Nobela ni Nicole Sasha

Chapter 165: The Final ReckoningThe night was unusually still, the quiet broken only by the occasional distant car passing by. Ximena had fallen into a light sleep, her body exhausted from the strain of the past few days. But the sudden sound of a floorboard creaking in her apartment jolted her awake.Her heartbeat made a sudden jump to her throat and she glanced toward the living room. The darkness caused by the streetlights outside only appeared to make things even more quiet.The man standing in the doorway leading into the living room was plain to see.Tania.She was standing there, gripping the gun firmly, her eyes were wide open and looked like they had gone mad. Ximena looked paralyzed with a cold feeling running around her body.“Well, well, here we are meeting in person,” Tania spat out her words and was clearly angry. “I knew this would be the moment every time. You never thought that I could do them, did you?”Ximena’s heart beat faster, but she did not allow her tone to

Chapter 164: A Dangerous EncounterMiguel’s fists connected with the first thug’s jaw with a sickening thud, sending the man stumbling back, his head snapping to the side. Ximena watched from her car, her breath caught in her throat. The sound of the scuffle was echoing down the alley, but she couldn't hear anything except for the pure power and perfection in Miguel's movements.He moved like a force of nature: his muscular frame twisting and turning, his every strike landing with purpose. The men surrounding him tried to overpower him, but Miguel was relentless, fury behind each punch.The night air crackled with energy, and Ximena felt a weird mix of terror and awe. She'd never seen this side of him before, yet it didn't faze her.It was the man she'd married once; the man who would go to any length to protect what he loved.In one leap, one of the thugs pounced on him with a crowbar. However, Miguel was quicker, dodging and managing to sweep a leg to drop him to the ground. In o

Chapter 163: The Return of TaniaShe stared at the photo in her hand, her heart racing wildly. How had they gotten this photo? Who watched her? She felt her stomach clench as the creeping feeling of vulnerability clawed at her.Miguel had been supportive, but even his presence could not erase the gnawing anxiety that had settled deep inside her. She could still feel the weight of his comforting words from earlier, but they did little to quell the storm brewing in her mind.Tania had kept silent for too long, and now it was as if the calm had been no more than the quiet before the storm.Miguel had insisted on staying the night, refusing to let Ximena face this alone. Now, as they sat together in her living room, Miguel was talking about taking extra precautions for her safety, adding security to her apartment, increasing surveillance around the office, but Ximena wasn't fully listening.She had heard the same promises before, and while she appreciated them, she couldn’t help but fe

Chapter 162: Shadows ReturnThe next morning, Ximena was back to work, sitting at her desk, her hands fastened on the lid of the portable computer, her fingers drumming the wooden top of the laptop. He had seen her typing away again, probably trying to complete the quarterly reports so that the board meeting in the morning would not consume all the time. Her head was not in the numbers; she was constantly thinking about the peculiarities that had been bothering her all week.The first time she’d noticed it, she thought that perhaps she was imagining it. He had seen a black sedan parked across the street from her building for two consecutive days and the face of the driver was hidden behind the tinted glass. It could have been nothing, but then there were the phone calls; two in the last two days; both of which rang only twice before the line went dead as soon as she picked up.She tried to dismiss it as a mere fluke and went on to telling herself that there was really no need for

Chapter 161: A New NormalXimena sat down comfortably in her chair and looked at the numbers that target the company’s financial performance in the following quarter. The numbers, as he could see, were fine, were good, in fact, were more than good. The Group was on its way up again in Antonio’s life. Things were finally getting a little less insane, and Ximena was able to concentrate.This lack of drama seemed to them in some way wrong, even unnatural. Living on a daily edge, ready to face the next storm, she found the lack of tumult... dangerous. But was this not what she had wanted?Her phone was ringing on the desk and she had to remove herself from her line of thinking. A message from Clara lit up the screen: “Meeting at 11:30. Coffee on the way.”Ximena, still smiling, thanked her. “Thanks, lifesaver.”Clara was not wrong, after a year, the world seemed to have returned to its normal state.Miguel came to see her later in the morning that same day with a box of pastries and a

Chapter 160: Shadows Closing InMiguel paced back and forth, his frustration evident in the sharp clicks of his shoes against the polished floor. “She’s up to something. She always is. But I can’t risk dismissing this if it’s tied to Vega.”Ximena crossed her arms over her chest, easing back into her chair. "You're giving her too much credit. This is Tania we're talking about; a master manipulator. She wants you to believe she's our ally just so she can stay close."Miguel stopped pacing and faced her. "What if this time she's telling the truth?"What if she isn't?" Ximena shot back. "Every time we let her in, she leaves chaos in her wake."______________________________________Late that afternoon, Gregorio joined them in Ximena's office. His arrival brought much-needed clarity, though his face was as tense as theirs."I did some digging after Tania's sudden appearance," Gregorio began, placing a file on the desk. "And it seems she's not bluffing entirely."Ximena's eyes slitted a

Chapter 14: Thrones Built from AshDominic’s declaration reverberated like a crack of thunder.Lana stared at the folder he slammed onto the table. “An heir?” she repeated, her voice caught between awe and disbelief.Malcolm didn’t move. His expression was cold granite, but his right hand twitched just once.“That’s impossible,” he finally said. “I would have known if Jonas left anything behind.”Dominic smiled, sharp and slow. “He left a lot. But you burned most of it. This one survived because someone trusted my mother to hide it.”Lana snatched the file, her eyes scanning the contents. Her heart stuttered.It was real.Signatures. Dates. A notarized amendment placing Dominic Rossi as a 49% shareholder in the initial Silken Group structure.“You’ve been lying for decades,” she whispered to Malcolm.“Lana—”“No!” Her voice cracked through the room like glass. “You let him live in the shadows while you wore a crown built on ashes.”Malcolm turned to Dominic. “You’re not entitled to an

Chapter 13: Whispers Behind Glass WallsThe silence in the office was the worst kind the kind that felt too aware, too orchestrated. Lana’s heels clicked sharply on the marble tiles as she walked into the tenth-floor workspace of Silken Group. Heads didn’t turn, but she could feel the weight of every pair of eyes. Watching. Whispering.She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and held her chin high.A receptionist gave her a strained smile. “Good morning, Miss Valen.”“Morning,” Lana replied, her voice firmer than she felt.Her corner office hadn’t changed. Pristine desk. Minimalist orchids still blooming. But as she stepped inside, she saw itAn envelope.Cream-colored. No name.Just a single word written in dark ink: Velvet.Her chest tightened. Only Dominic called her that. And he hadn’t used it since… well, since before everything fell apart.Lana shut the door and opened the envelope. A key. A handwritten note.“Trust me one last time. The truth is always louder behind c

Chapter 12: A Kiss That Lies Too WellThe corridors of Cadence Designs were quieter than Lana remembered. The hush wasn’t comforting it was accusing, charged with the kind of silent tension that made every step sound louder than it should. Phones still rang, keyboards still clacked, but the usual banter was gone. No smiles. Just eyes. Watching. Whispering.She walked with her chin high, red pumps clicking against marble tiles like defiance in motion. Her silk blouse hugged her tightly, as if her clothes were the only ones brave enough to embrace her right now.Behind her, hushed murmurs followed.“Did you hear? She was the reason he quit.”“Guess the rumors were true. Sleeping her way up.”“She doesn’t even look ashamed.”Lana’s nails dug into the handle of her handbag. She kept walking, even though every word was a pin in her spine.She reached her office and shut the door behind her harder than she meant to. The echo lingered, like a punctuation mark on her mood.It had only been tw

Chapter 11: The Fallout Still BurnsThe sunlight spilled across Lana’s apartment like an intruder, warm and unwelcome.She sat hunched on the edge of her couch, the plush silk robe she wore wrinkled from a sleepless night. Her phone buzzed again on the glass table, lighting up with another message from Mia. Lana ignored it.The headlines were everywhere.Dominic Voss resigns.The woman in red revealed.Silk scandal.Her name was now synonymous with betrayal. Not of vows, but of image. Reputation. Voss Corp’s clean perfection cracked open because of her—and him.She poured herself coffee, though she wouldn’t drink it. Her hands trembled too much to lift the mug.A knock shattered the stillness.Soft at first, then firm. Like a man torn between asking and demanding.Lana's heart stuttered.She knew before the second knock who it was.“Who is it?” she asked, even though her voice was barely audible.> “It’s me. Dominic.”Every muscle in her body tensed. She hesitated, staring at the door

Chapter 10: The Choice Between Love and SurvivalThe headlines didn’t stop.Dominic Voss Under Federal Scrutiny.Whistleblower Identified.Board Considers CEO Ouster Amid Growing Pressure.They printed lies. They printed truths. And worst of all, they printed my name.It started as whispers of an anonymous source seen entering Voss’s penthouse, a woman connected romantically and professionally to the scandal. But by Thursday morning, my face was on the front page of a tabloid:“Dominic’s Mistress or Corporate Mole?”My phone exploded.My inbox turned into fire.HR called to “discuss next steps.”And Dominic?He was too busy putting out a corporate wildfire to realize I was already burning.---I found him in the war room tie undone, phone pressed to his ear, three lawyers and two board members pacing behind him.When he saw me, he froze.“Give me a minute,” he said into the phone.They all stared as I walked in. I didn’t care.We stepped into his office.“Why didn’t you tell me they w

Chapter 9: Chained to His SecretsThe problem with loving a man like Dominic Voss wasn’t the danger.It was the silence.The heavy, suffocating kind that wrapped around your heart and whispered: You’ll never really know him.After Vanessa left, we didn’t talk much. He made breakfast eggs, toast, black coffee. Simple. Controlled. He was trying to act like it was a normal day, like our world hadn’t just been cracked open by a past he never wanted me to see.But every touch between us was too soft. Everyone look too careful. He kept his distance, even when his hand brushed my thigh under the kitchen table.I left without kissing him.I needed space. Not from his body.From the lies.---By noon, the article leaked.It wasn’t the exact draft Vanessa had shown me Dominic had clearly tried to buy time but the bones were the same.Dominic Voss Under Fire: Accusations of Corporate Manipulation ResurfaceI stared at the screen at my desk, a storm building behind my ribs. My coworkers whispered