My CEO… She Paid Me to Be Her Husband for 1 Year — Then Our ‘Fake’ Marriage Turned Real
Chapter 4
Three months into the marriage, Daniel noticed something strange.
Victoria had stopped calling their arrangement “the contract.”
She simply called him “my husband.”
At first, Daniel didn’t think much of it.
Then he noticed other things.
She started leaving notes for him.
She remembered how he liked his coffee.
She attended Lily’s school recital.
She even learned the name of Lily’s favorite stuffed rabbit.
Daniel noticed.
He just didn’t mention it.
One Saturday, Lily had a soccer game.
Victoria had a board meeting scheduled at the same time.
Daniel assumed she wouldn’t come.
But halfway through the game, he saw her standing near the field.
Lily ran toward her afterward.
“You came!”
Victoria smiled.
“I promised.”
Daniel watched from a distance.
Something inside him shifted.
That evening, Victoria cooked dinner.
Badly.
Daniel tasted it.
“This is…”
“Terrible?”
“I was going to say memorable.”
She laughed.
Lily giggled.
The three of them sat around the table.
It felt normal.
Too normal.
Later, Daniel found Victoria in the kitchen.
“You’re getting better.”
“At cooking?”
“At being part of the family.”
She looked at him.
“Is that what we are?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
Victoria looked down.
“Neither do I.”
Silence.
Then she said:
“I’ve never had this.”
“What?”
“A home.”
Daniel didn’t know what to say.
So he simply stood beside her.
Victoria rested her head briefly against his shoulder.
Neither moved.
Then her phone rang.
The moment ended.
It was her security director.
“Ms. Morgan, we found another breach.”
Victoria’s face changed.
Daniel immediately understood.
“What’s wrong?”
She handed him the phone.
A photograph showed the company’s private server room.
Someone had been inside.
Victoria whispered:
“Someone is still trying to access my grandfather’s files.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does your uncle have access?”
“No.”
“Then who does?”
Victoria hesitated.
“Only three people.”
“Who?”
“Myself.”
“The CFO.”
“And our head of legal.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then one of them is involved.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
That night, they started investigating.
Daniel used his logistics background to trace access patterns.
The breaches weren’t random.
Someone was looking for something specific.
A file called Project Meridian.
Victoria had never heard of it.
Daniel searched the archives.
Nothing.
Then he found a reference hidden inside an old shipping report.
A warehouse number.
A date.
And a strange code.
He showed Victoria.
“What is this?”
She stared.
“I’ve never seen it.”
“Then we find out.”
The next day, they went to the warehouse.
It had been closed for years.
Inside, Daniel discovered an old locked office.
The key was hidden behind a panel.
Victoria opened the door.
Inside were boxes of documents.
Photographs.
Contracts.
And a handwritten journal belonging to her grandfather.
Victoria opened the first page.
Her face went pale.
Daniel looked over her shoulder.
The first sentence read:
If Richard ever learns what Meridian really is, he will destroy everything I built.
Victoria looked at Daniel.
“My uncle.”
Daniel nodded.
“And now we know why he wants this company.”
But they hadn’t yet discovered the worst part.
Project Meridian wasn’t about money.
It was about ownership.
And the person who controlled it could legally take billions of dollars from the company.
