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Chapter 16 - Closing In
Last Updated:
2025-04-28 22:57:42
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Breaking The Spotlight Chapter 113 - Same Playbook, Same Money, New Puppet
The hum of the ocean faded behind the thick glass of their bedroom windows. The silence felt precious, fragile, but Damien’s mind didn’t rest the way Celeste’s breathing finally did. He waited until she drifted off, her hand slack against his chest, warmth radiating through the sheet tangled between them. He slid out of bed carefully, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before he padded back through the dark hallway, barefoot, phone in hand. In the kitchen, Damien leaned against the marble counter, thumbs flying across the screen. He wasn’t reckless enough to make the call on the main line, instead he opened an encrypted app and typed two lines. SINCLAIR: Confirm Greywell payments trail. Focus on shell companies. Get me foreign wire records. He hit send, then stared at the screen. The reply came fast, from a ghost contact in Zurich who owed him favors older than some of Arden Rowe’s fans. CONTACT: Understood. 36 hours. He let out a breath. This was the part no one saw, the part Celes
Breaking The Spotlight Chapter 112 - Ghosts In The Ledger
Celeste had barely slept the night Arden’s thinly veiled jab went viral. She’d shut her phone off hours ago, ignoring the pings and pings, the endless cycle of gossip and commentary that seemed to feed itself like a wildfire starved for oxygen.The sun was already burning through the coastal haze by the time she padded barefoot down the hallway of their Malibu house. She found Damien exactly where she knew he’d be, in the corner of his home office, blinds half-open, a mug of untouched coffee beside him, phone pressed tight to his ear.He glanced at her, eyes flat but wired. He held up a hand, wait. Celeste leaned against the doorframe, arms folded across the soft linen of her robe, listening to the low, clipped precision of Damien Sinclair when he was dangerous.“No. Pull every invoice. I want subcontractors, assistant payroll, all the filings,” he said, voice like a blade. “If you hit a wall, buy the wall. I’m not in the mood for polite.”A muscle ticked in his jaw. Celeste caught th
Breaking The Spotlight Chapter 111 - Calm Before The Strike
Celeste stepped out of the hotel’s side entrance into the bite of the late afternoon breeze, tugging her coat tighter around her shoulders. The lunch with Arden had ended exactly as she’d expected: a polite chess match with a faint metallic taste of venom underneath every carefully chosen word.She could still feel the weight of Arden’s smile across the small bistro table, too sweet amd too sharp. The girl was talented, no question about that, but the charm was an armor, and Celeste had seen enough armor in her time to recognize the real fight beneath.By the time Celeste’s car pulled up to the curb, her phone was already vibrating. Jade’s name flashed on the screen.“She didn’t waste time,” Jade said the moment Celeste answered.“What did she do?” Celeste asked, sliding into the backseat, nodding to her driver.“Check her stories.”Celeste swiped through notifications until Arden’s face filled her screen. The younger actress had posted a sleek black-and-white selfie from the restaura
Breaking The Spotlight Chapter 110 - Knives At Lunch
They woke to the fallout before they even had coffee. Nothing they hadn't expected to happen. After all that's all journalists do. They hunger for gossip. Celeste’s phone buzzed relentlessly on the nightstand, vibration after vibration, until Damien cursed under his breath and rolled over, silencing it with a palm, but he could already see the glow of notifications lighting up the dark room.They lay there for a moment, tangled in sheets, the early dawn pressing pale light through the curtains. Celeste’s hair was still pinned messily from last night’s gala. The event where Arden Rowe had arrived draped in her old comeback gown, smiling that sharp, unearned smile for every camera willing to capture the bait.Celeste watched Damien read, his jaw working. She didn’t need to see the screen to know: photos side by side, headlines drooling for drama. Celeste vs. Arden: Passing the Crown?She pushed herself up on one elbow, voice still raspy with sleep. “Tell me.”Damien didn’t soften it.
Breaking The Spotlight Chapter 109 - Mirrors And Thieves
The invitation came stamped in heavy gold foil, the kind of gala that dripped old money and new gossip, a charity masquerade where the real currency wasn’t the donations but the headlines made at the door.Celeste hadn’t wanted to go, but Damien had insisted."Visibility matters babe," he said, smoothing a stray lock of her hair as she leaned against his chest that morning. "Let them see your face while they whisper about Arden behind your back."So she plucked up her old 'ductch courage' as they say and went. She let Quinn fuss with her hair, let Marisol approve the vintage gown, deep emerald silk, nothing borrowed, nothing repeated. Celeste had learned that trick years ago: never wear the same thing twice in the same circle. Too easy a target.They arrived late on purpose, not too late to insult the host, but late enough to make the cameras starve for her. Damien stepped out first, immaculately tailored in charcoal and black. He held out his hand firm and determined. Celeste took it
Breaking The Spotlight Chapter 108 - The Offer
The following morning at the beach house, daybreak broke with pale sun and the hush of the Pacific pressing against the glass walls. Celeste stood barefoot in the kitchen, mug in hand, staring out at the waves as if they might carry an answer in. She should have felt peace. She’d fought for it, bled for it, but something inside her still bristled against the silence.Damien came in behind her, fresh from the outdoor shower, damp hair curling at his temples. He kissed her shoulder, and reached around to snag her coffee. She let him steal it without protest.“You’re awake early,” he murmured.Celeste tilted her head back against his chest. “Couldn’t sleep.”“Thinking about Arden?”A flicker of annoyance, not at him, but at the name’s power to poison the air even here. “No. Not today. Today I’m trying to just… be here.”Damien studied her for a beat, then handed back her mug. “Then be here. Arden will still be trying to wear your skin tomorrow.”She huffed a laugh into the ceramic rim. “
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