harsh and judgmental.

Mrs. Johnson chuckled to herself, clearly entertained by the debate. Her eyes stayed glued to the screen as images began to play. There was a video of Elena being carried into a hospital—looking pale and unconscious. Another clip followed, showing a blurry photo of Elena kissing an unknown man. The TV hosts reacted with shock, their voices filled with dramatic flair. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Elena never stops surprising me," Mrs. Johnson laughed, clearly enjoying every moment of the scandal. She tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth. "Oh yes, that’s what you get for making my daughter worry," she said to herself with satisfaction.

Still engrossed in the show, she was loudly commenting on the drama when her phone suddenly began to ring. The sound made her jump a little. She glanced at the screen it was her daughter, Jane. The news had completely distracted her, and she had forgotten to check in on Jane after sending her to confront the mysterious man who knew about their secrets.

Brushing the popcorn from her hands, Mrs. Johnson quickly sat upright, her relaxed posture shifting into one of concern. She answered the call at once.

"Oh, my baby girl! How did it go?" she asked, trying to sound calm, though there was a touch of worry in her voice as if she’d been waiting much longer than she actually had.

"Hello Mom, I need your help," Jane said quickly, her voice shaky with fear. "He has evidence."

Mrs. Johnson’s cheerful mood vanished immediately. Her tone became sharp. "How can you be so forgetful not to check for cameras?" she scolded. "I told you always careful!"

Jane said nothing, too overwhelmed to argue. Sighing deeply, Mrs. Johnson softened a little.

"Just come back home," she said, trying to stay composed. "We’ll figure something out. Don’t panic. We’ve gotten through worse before, if not we won’t be where we are today".

As much as she was upset by the reckless steps Jane had taken, it hurt her even more that Jane had kept it all from her. It surprised her that her Jane could go to such dangerous lengths for a man, and not say a word to her, But no matter how upset she felt, Jane was still her daughter. She was going to support her all the way, no matter what.

Trying to lighten the mood, she let out a soft laugh and said into the phone, "You won’t believe who I’m seeing on the news being insulted!, am so curious to see the look on Fords face." she laughed.

"I don’t understand," Jane responded, sounding both frustrated and confused.

"Just come home. We have a lot to talk about and a few plans to make," Mrs. Johnson said, chuckling as she ended the call.

Jane stared at her phone screen, puzzled by her mother’s cryptic words. Who was being insulted on the news? Her curiosity quickly overpowered her fear. She grabbed her bag from the table and rushed out of the restaurant, her heels clicking against the floor as she hurried outside. She knew something big had just happened and it concerned Ford.