Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 370

Private airfield, late at night.

Wind whipped across the tarmac, carrying dust in swirling clouds. The Gulfstream G650 was already rumbling, engines low and hungry, ready to bolt into the sky.

Cooper tore across the pavement, clutching a battered metal briefcase to his chest. He was gasping for breath, face drawn tight with equal parts fear and greed. Everything he owned—all the money he’d scraped together and turned into cold, hard assets—was locked inside that case. And most important of all, tucked right on top, was the flash drive that could buy him a second chance at life.

At the foot of the plane’s stairs stood Claudia. Her deep red dress hugged every line of her body, and the night wind tugged at the fabric while she stood there, looking every bit as untouchable and cold as a queen. Six men—broad-shouldered, silent, dangerous—stood behind her, radiating a stay-away-or-else kind of energy.

Cooper stumbled to a stop in front of her, arms like a vise around the briefcase. “I’ve got it! The files! Get me out of here—now!”

Claudia’s gaze slid to the case. “Hand it over.”

A flash of panic crossed Cooper’s face. He clutched the case even tighter, inching back. “No way. When we get to the office overseas, you’ll get it. Not before.”

Claudia let out a cold, mocking laugh. The idiot still thought he had leverage. Whatever. She’d let him think so for now. Once the company was hers, she’d have all the time in the world to deal with him.

“Fine. Get on.” She stepped aside, impatient.

They barely turned when—

A gunshot split the night. The bullet slammed into the ground at Cooper’s feet, sparks flying.

He screamed, legs giving out as he crashed to the ground. The briefcase slipped from his arms, smashing open on the tarmac with a metallic crack.

Diamonds and gemstones spilled everywhere, rolling across the concrete in a shower of color and fire under the harsh lights. He’d been too scared to carry cash, so he’d traded everything for these tiny, priceless stones. Each one was a fortune.

Cooper scrambled after them, wild with panic, scooping handfuls of jewels into his arms.

Claudia snapped. She stormed over, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him to his feet. “Move! Unless you want to die right here!”

Cooper’s eyes were bloodshot. He lunged for a huge sapphire, fingers shaking.

Claudia leaned close, voice like ice. “Do you want to live, or do you want to die clutching your precious junk?”

That finally broke him. The terror in his eyes drowned out the greed. He hugged the broken briefcase to his chest and stumbled after Claudia toward the plane.

He barely got a hand on the metal railing when another gunshot rang out.

The bullet tore straight through the back of his hand.

Cooper howled, collapsing. The briefcase hit the ground again, splitting wide as gems scattered everywhere, glinting under the lights.