The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress

Johnathon POV

I slide out of her panting and groaning. Charlotte looks over her shoulder and smiles wickedly, leaning down to pull up her panties, shimmying so that her dress slides back down over her hips. I'm out of breath, leaning back against the railing, while she giggles and flips her hair over her shoulder.

"See," she says triumphantly as I catch my breath, gesturing to the garden below us, the staff thankfully nowhere to be seen as we continue to stand on the balcony, my hand reaching down to put my member back inside my pants and do up the zipper "this is why we can't take the old man back in," she tells me smugly "otherwise we wouldn't be able to do stuff like this."

I say nothing, remembering the lost look on John's face and the guilt I had felt when Charlotte had flat-out refused to help him. She straightens her dress and turns to me with a brilliant smile. "I have this feeling that I'm' going to be pregnant this month" she trills as I stare at her "I just know it's going to work," she says smugly.

"It doesn't usually happen the first month" I warn her "All the books say..."

"Who cares what the books say" she interrupts fiercely "I know I'm going to get pregnant" she reiterates.

She could believe anything she wanted. It was a day or so before she could test and we would know for sure. "I got the invitation to go to the Grants party. Enjoy this chapter for free and stay updated with the latest version on Job(nib.co)m. Don't miss out, visit it now. They're going to declare who is officially the CEO of the company" Charlotte mused, leaning over the railing and sighing "I bet it's lan" she said wistfully as I scowled "he was always the smart one and the cute one" she added.

"Why would you even want to go? He humiliated you when he turned you down for a date and at your engagement party, both he and his brother made fun of you" I said incredulously.

She looked at me as though I was mad. "It's the Grants," she said slowly as though explaining to a dumb child "You don't turn down an invitation to the most powerful family in the country. You would have to be stupid to. They would take it as a slight. Besides I heard a rumor" she added excitedly as I frowned at her.

"What kind of rumor?" I asked impatiently.

It was probably something inconsequential such as who was dressing them, I thought dismissively. Charlotte always liked to know about designers and such nonsense.

She clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling. "I heard that Mr Grant is going to introduce his daughter to everyone and finally show her face in public. Can you imagine?" she said in a hushed voice "All these years she's kept herself out of the limelight on purpose and now she's going to step out so that we can know who she is, while her brothers are there as well. I imagine she's probably been overseas" she gushed "which would explain why nobody has any idea who she is."

"Or she just likes to keep to herself," I said drily.

"Do you think it will be easy for me to befriend her?" Charlotte continued, her voice going shrill "If I can get friendly with the Grants, I can practically use their name to get my hands on anything I want. The power their name holds" she crowed, continuing to get even more excited "It's so thrilling" she finished.

I rolled my eyes "Charlotte she's probably really shy if she's kept herself out of the limelight. You're assuming she's like all the rest of the wealthy women. You might want to dial it down a notch" I informed her.

Charlotte pouted "I just know she's going to be a glamourous model," she said tetchily, staring out into the garden "or somebody famous that we would never have guessed was a Grant."

"Do you think lan is going to let you near his sister?" I drawled, wanting her to face reality.

She shot me a scathing look "I doubt that whoever this woman is, is going to let her life be dictated to by her brother" she rolled her eyes "I mean, she's about my age" she added grimacing "so I doubt he has any say whatsoever in who she speaks to or becomes friends with."

She was staring intently at the grounds now. "Are you waiting for someone?" I asked and she turned her head, looking slightly frazzled. "No," she said quickly.

"Why are you focussing on the grounds so much then?" I asked, and she turned and walked back into the bedroom, her heels clacking.

"I was just thinking," she said dismissively.

I wasn't certain that was the case, but then what did I have to be suspicious of? Something about Charlotte seemed off somehow. I couldn't put my finger on it. She was eager to go out all the time, even with her grandfather in the hospital. She showed no remorse or guilt over her actions and while I understood she enjoyed shopping, she was going out to the point of what I would deem excessive. I had even managed to make it back to work on several occasions.

"Is something going on Charlotte? Something you're not telling me?" I asked pointedly.

Her cheeks flushed. "No" she bit out "Okay I'm stressed about this whole pregnancy thing."

That could be it. Her eye was twitching slightly.

"Charlotte, are you ready to go shopping" Karen's voice sounded from the stairs.

Charlotte's eyes began to gleam. "Hang on Charlotte," I said quickly "I'll come with you."

"No," she said hastily as I glanced at her incredulously "You don't need to come" she quickly amended "Mother and I were going to go shopping for um girl stuff," she said, blushing.

Girl stuff? Now I was even more suspicious. Charlotte ducked her head and then grabbed her handbag. "I don't mind waiting outside the store" I began.

"We're going lingerie shopping and I don't want you to see what I buy," she said frantically as I paused mid-step "It's a surprise" she pleaded "You have to stay here."

"Oh" I was slightly disappointed "I guess I'll stay then," I said lamely.

She nodded looking pleased "Don't wait up for me and um, I might be a while" she explained breathily.

I had gotten used to her being gone hours at a time. I glanced at the clock. "Well, what about having dinner together" I suggested eagerly.

"I'm probably going to skip dinner, don't want to put weight on" she excused herself "You can order yourself takeout or get the cook to make you something" she sang, whirling around and practically rushing out of the room. I stared at the empty doorway, feeling thoroughly put out. I could hear her and Karen's voices slowly fading away and then heard the front door open and close.

I felt used. I slowly sat on the bed. The room was a mess, with scattered clothes everywhere. It reeked of Charlotte's dreadful perfumes. Makeup littered the floor and stained the wooden floor. There was no respect for her room or even me. I rubbed my forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache. I kicked out furiously with my leg, feeling angered, and accidentally kicked it into something hidden under the bed.

"Ouch," I groused.

What was under there? I knelt down and reached tentatively under the bed, grabbing a small metal box and pulling it out from underneath the bed.

It wasn't locked. No doubt Charlotte didn't see the need. It's not as though I went looking under the bed often. I pulled the lid open, curious to see what this box contained. I sucked in a breath. It wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, but it was enough to raise suspicions. A small empty pill canister. "Adderall" I murmured.

Why would Charlotte have something like this in our room? Why was the pill container empty? Why was it hidden from seeing eyes? I placed it back in the box, suspicions lurking and my mouth going dry. This wasn't innocent. It wasn't something that had fallen under the bed. Charlotte didn't have ADHD or any other medical condition that would require the use of this drug.

There was no name on the label. It was blank. How had Charlotte gotten her hands on the drug without a prescription? I swallowed hard. I hastily closed the lid to the box and then placed it carefully back under the bed, questions running in my mind. Did I confront Charlotte about what I had found or did I keep quiet? If she had done something, something illegal, would I be an accomplice if I didn't approach her about it?

I closed my eyes. Was this what Charlotte had been keeping secret or was there more? Did she have a pill problem? Could she be taking these pills? Is that why she was constantly going shopping? But she seemed normal for the most part. What did an addict act like?

Damnit. I couldn't confront her without letting her know I had snooped and found the box. I scowled. The notion that Charlotte might not have been the one the pills were intended for, never crossed my mind, and in retrospect that showed just how naive and foolish I was when it came to my wife and the belief I had in her and the refusal to believe she was capable of any wrongdoing that would harm another living person, especially one that was of her own flesh and blood. How stupid can one person possibly be, or how much can they be blind to another's faults before they are forced to see what is right in front of their eyes and the inevitable conclusion is one that is both chilling and frightening to admit, to yourself. When would I learn that somebody's character could hide underneath a beautiful mask and fool those around them into believing they were anything but the monster that was lurking underneath it? I would find out but by then would it be too late?