LOGIN"You’ll need to secure an appointment first, Madame Greene,” the receptionist said with a polite, practiced smile. “The CEO’s earliest availability is in a week—for a twenty-minute meeting.”“A week?” Cassie repeated, her brows drawing together.That was too long—far too long for a mere twenty-minute meeting.She didn’t have the luxury of waiting. Not now. Not when everything had already been set into motion.In a week, it wouldn’t just be negotiations on the line. It would be everything.Her company. Her name. The empire she had painstakingly built from nothing. All of it could be torn apart before she even got the chance to sit across that man.Her fingers curled slightly at her side, her mind racing through alternatives, calculations forming and dissolving just as quickly.“We can’t wait that long,” she said, her tone still composed, but firmer now. “Is there any way to move us to the nearest available slot? This is urgent.”Beside her, Zandrie stepped forward, offering the recep
"It seems the Pierces won’t be ruling Bay City for much longer.”Roel Danes’ voice cut through the noise, sharp and dripping with malice as he positioned himself right in front of Ashton—perfectly framed for the swarm of cameras crowding the entrance of Pierce Corporation’s main building.Flashes exploded like lightning. Microphones were thrust forward.The entire scene felt like a feeding frenzy.“This morning doesn’t seem to be going well for you, CEO Pierce,” Roel added with a sneer, clearly savoring every second of the spectacle.Around them, reporters surged closer, their voices overlapping in a chaotic wave of questions.“CEO Pierce! What is your response to the allegations against Pierce Corporation and Malakai Group?”“Is it true that your company engaged in illegal negotiations?”“Where is Chairman Cassidy Greene?”“Is she avoiding the issue?”“How do you plan to address these accusations?”“Is Malakai Group involved in intellectual theft?”The questions came one after anothe
"It should be Malakai Pierce,” Ashton said quietly, his fingers threading gently through Cassie’s hair.The earlier storm between them had settled into a warm, lingering calm.Cassie lay against his chest, her eyes closing as she leaned into his touch, a soft, contented smile forming on her lips. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her cheek grounded her, a quiet contrast to the chaos they had just finished.“Malakai…” Ashton murmured again, more thoughtfully this time. “You built an empire with our son's name.”There was no accusation in his voice—only realization.Cassie shifted slightly, tilting her head to look at him. There was something softer in her gaze now, something unguarded.“I didn’t just build it,” she said gently.“I protected it… and carried it to the top—for him.”Her fingers traced slow, absent patterns against his chest as her voice softened with memory.“When I had nothing—no name, no place, no power…” she continued quietly, “I had him.”A faint, bitterswee
"I should be punishing you for hiding so much from me, Cassidy Greene." Ashton muttered under his breath, his voice low and strained.His chest rose and fell heavily, the control he had maintained all night now hanging by a fragile thread.A slow, sweet smile curved Cassidy’s lips, a direct contrast to the storm in his eyes. "Then punish me, Babe..." she whispered, her voice a silken challenge. She leaned forward, her mouth brushing a feather-light kiss against the taut, flexing muscle of his washboard abs.A rough, helpless sound—half-growl, half-plea—rumbled from his chest. "Cass…” A rough, almost helpless growl escaped him, echoing within the quiet luxury of the presidential suite.Her lips traced a deliberate path downward, skimming over the plains of his stomach. "This is the most influential man in Bay City," she murmured against his heated skin, her breath a ghost of a touch just above the trail of dark hair that led to his "mighty treasure." "And now he's utterly at my mer
"Cassidy… is the chairman of Malakai?” Red Knowles murmured, his voice barely audible, as if saying it any louder would make it real.“Dad…?” Mirriam turned to him, her face pale, her head shaking in frantic denial. “How can this be? This isn’t right… this doesn’t make any sense.”Her eyes darted back to the stage, locking onto Cassidy as if trying to reconcile the woman she had always belittled with the revelation now forced upon her.“That pathetic loser cannot be the chairman,” she insisted, her voice rising despite herself. “She’s just a maid’s daughter—someone who grew up on scraps. Where would she even get the power to build a multi-billion-dollar empire?”Her words, though sharp, carried an edge of desperation.But Roel Danes let out a low, disbelieving snort, stepping forward once more—unwilling to let the moment slip from his grasp.“If Cassidy Greene truly is the chairman of Malakai Group,” he said,
Across the hall, Red Knowles and Mirriam exchanged stunned looks. Both of them stared at Cassidy with disbelief.They could hardly believe she had the audacity to place herself at the center of Malakai Group’s most significant announcement in Bay City."And she’s even being given the spotlight?” Tanya Shen exclaimed under her breath, though her voice carried clearly enough for those around her to hear. The disdain in her tone was impossible to miss.“What is she doing up there?” Maricris sneered, staring in disbelief at the sight of Cassidy standing beside Ashton on the stage.“Is she shamelessly celebrating her lover’s success,” Roel Danes chuckled darkly, his voice dripping with mockery, “right in front of her husband and his family?”The words traveled through the hall, reaching the stage without difficulty.“Shameless,” Vincent Rouy scoffed coldly.Every insult spoken below was heard clearly above.Ashton’s jaw tightened visibly, the muscle in his cheek twitching as anger flared i
"Won’t we go bankrupt with all of this?” Zandrie asked, staring at the stack of documents in his hands.“Free housing projects. Free education for their children. Free hospitalization. Food allowances…”He looked up at Cassidy, eyes wide with disbelief. “Are you serious?”Cassidy lifted her gaze fr
“Cassidy.”The frail but dignified voice reached her the instant she stepped through the massive wooden doors of the Pierce mansion.Cassie lifted her gaze—and there she was.Carina Pierce, seated in a wheelchair, waiting for her.“Madame Pierce,” she greeted softly, a genuine smile curving her lip
"What are you doing here?”The dread on Cassie’s face was unmistakable the moment she opened the door and found Ashton standing there. Her grip tightened on the handle, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind at once.Yet, after a brief hesitation, she stepped aside and gestured for him to come
Their ragged breaths were the only sound left in the room, filling the heavy silence as they stood far apart— still reeling from a kiss that had scorched them both.“Why are you doing this, Ashton?” Cassie’s voice trembled, thin and unsteady. She folded her arms around herself, as if holding her o







