New beginning: Billionaire love story

and Matthew in for questioning, she was completely worn out.

Claire had been stuck in the police station for what felt like an eternity. She hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, and the thought of a shower felt like a distant dream. Her brain had been running on fumes for over 24 hours. Between finding Bruno's body and the police dragging her It didn't help that the cops kept circling back to the same questions. Claire sighed internally as the officer across from her asked once again, "So, Ms. Peterson, you're sure you didn't see anyone else around the scene?"

"For the fifth time," Claire said, keeping her voice steady, "no. It was just Matthew and me when we found the body."

The officer scribbled something on his notepad, but Claire knew it was all just a formality. They weren't getting anything new out of her, and they both knew it.

"And what about Adrian Saint Laurent?" the officer added, leaning forward. "You were with him the night of the car explosion. Anything you can tell us about that?"

Claire fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course, Adrian came up. He seemed to come up in every conversation now. "Nothing that I haven't already told you. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We don't know anything about the explosion, I don't know anything about it and I was heading inside to retrieve my phone."

The officer nodded slowly, jotting down another note. Claire could feel her patience fraying at the edges, but she kept her cool. It was all too much this whole situation was spiraling. She felt like she was juggling a dozen things at once, and any second now, she was going to drop them all.

Finally, after what felt like a marathon of the same questions over and over, the officer glanced at the clock. "Alright, Ms. Peterson, that'll be all for now."

Claire sighed, pushing her chair back and standing up. It was around 2 PM when she stepped out of the interrogation room, and the moment she left, she could feel the exhaustion crashing down on her like a wave. Her legs felt heavy as she headed to the waiting room, where Matthew was lounging on one of the uncomfortable chairs, his eyes glued to his phone.

"Matthew," Claire called softly, rubbing her temples.

He looked up immediately and stood, slipping his phone into his pocket. "How'd it go?"

Claire let out a long, tired breath. "I feel like shit."

Matthew chuckled, though it was clear he felt the same. "Same. They ask you the same questions a hundred times, too?"

"Yup," Claire nodded, leaning against the wall for support. "I swear if I have to explain Bruno's body one more time, I might scream."

"Bruno. What a name for a guy found in a trunk, right?" Matthew tried to lighten the mood, giving her a half-hearted grin.

Claire didn't have the energy to laugh, though she appreciated the effort. "Should we head home? I can't even think straight right now." But the second the words were out, Claire's mind started racing again. Should she go see Adrian? Should she get back to work? Rest seemed like the last thing she could afford right now.

Matthew noticed her hesitation. "Hey, let's just go home. You need to rest. You look like you're about to collapse."

Claire pressed her hand to her forehead, groaning softly. "I don't know, Matthew. I feel like if I stop now, if I rest, we'll lose the momentum. The hacker's still out there. Eligos is still out there. If I sleep, I let them win."

Matthew's expression softened. "Claire, I get it. I do. But you can't do this on fumes. If you don't rest, you're gonna crash, and then you'll be useless. Have you even eaten? Or had a drink of water, for that matter?"

Claire sighed heavily, knowing he was right but hating every second of it. "No. I haven't."

"There's your answer," Matthew said, his tone gentle but firm. "Come on. I'll take you home. You need to recharge, or you're not gonna think clearly. Trust me."

Reluctantly, Claire nodded. "Fine. But I'm not making any promises about the 'resting' part."

Matthew smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they made their way out of the police station. "I'll take what I can get."

The ride home was quiet, the silence heavy but not uncomfortable. By the time Matthew dropped Claire off at her penthouse, she felt like her body was running on autopilot. As she stepped out of the car, Matthew leaned out of the window. "Seriously, Claire. Rest. Just for tonight."noveldrama

Claire gave him a small, tired smile. "No promises."

"Figured," Matthew said with a chuckle, watching her head inside before driving off.

Inside her penthouse, Claire locked the door behind her and immediately made a beeline for the kitchen. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water, downing it like she hadn't seen water in days. It was

refreshing-maybe a little too el

refreshing. She'd really pushed herself too far this time. The cold liquid sent a chill down her spine, and for a moment, she felt something like clarity.

Next, she made her way to the bathroom, stripping off her clothes and stepping into the shower,

careful not to get her band-aids

soaked The cold water felt like, net

heaven, the tension in her muscles melting away as it rained down over her. For the first time in what felt like forever, she allowed herself to relax, even just a little.

Once she was done, Claire dried off and practically crawled into bed, not even bothering to put on proper pajamas. The second her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

Back at his apartment, Matthew kicked off his shoes, feeling just as drained as Claire had looked. The entire day had been a whirlwind, and all he wanted was a shower, some food, and maybe a solid twelve hours of sleep.

After showering and scarfing down

a sandwich, Matthew plopped down on his couch, pulling his laptop onto his lap. He knew he should probably follow his own advice and rest, but he couldn't help it. Claire was going through so much, and this was his way of helping her-by working through the night, looking for anything that might bring them

closer to figuring out who was

behind all of this.

As he opened his browser, something caught his eye. He blinked, squinting at the screen. Cindy?

He didn't know her personally, but he remembered the stories. Cindy is famous model in America until Alexander Harris had single-handedly ruined her career over some incident involving Claire. But now, here she was, plastered all over high-end fashion websites, modeling for some major brands.

Matthew frowned, scratching his head. "Guess she's back," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

He couldn't care less about Cindy, though. He shrugged it off and refocused, diving into his usual digital digging, searching for any clues to help Claire. If there was anything useful out there-anything that could give them an edge against this hacker, he was determined to find it.

But even as he worked, his mind kept drifting back to Claire. She was strong, sure, but Matthew knew even the toughest people had their limits. And right now, Claire was pushing hers.

"Just hang in there, Claire," he mumbled to himself as his fingers danced across the keyboard. "We'll get through this."