Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover

She'd been quietly keeping tabs on the case from the start. The word was that Claire's kidnappers were Jeffery's sworn enemies. They weren't after
money. Nope, this was a vendetta, and they gave Jeffery just a week to find her. If he failed, they'd kill her.
Jeffery scrambled, pulling every string he could, both on the right and wrong side of the law. Finally, they tracked Claire down to a remote cabin deep
in the mountains. With a lot of help, they managed to rescue her. Out of the seven kidnappers, six were shot dead on the spot, and one was left
barely hanging on.
But Claire's partner, Paul White, hadn't been so lucky. He'd been dead for a while, his head brutally severed with a sword—a truly horrific sight. The
one kidnapper who survived spilled the beans on what went down.

Turns out, Claire and Paul had been held in separate rooms next to each other. The kidnappers made Paul cook for them, knowing his background
as an actor, and even forced him to perform to keep them entertained. Then, these lowlifes turned their ugly intentions towards Claire.
Paul fought with everything he had, but they nearly beat him to death. Paul, known for his striking looks that even outshone many women, caught
their twisted interest too. They threatened him, claiming they'd spare Claire if he complied. Reluctantly, Paul agreed to their demands, enduring
everything to protect her.
But those monsters weren't satisfied. They pulled the same stunt with Claire, promising that Paul would be let go if she played along. In the end, both
thought that by enduring the worst, they could save each other. Sadly, that hope was in vain.
These ruthless thugs were just toying with them. They had orders to kill both. In a sick twist, they tied Claire under a bed in Paul's room and made her
watch as they murdered him. Paul's dying wish was simple: he wanted to make Claire a bowl of his special chicken noodle soup, her favorite. But
they wouldn't even allow him that small comfort.
Knowing his fate was sealed, Paul pleaded softly, "Please, when you kill me, do it quietly so she doesn't hear." A sword swiftly silenced him forever.
This very sword was a love token between him and Claire, the only thing they took when they ran away together. Tragically, it became the weapon of
his demise.
Claire was forced to watch, powerless, as Paul died right in front of her. Afterwards, they dumped Paul's body in the nearby woods. When the
rescuers finally arrived, seven of the kidnappers were dragging her out, her body rigid, and tears of blood in her eyes.
Their orders were to kill both, but when they saw Claire, they had other vile ideas. Just as they were about to act on them, the rescue team burst in.
Claire was saved, but Paul was gone. His body was found two days later, his head taken by wild animals. Claire personally took what was left of him
to be cremated.

The whole ordeal was kept under wraps. Ruby found out because the detective captain on the case was an old friend of her mentor, and she
overheard them talking about it during a night out. Her heart went out to Claire, once the shining star of Eldridge City. Yet, one mystery lingered: while
it was clear Jeffery's enemy orchestrated the kidnapping and murder, the true mastermind behind it all was never revealed by the media or anyone
else.