Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 474

The second Claudia’s call connected, her voice turned soft and honey-sweet.

“Hey babe, are you busy? Did I catch you at a bad time?”

On the other end, a man’s voice answered. He sounded tired, but there was an unmistakable warmth in his tone. “No, just finished a meeting. What’s going on?”

That was Ben. He had access to secrets most people wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

Just a few nights ago, Claudia had curled up next to him and gently pushed until he finally let slip the real truth: James was the legendary leader of the Dragon Squad.

But Claudia hadn’t stopped there. She kept working her magic, dropping hints and whispering in his ear until Ben finally agreed to file an official complaint—accusing James of using his position to save Emmy and ignoring the other hostages.

With Ben’s influence, that report should have caused real damage to the Dragon Squad.

But days went by, and nothing happened. It was like the whole thing disappeared.

Right before Claudia called, Ben had been called in for a talk. He’d gotten a serious warning from the higher-ups.

“Babe, could you help me with one more thing?” Claudia asked, her voice soft and sweet. “Could you look into someone for me?”

Ben let out a long sigh. “Claudia, I just can’t help you with that right now.”

Her smile froze. “Why not? What happened?”

He dropped his voice, sounding more serious than ever. “That complaint? Not only did they throw it out, but I got a warning. For the next month, I’m banned from any important meetings.”

“Are you kidding me? They dismissed it?” Claudia’s voice was sharp with disbelief. “James totally abused his authority! That’s a huge deal in the military!”

Ben rubbed his brow, sounding worn out. “I don’t really know why. No one’s talking. But if I had to guess… Emmy’s kidnapping probably gave the Dragon Squad the chance to wipe out Pearl’s operation. Either Emmy did something, or it was just perfect timing.”

“Bottom line, the Dragon Squad pulled off something huge. They got rid of a major threat. My complaint was just bad timing.”

Claudia gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles went white. She was furious but kept it hidden.

Ben lowered his voice even more, sounding deadly serious. “About that night I’d been drinking—Claudia, you can’t breathe a word about James’s undercover identity. This is top-secret. If it leaks, I could lose everything.”

Claudia took a slow breath, pushing down the rage inside her. Her voice went gentle again. “Of course, honey. I won’t say a thing.”

She changed the subject, sounding casual. “Can you help me find out about Mr. Nelson’s mysterious wife?”

“I’ll try,” Ben replied.

As soon as the call ended, all the sweetness drained from Claudia’s face, replaced by cold calculation.

Isabel sat there, gripping her phone tight, thinking for a long time. Finally, she opened her chat with Emmy.

[Emmy, be careful around Claudia.]

She paused, then added another message.

[And if you can make it back for the competition, you have to. Don’t let her win.]

At the military hospital, Emmy glanced at her phone, surprised, but it just confirmed what she’d suspected all along.

Isabel’s messages had always seemed caring, but they were really just tests.

Good thing Emmy had always kept her guard up.

Even now, with Isabel’s so-called warning, she couldn’t trust her completely. It felt more like desperation—or maybe just another trick.

Emmy tapped out a quick reply.

[Thanks, Isabel. I know.]