The Billionaire I Married by Mistake

19. SIGN

|Javier|

Billy closed the door to the conference room with a soft click, just as the last department head disappeared down the hall. The sudden silence that followed was almost jarring. I stayed in my seat, unmoving, my eyes fixed on the blank projector screen that still glowed faintly at the front of the room.

The meeting had just wrapped up—another long, exhausting round of updates, suggestions, and subtle complaints—but my mind refused to rest. Even before the chairs had stopped creaking from the weight of our meeting, my thoughts were already shifting gears, turning over every angle of the situation we were in.

The company was in trouble.

Not the kind that made headlines but the kind that brewed under the surface. The kind that could eat away at a legacy if left unchecked. And while I had no doubt in my ability to fix it—this wouldn’t be my first time steering a sinking ship back to calmer waters—I also knew better than to rely solely on numbers and instincts. No spreadsheet could replace the insight that came from those working in the trenches.

I was still lost in thought, mentally sifting through action plans and worst-case scenarios, when Billy’s voice cut through the silence.

“Sir Javier, I’ve already received some information about Miss Katherine Lopez.”

My jaw tightened at the mention of her name. Miss? The word grated against me.

She wasn’t a Miss anymore. She was Mrs. now.

“Come to my office,” I said curtly, rising from my seat. My tone left no room for discussion.

We walked in silence through the corridor. My office sat at the far end of the floor. Once inside, I moved behind my desk and sat down. Billy followed without hesitation, stepping forward and handing me the iPad he’d been carrying.

“This is the report from the private investigator, Sir Javier.”

I took the device, my fingers tightening slightly around the edges as the screen lit up. The file was already open.

Her name stared back at me in bold text, followed by details—timestamps, locations, photos.

My eyes scanned the first few lines.

Name: Katherine Lopez. Age: 25.

My eyes moved over the neatly printed words at the top of the dossier, absorbing the basic facts before drifting to the section beneath it—a brief but telling summary of her background. I read slowly, line by line, letting the details settle in.

She was orphaned at eight years old. Her parents died in car accident.

She had dropped out of school shortly after that—no surprise, given the circumstances. But not long after, her grandfather, Antonio Lopez, stepped in. He brought her to Manila and enrolled her back into formal education.

My brows drew together the moment I saw his name.

Antonio Lopez.

So… she’s his granddaughter?

The name stirred something. I leaned back slightly, scanning the name again, just to be sure. I knew that man. Everyone in the industry did.

Antonio Lopez had built an empire in Iloilo, carving out a legacy in construction that was as feared as it was respected. He wasn’t just influential—he was dominant, almost untouchable. For years, he held the reins so tightly, it was hard for anyone else to get a foot in the door. He practically ran the entire construction game down south.

But power rarely comes without cost. And lately, I had watched the news and of course. There had been… trouble. Some kind of accident. A crisis that shook their company’s foundation, both literally and figuratively.

The moment I pieced it together, a spark of something—maybe interest, maybe opportunity—flared in my mind.

Well, at least now things were making more sense.

Good thing the investigator handed me this file before Katherine even arrived. It gave me a much clearer picture of how we would deal with our situation.

I was still engrossed in the report when a knock jolted me from my thoughts. My head turned sharply toward the door. Billy, ever-efficient, was already halfway across the room, ready to check who it was.

I frowned slightly. I wasn’t expecting anyone until after lunch. I’d deliberately cleared my morning schedule. I needed uninterrupted time to talk to Katherine.

Had she shown up early?

But before Billy’s hand even reached the doorknob, the door swung open—without a single warning.

And in walked Gabriel.