The Billionaire's Betrayal

ALICE

“Gideon? Say something,” I said as softly as I could because of the kids currently sitting at the dining table.

He hadn’t said a word since looking at the Google Alert. The only thing telling me that he was furious was the fisting of his hands and the tightening of his jaw.

If only he would say something, then I could better understand his temperament and act accordingly, but he chose to remain silent.

“This is a load of hogwash!” Brenton snarled, his eyes flashing with menace.

“Mummy? What’s hogwash?” Abioye asked me.

“Kids, why don’t you all go and eat in the other dining hall?” Henry said.

The other dining hall was designed especially for children, and with the adults being so busy, Lizzy and Henry would often leave their kids with us, and they would eat in that dining hall.

And right now, we needed the kids out of the way so we could figure out what was going on.

The kids did not need to be given a direct order. They were young, but even they understood that things were not all right.

So without any arguments, they all picked up their plates—Abioye helping Jack and Lily—and left the hall.

Once the kids were safely out of earshot, Kieran shot up from his chair, his chest heaving with fury.

“What the fuck is this, Gideon?! Tell me who did this and I’ll skin that bastard alive.”

“It’s him, isn’t it? It’s that Dicklen Pierce, right? I’ll pierce his dick all right.” Brenton seethed beside him.

I swallowed hard at the intensity of their rage, sucking up the peace from the room and releasing nothing but anger and the need for vengeance.

And I couldn’t believe that I was getting affected, that I was getting angry.

But why wouldn’t I? Gideon was my husband, and somebody just accused him of embezzling money. He was the most honest businessman I knew, so how could anybody dare to do such a thing?

“Brenton, calm yourself. Kieran, sit down,” Gideon’s father ordered, his voice stern, not to be argued with. They both obliged, and I held my breath as I waited for Brian Maslow to speak.

“We as a family, as a business, know that this allegation is false. Somebody, possibly an enemy, has fed the media lies to ruin our reputation, and if we don’t take action immediately, then the enemy might just succeed.

“Right now we need to assess the damage and control it.

“Kieran, I want you to get in touch with security, and Brenton, call the lawyers, and from now on, everything that is going to be discussed is going to be confidential.

“I only trust a handful of people in the company, and no one else should know what’s going on.”

“No.” We all looked at Gideon whose eyes glittered with purpose.

“What do you mean?” Jenny asked.

“No,” he repeated. “Father, you do not need to worry. This is nothing but a spicy piece of news that’s going to blow over in a few days.

“Believe me, I have it all under control. I’ll fix it. I’ll make it go away. There is no way I would jeopardize the company’s reputation.”

“Uh, I hate to burst your bubble, little brother, but this doesn’t look like some spicy piece of gossip that’s going away anytime soon. This is an allegation on your character, on the image of the company.

“If people cannot trust Gideon Maslow, then there is no way they are going to want to do business with us. When there is no business, there is no company.

“This is not just about you, Gideon. This can be bigger than all of us,” Elizabeth argued.

“You don’t work for the company, so keep your opinions to yourself,” he snapped. Lizzy’s eyes widened in shock, and I wondered if this was the right time to intervene.

“Gideon!” His father warned. “I never want you speaking to your sister in this manner again.”

“Gideon, calm down. We will figure it out,” I told him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He jerked away and glared at me.

“There is no we in this situation, little dove. I have been running the company the longest, and I know exactly how to handle this kind of crap.

“Father, give me a few days to sort this out, and you’ll see there was nothing to worry about in the first place.”

“How many days do you want?” his father inquired.

“A week at the most,” he answered.

“Are you sure? You’re sure you can make this go away in a week?”

“I’m positive,” Gideon said.

Brian nodded. “Very well. Seven days. That’s all you’re going to get to make this situation go away.”

Gideon nodded. “Thank you—”

“But if you are unable to thwart these allegations within seven days, then we’re going to do things my way, is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Gideon said.

“Dad, you really think waiting a week is wise? These kinds of allegations spread like wildfire, and it can really cause damage to the company,” Kieran argued.

“You think I can’t handle this? Thousands of rumors have been spread about me to the world, but where are those rumors now?” Gideon challenged.

“Those rumors were about you being a man-whore and homophobic; they were not about you embezzling money and possibly being the cause of so many people going hungry at night.

“These rumors can turn the people against you, Gideon. You don’t have a week to fix this,” Kieran said.

“I asked for seven days as a margin, I can fix this in three days.”

The confidence in Gideon’s voice was so strong that I almost believed him. Almost. The logical part of me agreed with his siblings and knew that we would have to do a lot more than a press conference to get out of this.

“You better fix it in three days, or believe me, we won’t be able to fix it at all,” Brenton added.

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, brother.”

The acid in Gideon’s words could’ve burned through wood, and though I was not confident that these allegations were going away anytime soon, I knew I had to be confident in my husband’s abilities.

“I’m sure you can do it, Gideon,” I told him.

“Me too. You are a powerful businessman, and people love you. I’m sure they’ll believe you when you tell them these accusations are nothing but lies,” Jenny added.

Brenton snorted. “People are not delusional. And if someone is out to get him, then he or she will make sure that the people believe only what that person wants them to see.”

“You know what, I don’t have time to sit here and listen to such negative bullshit. I’m out of here,” Gideon announced before pushing back his chair and storming out of the dining hall, leaving us all staring after him.

“This is bad,” Henry stated.

“Exactly. If this continues, he can even go to jail,” Nico said. We all looked at him, only realizing that he was still sitting among us. “What? I’m not a kid, you only told the kids to go.”

“I hate to say this, but Nico might be right. This kind of press can attract the wrong kind of attention. We need to do something before this blows out of proportion,” Kieran agreed.

“Gideon has asked for a week; we have to give him that. After that, we’ll see what to do,” Brian told him.

“I—I’ll go and see how he’s holding up,” I said to everyone before striding out of the dining hall and up the stairs to my bedroom.

Gideon was standing in front of the mirror with an expression I’d never seen before on his face.

“Gideon…” I trailed off, not knowing what to do or say to comfort him.

“You don’t believe those things, do you, little bird?” he asked, his eyes finding mine through the mirror.

“What do you mean? What things?” I stepped inside the room and closed the door.

“Those allegations. You don’t think there is any truth to it, do you?” he asked.

“No, of course not!” I walked over to him, embracing him from the back. It still took me by surprise just how much taller Gideon was than me.

“You are the most honest businessman I know, and not because you’re my husband. Even before marrying me, you made me sign a contract.

“You always state your terms and never go against them. Those allegations do not hold a lick of truth.”

He sighed. “All this time, so many years…”

“Like you said, it’ll blow over. You have nothing to worry about. People know what kind of a person you are; they have been doing business with you for years, and I’m sure they don’t believe anything.”

“Did you—did you believe that I would go back on my word?”

What was he talking about? Where was he going with all this? After three years, why was he thinking about our contract?

“No. Not at all.” I gave him a warm squeeze.

“But I did. I went back on my word. I tore up that contract to keep you with me forever. And if you… if you’d tried to seek help from a lawyer, I would’ve made sure no one helped you. I never wanted you to leave.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean you embezzle money just so you can live a wealthy life,” I said, hoping he would listen to my words and believe them.

“I will end him, you know,” he said after a moment of silence.

My heart trembled at his dark words. I turned him around to face me, and the conviction in his eyes made me wish that he wouldn’t do something reckless and get himself in even more trouble.

“We don’t know who’s behind this. We have to be very careful right now. Once we find the culprit, I will help you in handing him over to the police,” I said.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him.

“You are going nowhere near him if I can help it, little dove. I need you by my side, and that’s where you’re going to be until the end of time.

“This is my problem, and I’m going to fix it, you do not need to worry your pretty little head over it.”

“But—” I never got a chance to finish because he placed a finger over my lips.

“No, Alice, I don’t want to hear a single argument from you. It’s my job to protect you and our kids, and that’s what I’m going to do. You just focus on your daily routine and make sure the kids don’t find out about this.”

“How can you expect me to go about my daily routine when the media is hounding you like this? And what makes you think the kids won’t know?

“The kids may be young, but they see and understand everything just like we do if not all the more. You can’t expect us to stay in a bubble while you fight the world on your own.

“The kids and I are with you; your whole family is with you, Gideon, don’t think you have to do this alone.”

Seriously, why did men always believe that they were the only ones who could fight?

This was the twenty-first century, and women were well aware of their power and how they could use it to help their loved ones, but my husband still chose to remain a caveman.

“Little dove, I’m the only one who can handle this because that’s how it’s always been. My brothers are young, and they have their own units of the company to handle.

“Father trusts me to handle everything, and I have to make sure that his trust in me doesn’t waver…”

“It’s not going to waver if you seek a little help. You have such a strong support system, and it’s foolish not to utilize it.”

His eyes hardened, and I realized I’d said something wrong.

“You think I’m foolish, little bird?” His voice softened to a deadly whisper.

I swallowed hard and shook my head. “N-no, that’s not, ah!” A shriek tore through my lips as Gideon held me tighter and bit the side of my neck.

“Perhaps I should show you just how foolish I am,” he said as he picked me up in his arms and deposited me on the bed before leaning down and kissing me until I was dizzy.

Just as he leaned forward to kiss me, I placed a hand on his chest to stop him, which, judging by the glare he gave me, was one thing he didn’t appreciate.

“Gideon, no. You—you can’t do this. You can’t just distract me when I know how worried you really are.”

“Distract you? I’m not trying to distract you,” he argued.

I rolled my eyes. “I know what you’re trying to do. Our four-year anniversary is almost upon us, and you think I don’t know you by now?

“I know when you’re trying to distract me from problems, and I’m telling you right now, mister, it is not going to work. I’m going to stand by you, and we’re going to fight this together.”

“Is that so, little peach?” He kissed my nose and gave me a warm smile.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“In that case, I better get to work and shoot down these allegations so that we can once again go about our lives without a care in the world.”

He twisted to lie down beside me, and I couldn’t help but think how this day just got ruined.

This was Gideon’s thirtieth birthday, it was supposed to be one of the most special days of his life, but this fake news ruined everything.

Where there was sunshine, I could see clouds of tribulation gathering, darkening the sky that seemed to have no end for me.

Gideon might be confident about fixing this situation, but something inside me—the part that usually showed its ugly face when things were about to take a turn for the worse—told me that this was just the beginning.

But you need to enjoy today. Despite the media bullshit, you need to celebrate because it’s your husband’s birthday. ~

My inner voice was right, today was Gideon’s big day, and he deserved to celebrate and be recognized for all that he had done, not only for the company but for this family as well.

“Come on, let’s go downstairs. It’s rude to keep the guests waiting like this,” I said, sitting up and straightening my dress.

Gideon sighed and got up with me. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be right down.” With a kiss to my cheek, he went inside the bathroom and closed the door.

Just as I made my way downstairs, Lily’s sharp cries had me halting at the foot of the staircase as my heart jumped to my throat.

Don’t worry, sweetie, Mummy’s coming.~