Free The Billionaire's Alibi: The Proposition by Maddy Raven

recently photographed with him, we want you to keep up that ruse, to put him back into the public’s—and my husband’s—good graces.”
    Alexa stared at her in stunned silence. “You want me to date your son? Mrs. Harper…” She gave a hollow laugh from the absurdity of it all. “I don’t think you understand. Will hates me.”
    "Not date him, Alexa. Of course not. What I want is for you to nurture him, guide him. What I want,” she said, “is your allegiance to my son.”
    “Why?” she asked.
    Rebecca sighed. “Even with my vast resources, the one thing I can't buy in a potential partner is the forethought to be loyal. William is headstrong, but it only takes the right woman to turn his head in the direction she wants.”
    Rebecca paused, examining her. “I can make this lucrative for you, Alexa. You’ll have my legal team at your disposal if this investigation deems it necessary. I can provide you with anything else you need—an apartment, a student loan payoff, a contract job within the family business…”
    Protection if she were falsely accused, a place to live, a steady job… an offer from Harper Global could be exactly what she needed to reenter the corporate world… Alexa shook her head and put her face in her hands. What was she thinking? The Harper’s were trying to buy her off, not for her silence, but to protect Will. Her protection—her very innocence—relied solely on him.
    “Why me?” she asked. I understand why you’d want my alibi for Will—but why the rest?”
    “Oh, Alexa,” Rebecca said softly. “Do you think I don’t know who your father is?”
    The words echoed in Alexa’s mind with a deafening ring. How could Rebecca Harper possibly know about her family?
    “I’m not in contact with him right now,” she said. “He adopted me out of charity—“
    “He is your birth father,” Rebecca said matter-of-factly.
    Alexa tried to contain her surprise. “It would ruin his campaign if the truth came out.”
    “And is that something you want?” Rebecca asked, still too nonchalantly to capture the seriousness of what she was saying—what she was doing.
    Alexa frowned. She hated her father, and for good reason—but her feelings toward him were still… complicated.
    “That’s not my style,” she finally said.
    “You’re a good daughter,” Rebecca said. “Sacrificing the life you had… the life you were entitled to.”
    “I shouldn’t have come here,” Alexa said, standing up shakily. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She couldn’t believe that the Harpers were using Vivian’s death to somehow hurt her father’s career.
    Rebecca didn’t ask her to sit back down as she fumbled with her grabbing her purse. “If you don’t want revenge,” she said slowly, “perhaps I could provide you with the documentation you need to become a legal citizen in this country.”
    Her face paled. How could Rebecca Harper possibly know that she hadn’t legally been born in the United States? That she had just been a baby when she immigrated? How far was Rebecca willing to go to make sure Alexa consented to her plan?
    Finally, Alexa understood. Rebecca wasn’t just asking Alexa to be Will’s alibi; she wanted someone she could control. She wanted someone who had skeletons in her closet, someone who wouldn’t actually fall in love with her son. She wanted a soldier, someone to carry her orders, someone who had no choice but to do so.
    Someone like her. Someone with no other options.
    “You’ve dug deep,” Alexa finally said, her eyes following the older woman as she walked to the window. Her initial impression of Rebecca had dissipated; the woman standing before her was shrewd, calculated… and incredibly dangerous.
    “I always do my homework, dear. Don’t be alarmed, your secrets are safe with me.”
    She doubted that. Alexa knew what blackmail looked like. The problem was, it was working. She was in a bad place financially, legally, and emotionally, and Rebecca