I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father
Chapter 86: Silence Is Golden

Chapter 86: Silence Is Golden

Lyse arrived home, exhausted from the day’s events. As she stepped into the foyer, she saw Levi, who had just arrived himself. Their eyes met, a silent tension filling the air.

She started to walk past him then she hesitated, then turned to him. "Levi," she began, her voice barely a whisper. "Is it true? Are you responsible for what is happening to my father’s company?"

Levi looked at her, his expression grim. He was not surprised to discover that Jeff Chadwick had immediately run to his daughter, thinking that he would get a reprieve. Too bad.

"Your father’s corrupt practices have caught up with him, Lyse. He has been dealing with some shady characters, and substandard products. That has caused a lot of problems for users of the products, all of that has finally come back to bite him."

He tilted his head as he watched her face, "Does it bother you? That your father is suffering? After all that he did to you?"

Lyse was stunned. She knew that her father was not the most honest person but she had never imagined that he could be involved in something so sinister. "I... I don’t know what to say," she stammered.

"You don’t have to say anything," Levi replied. "I just want you to know that I am trying to protect you from the consequences of his actions, no one harms my wife and gets away with it."

Lyse had to glance away at the intensity in his eyes, she felt a surge of gratitude, knowing that she was cared for. "Thank you, Levi," she said sincerely. "For everything."

Levi hesitated, his gaze fixed on her. "Lyse, is there something you want to tell me?"

Lyse’s heart pounded in her chest as she looked up into his probing eyes. She wondered what he was referring to, could he know about the blackmailer, her husband. She had been considering telling him, but she was afraid of the consequences.

’Oh yeah Levi, i omitted to tell you about my husband who has suddenly come back into the picture and wants me to divorce you. Since you cheated on me with your hot model ex, surely you won’t be so mad right?’

She chuckled inwardly as she managed how enraged he was going to be if he found out. She remembered that she would have to speak to James so that he could do some investigating for her, he was the only one she trusted with something so sensitive."

"Lyse?" Levi called her name, seeing as she was lost in thought.

"There is nothing," she lied, her voice barely a whisper. "I just want to get through this marriage as civilly as possible, the sooner it ends, the better for so I can go back to my life."

Levi’s disappointment was palpable. He knew she was hiding something from him and had wished that she could confide in him, but he understood why she wouldn’t and he respected her decision. It also did not mean that he would not look into who had sent that bouquet and why she hid it from him.

"Alright," he said, his voice barely audible. "Whatever you say."

As Lyse left the room, Levi was left alone with his thoughts. He knew that she was keeping secrets from him, and it bothered him. But he also knew that he could not force her to open up. He could not be patient and wait for her to trust him either.

Too much was riding on their marriage being a success, he would have to be sure that Lyse was not in love with someone out there.

He chuckled sardonically. He had been worried that she might have lingering feelings for Brandon but it appeared that he had nothing to worry on that front. Lyse seemed over him, Brandon on the other hand looked miserable.

*

Ophelia paced the room, her mind racing. She could not shake the fear that gnawed at her. Lyse was a threat, a loose end that needed to be tied. "Edward," she began, her voice a low whisper, "we have to do something about Lyse."

Edward, seated in his armchair, regarded her with a mixture of concern and annoyance. "Ophelia, I have told you, we must be patient. Now is not the time to make any rash moves."

"But if she connects the dots, she will expose us," Ophelia insisted. "We could lose everything."

"How will she connect the dots?" Edward sighed. "And do you think that Levi is just going to stand by and watch his wife get harmed?"

Ophelia’s resolve wavered. She knew he was right. Levi was a formidable opponent, a man capable of great tenacity. "But what about Mother?" she asked. "She is a threat too."

Edward’s eyes narrowed. "Soon enough, Mother will be gone. Her health is failing. Once she is out of the picture, there will be no one to contest your claim to the inheritance."

Ophelia hesitated, her mind torn between paranoia and greed. Then her eyes narrowed as she stared at her husband. "Are you standing up for her because she is your daughter?" She tilted her head, daring him to deny what she had always suspected.

Edward scowled in irritation, his expression turned first thoughtful, then mocking. "Would that not mean then you, not me are the problem?" He asked cynically. "I am not the seedless one, am I?"

They held each other’s eyes then in the end, she relented. "Fine!" she said, her voice gritty and annoyed. "We will wait. But if she makes just one wrong move, she is done."

As Ophelia turned to leave the room, Edward called out to her. "Remember, Ophelia," he said, his voice stern, "silence is golden. Sometimes, the best course of action is to do nothing."

He stared at the door which Ophelia had slammed too hard and was transported years back. When he had been a very young man in love.

"Maeve, forgive me." He muttered softly, the words heavy with grief.