THE COLD CEO UNKNOWN HEIR

Piper's POV

The sound of clinking champagne glasses echoed through the grand ballroom, mixing with the subtle jazz music humming in the background. Glittering chandeliers sparkled overhead, casting soft golden light on perfectly polished floors and people dressed in designer tuxedos and dresses worth more than my monthly allowance and I stood there, like a mannequin in a glass case-beautiful, untouchable, and completely hollow inside.

Everyone looked at me like I had it all..... Ethan Miller's wife, the queen of this castle but what they didn't know was that my crown was made of thorns and my throne, cold marble.

I adjusted the thin strap of my silver dress, the sequins scratching against my skin. I hated this dress. Ethan picked it out, he said it made me look "presentable." That was the word he used for me these days. Presentable, like a vase or an antique or something expensive, dusted occasionally, and placed on display when needed.

A waiter passed by with a tray of flutes. I grabbed one and downed the champagne in two swallows. It was not elegant, not proper but I didn't care anymore.

I scanned the room looking for Ethan. He was somewhere, mingling with the elite, flashing that polite, cold smile he reserved for the public. He wore it well-the mask of the perfect billionaire but I knew better. I knew what lay beneath....... A heart frozen by betrayal and a mind so consumed with control that it strangled everything in its reach-including me.

I turned toward the hallway, suddenly needing air more than anything. My heels clicked on the marble as I walked, each step echoing my resentment. I wasn't even supposed to be here tonight. Ethan only invited me because it would have looked bad if I didn't show and not because he wanted me here.

As I passed by a group of guests standing near the bar, their conversation reached my ears-soft, hushed, but enough.

"Isn't that her? Ethan Miller's wife?" The first lady said, her voice barely in a whisper

"She doesn't look happy... not that I blame her. I heard Selena Hart is back in town." The second lady said.

"Selena? His ex? You're kidding!"

"No. Apparently, he made her head of PR last week. It was a bold move, right? Especially with his wife still around."

I stopped breathing.

Selena Hart? She is back and working with Ethan?

My heart slammed against my ribcage as I turned away quickly, fingers tightening around my empty champagne glass. I needed answers and I needed Ethan.

I found him laughing-actually laughing-with two board members by the open bar, his back straight and posture easy. His eyes flicked to me as I approached, but his smile didn't falter. That cold bastard. I stopped inches from him, ignoring the looks from the people around us.

"Can we talk?" I asked tightly.

He gave me a once-over. "Now?"

"Yes, now."

He gave a dismissive nod to the board members and followed me into one of the side lounges. As soon as the door clicked shut behind us, I spun to face him.

"Selena?" I asked.

He didn't even flinch. "Yes, what about her?"

"I heard that she is back and you hired her and made her as the head of PR? Are you serious, Ethan?"

He exhaled slowly, like I was a child throwing a tantrum. "It's business, Piper. She's good at what she does."

I stared at him, mouth dry. "You hired your ex-girlfriend-the woman who broke you- Without even telling me."

His eyes narrowed. "It's not your company, It's mine and I don't need to run hiring decisions past you."

My breath caught in my throat. "Right," I whispered. "Of course, silly me. I'm just the wife, the mannequin you keep in the background."

He looked away, jaw tightening. "You're being emotional."

"Damn right, I'm emotional!" I snapped. "You bring back the woman who ruined you, your family and is trying to run us-and expect me to just smile and wave?"

He gave a humorless chuckle. "There is no us, Piper. There never was."

I felt like the ground shifted beneath me. The words hit harder than a slap. My throat ached, but I refused to cry, not here and not in front of him.

"I'm done," I whispered. "I'm done pretending. Done fighting for scraps of your attention."

He didn't stop me when I walked out, he didn't call my name, he didn't follow.

He just let me go.

***********************

A week passed. An entire week without a word from Ethan. Not a text, not a call.......Nothing.

I moved like a ghost in that cold, glass house we called home. I ate in silence, I slept alone, I couldn't even bring myself to cry anymore. What was the point? Tears hadn't moved him in three years. Why would they start now?

But tonight... tonight I was done playing the fool.

I dressed simply-no makeup, no heels. Just a black blouse, fitted jeans, and my dignity.

I was going to his office.

I didn't call ahead. I didn't text. I was just going to walk in like I used to back when I thought love was enough to bridge the space between us.

The receptionist blinked when she saw me but said nothing as I passed her desk. I knew the layout like the back of my hand. I used to bring him lunch here and would wait hours just to ride home with him.

Now I was here for something else.

His office door was slightly ajar, and as I approached, I heard voices. It was Low.

It was a woman's soft laugh.

My stomach twisted.

"...You shouldn't tease me like that," Ethan's voice murmured.

"I missed you," Selena's voice purred back. "I hated every second we were apart."

I froze. My fingers curled into fists as heat rose in my chest. My feet moved before my brain did. I pushed the door open. They were close-too close. Selena was perched on his desk, legs crossed, her hand resting on his chest like she belonged there.

Ethan looked up slowly, his face unreadable.

Selena smirked.

"Piper," Ethan said, tone flat. "You should've knocked."

I stepped inside, heart thundering. "I shouldn't have had to."

He moved away from her slowly, like nothing was wrong, Like I was the one intruding.

"This isn't what it looks like," he said.

"Really?" I asked, voice trembling. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks a hell of a lot like my husband is about to cheat on me with his ex."

Selena laughed softly. "Oh, honey. You still think he's your husband?"

Ethan turned to her. "Selena, don't-" Ethan walked towards me and grabbed me by the hand. His grip firm.

"You need to leave," he said with a cold voice. Before I could respond, he dragged me and pushed me out of the office as he slammed the door on my face.

I stood there surprised at what had happened.

Piper's POV

The slam of the door echoed in my ears like a gunshot. My hands trembled at my sides, the phantom imprint of his grip still burning into my skin. I stood in the hallway, numb, staring at the closed door as if it might open again and everything would reverse-the betrayal, the humiliation, the cold look in his eyes.

But it didn't.....nothing happened.

I turned slowly, one hand brushing the wall for balance. The marble floors of Ethan's empire gleamed beneath the sterile lights, mocking me with their perfection. Everything in this building was crafted for control, power, and illusion. It was just like him.

Selena's laugh still rang in my ears.

I walked out of the building in a haze, not stopping at the elevator but taking the stairs down all fifteen floors and each step was a descent into reality, into the kind of pain you don't cry about-you survive it.

I came out of the company and the city air hit me like a slap, cold and damp, but at least it was real.

I didn't go home.

I wandered the streets, wrapping my arms tightly around myself as if I could hold the pieces of me together. I passed people on their phones, couples laughing, children begging for ice cream-and I hated them all for a moment, for their simplicity and their happiness, their freedom.

I ended up in Central Park, sitting on a bench by the lake. The skyline shimmered above the water like a mirage, and I stared at it, feeling smaller than I ever had before.

How had I become this woman?

The kind who accepted silence as love, who stayed even after the affection ran dry, who clung to a marriage just because divorce felt like failure. I used to be someone and I used to matter.

Now I was just Ethan Miller's wife-his soon-to-be-ex, maybe already replaced.

My phone buzzed. I snatched it up with desperate hope in my chest, praying maybe, just maybe- but when I looked at it as an Unknown Number.

I hesitated, then answered. "Hello?"

It was nothing but silence.

"Who is this?" I asked again.

A low chuckle came through the line. It sounded like a male, it was rough. "Poor little Piper. Still pretending you're the queen when you've already lost the crown."

My blood ran cold. "Who the hell is this?"

Click........... The line went dead.

I stared at my phone, dread curling in my gut. That voice-it wasn't Ethan's but it knew me, knew something about me and it doesn't sound like someone is pulling a prank.

I stood, scanning the trees and the darkness, and it was nothing but rustling leaves and city sounds. I was alone... or so I hoped.

I left the park quickly, heart pounding. It was just a call. A weird one, yes but maybe a sick joke. One more thing to pile onto this hellish week.

By the time I got home, the house felt even colder than usual. Ethan's things were still there-his coats by the door, his cufflinks in the tray by the stairs, his presence haunting every corner-but he wasn't here.......he rarely was here.

I showered and slipped into a sweatshirt and leggings, curling up on the couch with a glass of wine and the TV on mute. I didn't need noise-I just needed distraction.

Just then, another buzz came through my phone. I checked it, and it was another--Unknown Number.

I stared at it, my breath catching. This time, I let it go to voicemail. Then a notification popped up seconds later---One new voice message.

With shaking hands, I pressed play.

"You really should watch your back, Piper."

My hand flew to my mouth. This wasn't just about Ethan. This was personal. I dialed Ethan's number immediately, panic clawing its way up my throat and it went straight to voicemail.

Of course it did. I didn't know what I had expected, for him to swoop in like the husband he pretended to be in public? To comfort me, protect me?

No...... That version of Ethan was long gone or it never even existed at all.

I dropped my phone on the table and stood abruptly. I needed to clear my head. I needed answers and maybe I needed protection, because whatever this was, it was getting out of hand.

********************************

The next morning, I went to see someone I hadn't spoken to in years.

Cameron Rhodes.

He used to be Ethan's head of security before he quit-or was fired, depending on who you asked-but he was loyal to me once, and if there was anyone who might still give a damn about my safety, it was him.

When he opened the door to his small, cluttered office on the Lower East Side, he blinked in surprise. "Piper?"

"Hi, Cam," I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt. "I need your help."

His expression darkened. "What happened?"

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me.

An hour later, I walked out of Cameron's office with a burner phone, a voice recorder, and one truth I didn't want but couldn't ignore.

"She didn't just come back for a job," Cam said. "She came back with something planned."

"What kind of plan?" I asked

He shook his head. "Not sure yet but whatever it is-she might have gotten Ethan by the throat."

I left with more questions than answers, but at least now I had a direction. A thread to pull. If Selena was back to playing power games, I needed to know what hand she was holding.

That night, I returned to Ethan's office building-but I didn't go through the front. Cameron had taught me well, once. I used the underground parking level, slipped in with a cleaning crew, and took the back elevator to the executive floor.

His office was dark. I checked my watch-he was supposed to be in a dinner meeting uptown-Perfect.

I crept in, heart racing, and closed the door softly behind me.

The desk was exactly as I remembered it-neat, organized, obsessive. I moved quickly, checking drawers, folders, and his laptop. Cameron had given me a flash drive and I plugged it in.

I didn't expect much-but what I found made my blood run cold.

Emails, dozens of them. It was between Ethan and someone named C.H."

"The transfer is ready and she suspects nothing."

"Make sure Piper doesn't find out. If she does, this all falls apart."

"Selena is handling it. You just keep your wife in line."

I stepped back from the screen, stomach lurching. What the hell was this? Who was "C.H."? What were they planning? What was Selena handling?

I grabbed the flash drive and turned to leave-but I stopped cold in my tracks. I heard Ethan's voice in the hallway.

Piper's POV

My heart seized in my chest as Ethan's voice echoed faintly from the hallway.

No, shit, he wasn't supposed to be here. He had a dinner meeting, in the up part of town and Cameron confirmed it. I double-checked it myself.

So why-Why was he here?

I froze, standing in the middle of his office like a thief caught red-handed. The only sound was my own ragged breathing, the quiet hum of the laptop still open behind me, and the unmistakable cadence of Ethan Miller's voice growing closer.

I had seconds or even maybe less.

I yanked the flash drive free, shoved it into my pocket, and scanned the office in a blur of panic. There was no time to backtrack and no way I'd make it down the executive elevator without crossing him in the hall, I had only one option.

The adjoining door leads to his private conference room. I bolted for it and slipped inside, closing the door gently but firmly behind me just as the main office door creaked open.

My back was pressed to the cool wood as I tried to steady my breathing. Through the thin walls, I could hear him.

"...I don't care how late it is, she's not picking up. Keep trying." His voice was sharp, irritated.

I inched away from the door and crouched low beneath the long conference table. My fingers trembled as I clutched the flash drive like it might vanish from my grasp.

"You said she was handled," Ethan snapped, his footsteps pacing the room. "So why is she sniffing around my schedule?"

He paused, then laughed-cold and joyless.

"Yeah. Let's just hope she's still dumb enough to believe I'm the victim in all this."

My chest constricted.

I shouldn't have come here. I needed to know, but hearing him like this, so unfiltered, so casually cruel, was like acid dripping into an old wound. What the hell was I even married to?

My phone buzzed softly in my pocket. I silenced it in a heartbeat, praying he hadn't heard.

Ethan kept talking, this time quieter. "If Piper finds out what I did, it could lead to a lot of troubles from the press."

My blood ran cold.

I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood. Whatever this was, it was bigger than I thought. No wonder Selena was back. No wonder Ethan had been pushing me out, gaslighting me, humiliating me.

Just then I heard the door and another voice spoke up-someone else had entered the office.

"You think she suspects anything?" It was Selena.

I had to stop myself from gasping aloud.

"My team saw her ...........She was crying in Central Park last night," Ethan said with a smirk in his tone. "She's unraveling, the more she panics, the easier it'll be to paint her as unstable."

"That's risky," Selena murmured. "What if she talks to someone who listens?"

"She won't. Piper's too proud to beg for help."

It was like listening to my own obituary.

I squeezed my eyes shut. My knees ached from crouching, my fingers numb around the flash drive, but I didn't move, I couldn't.

Selena scoffed. "You better hope you're right, Ethan. If she figures out who C.H. is, this whole thing implodes and it is including you."

"I've got it under control," he snapped.

No, you don't, I thought---"You have no idea who you married."

They moved toward the door again, and I strained to hear.

"Dinner?" Ethan asked casually.

"With you?" Selena replied, laughing. "Of course, my love." They pressed there lips together and kissed each other. Watching was as painful as it could get.

Then the office door slammed and silence returned like a vacuum.

I waited a full minute before crawling out from the door. My legs shook as I stood and every sound felt amplified-my heartbeat in my ears, the creak of the floorboards beneath me, the faint hum of city traffic outside.

I peered out through the small slit in the blinds. The hallway was empty, it was now or never.

I crept out of the conference room, slipped down the emergency staircase, and exited through the underground garage. My breath came out in short bursts, fogging in the chill night air as I leaned against a concrete pillar, shaking from the adrenaline crash.

I couldn't trust the police-not yet and not without solid proof than what was on this flash drive and I sure as hell couldn't confront Ethan. .........Not alone.

Cameron........... I needed to get this to Cameron.

I made my way back to the Lower East Side, every shadow on the street suddenly suspicious. I kept glancing behind me, expecting Ethan's car to pull up, or worse-expecting him to.

By the time I made it to Cameron's office, it was past midnight.

The building was dark.

I banged on the glass door. "Cam! It's me-open up!"

A shadow shifted inside. The door opened a crack. "Piper? Are you crazy? Do you know what time it is-"

"I found something." My voice cracked. "I heard Ethan. He is trying to get something done and Selena is helping him but he doesn't want me to know."

He didn't ask any more questions, he opened the door and let me in.

We plugged the flash drive into his secure laptop and the messages from the email appeared. It wasn't everything, but it was enough to tell me that he was onto something.

"You were right," I whispered, eyes glued to the screen. "Selena didn't come back because she needed a job, Ethan brought her back and she is here to take him back also."

Cam leaned back in his chair, exhaling sharply. "This is serious, Piper. If what you say is true, they could be watching you right now and listening, even."

I nodded. "That's why I need to find out who C.H. is. That name kept coming up. He's the one Ethan's sending the money to."

Cam typed quickly, running the initials through every connection he could think of.

Then he stopped.

A name blinked on the screen........Christopher Hale.

My stomach dropped.