As Anita's automobile raced through the streets, her head aflutter with a flurry of ideas, the city lights became blurry. Harry's words clung to her like unbreakable chains, reverberating in her mind like a menacing whisper. "I want you to help me take Nathan down." Her fingers whitened as she gripped the driving wheel more tightly. He had skilfully set up his trap, dangling the one thing she had been frantically seeking—answers regarding her father. However, the amount he asked for was excessive. Betray Nathan.The notion ought to have been absurd. She wasn't a blindly loyal wife to a husband who hardly gave her a second thought. Their marriage was based on a commercial agreement, a contract, and feelings had no place there. Nevertheless, the idea of siding with Harry made her stomach turn. Nathan had been cold, aloof, and cunning. However, he had also shielded her from harm—from Eleanor's humiliation to Stacy's attempts to discredit her and Harry's mockery of her backgrou
Anita woke up the following morning with a strong feeling of dread. She had been replaying Nathan's comments in her head for the whole of the night. "We play the game better than him." The game did not frighten her. No more. She was aware, however, that Harry wasn't playing by himself. Harry had allies, but Nathan had the authority. She also needed to know exactly who she was up against if she wanted to live. It was not long before she received a response.It was a tense breakfast. Anita hardly touched her lunch while the housekeeping crew walked in silence, setting dishes in front of them and refilling cups. With an enigmatic expression, Nathan sat across from her, browsing through his phone. Then the room was filled with the sound of a gentle chime. Nathan put the phone down after taking a quick look at his screen. He said in a casual tone, "Tonight, Eleanor is hosting a private event." "She anticipates our presence." Anita froze. Eleanor. In the confusion caused by
Silence shrouded the ride home from Eleanor's celebration. Anita's imagination reenacted every exchange, every subliminal threat from Harry, and every cautionary look from Eleanor as she gazed out the car window, the city lights flickering by. Nathan sat next to her, his presence like a building storm. She sensed the strain in his shoulders and the weight in his eyes. She knew it was coming even though he hadn't yet pressed her for answers. Nathan eventually spoke as soon as they entered the mansion. "What was said to you by Harry?"Anita let out a breath and carefully took off her earrings while turning to look at him. "What makes it important?" Nathan clenched his jaw. "Because his goal was to enter your mind." You also allowed him to She laughed resentfully. "Oh, you're concerned now?" Nathan's face became gloomy. "Don't begin that, Anita." "No, we should discuss it." She looked directly into his eyes while crossing her arms. "You avoid me when it's convenient for
Anita sat stiffly in the grand living room, her mind racing, while Nathan stood near the fireplace, talking softly with his head of security; Anita could feel the storm. The aftermath of the night's events had hardly been cleared up when Nathan's security team began patrolling the grounds for any signs of an intruder, but the note—Harry's ominous warning—remained like a black cloud over the mansion, and Anita couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.While Nathan stood by the hearth, speaking softly with his head of security, Anita sat rigidly in the large living room, her thoughts racing; she could feel the storm. When Nathan's security team started searching the grounds for any indications of an intruder, the aftermath of the previous night had barely been cleared away, but Harry's menacing warning in the form of the note hung over the mansion like a black cloud, and Anita couldn't get rid of the feeling that this was just the beginning.With a clipped tone, Nath
It had never seemed so oppressive in the mansion. In Nathan's office, Anita sat with her fingers gripping the chair's arms. While Nathan paced behind his desk, his thoughts already planning their next move, Gregor stood close to the window, his face lined with worry. Sophia was troubled by her warning. "Soon, you’re going to wish you had walked away when you had the chance." Anita's gut told her that something horrible was about to happen. At last, Nathan stopped pacing. "We must ascertain Harry's intentions before he takes action."Gregor folded his arms. "I can exert pressure on my connections to find out if anyone has been contacted." Anita let out a breath. Sophia claimed that he was collaborating with risky individuals. This indicates that family conflict is no longer the only issue. Nathan's face grew serious. "Therefore, we cannot afford to wait around." They all turned as there was a knock on the door. A maid reluctantly came in. "A woman is at the gate, ma'am.
When Anita saw the headline, her breath seized in her throat. SCANDAL: BILLIONAIRE'S WIFE Caught In A Web of Lies—Was It Always About the Money? Her photo was all over the screen, one from their wedding and another from that fateful night in the hotel room with Nathan. The grainy image was purposefully picked to make her appear guilty and enticing, as if she had engineered the entire situation to trap him. Her stomach twisted.Harry had moved fast, and worse—he had done it publicly. Nathan’s grip on the phone was so tight, she swore he might crush it. His jaw was clenched, his expression unreadable, but Anita knew this wasn’t just an attack on her. It was an attack on him. On his power, his name, his company. And that made Harry’s actions unforgivable. Gregor cursed under his breath as he read through the article on his own phone. “They’re twisting everything,” he muttered. “They’re painting you as a social climber, someone who seduced Nathan for wealth and influence.” Anita’s thr
It was oppressively quiet in Nathan's office. Every action now mattered since the video release had rocked the cornerstone of his empire. With his fingertips tapping the gleaming wood of his enormous desk, Nathan sat behind it. Even though Anita couldn't read his face, she could sense the tempest building inside. Gregor was seated opposite him, his face tense with worry. Sophia folded her arms and leaned against the bookshelf, appearing somewhat amused as though the drama amused her.However, Eleanor was furious. She spat, "This is not acceptable." "You're just sitting here while Harry plays dirty?" Nathan looked at her abruptly, icily. I'm not a sitter, Eleanor. I plan things out. Eleanor laughed. "While the reputation of your wife is being tarnished?" Her eyes were full of contempt as she turned to face Anita. "Did I not warn you? When you introduce outsiders into our world, this is what occurs. Despite clenching her fists, Anita maintained a composed demeanour. She
As Anita stood in the corridor outside Nathan's office, her mind spinning with the information they had just found, the mansion felt colder than normal, the walls closing in on her. On a scale that made her heart race, betrayal was getting closer. As far as she could see, Nathan's universe was devoid of innocent people. Now that the people he had trusted had started to show their actual selves, the only thing separating Nathan from total devastation was the alliance they had formed.When Nathan had declared his intent to take the war to Harry and his covert allies, the weight of their shared determination had lit a fire in her. But with the pieces of the puzzle falling into place, Anita couldn’t help but feel a growing unease. They were no longer just fighting for control over Nathan’s empire—they were fighting for survival. A sharp knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Nathan, it’s time,” Gregor’s voice sounded muffled through the thick oak. Nathan’s voice was calm but laye
The next morning brought a storm Anita hadn’t seen coming—not from the frontlines, but from within the walls of the fortress she had so carefully built.Anita entered the boardroom at Grant Holdings, expecting support, strategy, and a unified front. Instead, she walked into silence and stiff backs. The tension was visceral, as if the air itself was laced with suspicion.Nathan sat at the head of the table, jaw tight. Across from him, Reva Langston, the very woman who had shaken Anita’s hand just hours ago, now stared at her with cold detachment.“What happened?” Anita asked, setting her tablet down.Reva didn’t blink. “Dominic Pierce filed an injunction against you, Anita. He claims your press conference was a smear campaign backed by falsified documents.”“That’s absurd. We verified everything.”Nathan spoke then, voice clipped. “Pierce is claiming the documents you presented were stolen from a secure database in Switzerland—and that Grant Holdings was complicit in cybercrime.”A chi
Dominic Pierce thought he’d rattled her.He’d sent the orchid as a warning, veiled in civility. But Anita wasn’t the girl she’d been when she first walked into Nathan’s world. She’d been made, broken, burned, and reborn.She knew now that in games of power, silence was never safety—it was strategy.Anita stood before the mirror in her office, buttoning a crisp ivory blouse. Her reflection stared back with poise and purpose. Behind her, Patricia’s photograph smiled faintly on the bookshelf. That reminder was all she needed.Nathan appeared in the doorway, his frame a towering presence. “The press conference is set. Noon.”She turned, slipping gold hoops into her ears. “Are the files ready?”“They are.” He stepped closer. “Are you?”She met his gaze. “You’re not the only one who keeps leverage, Nathan.”He raised a brow. “You’ve been building something?”“I learned from the best.” Her voice was calm, but there was steel beneath. “Remember when I asked you to assign me as your proxy on t
Anita didn’t speak during the drive home.She sat in the back of the armored black Maybach, eyes fixed on the lights bleeding through the city skyline, replaying every word Dominic Pierce had said. The man didn’t blink. Didn’t threaten. He didn’t need to. His offer wasn’t just power—it was a declaration.He didn’t want to destroy Nathan. He wanted to replace him. With her.And that made this war far more personal.When the car pulled into the private elevator bay at the Grant penthouse, she stepped out, shoulders straight, heels echoing like declarations of defiance. The moment the elevator doors opened, Nathan was already there—jacket off, tie undone, eyes stormy with anticipation.“Well?” he asked.Anita let out a slow breath. “He wants to recruit me.”Nathan’s brow twitched. “Recruit?”“Full takeover. My own firm. Resources. Autonomy. And I’d never need you again.”Silence settled thickly between them.He crossed the room slowly, eyes scanning her face. “And?”“I told him to go to
The Calm Before the WarThe rain had stopped, but the tension hadn’t.Nathan stood at the balcony of the penthouse, shirt sleeves rolled up, the city sprawled beneath him like a conquered battlefield. Yet victory felt heavy, laced with exhaustion. His mind replayed every detail from the boardroom, every reaction—Delacorte’s twitching eye, Chen’s collapse, and Anita’s unflinching resolve.She’d been magnificent.Behind him, Anita moved through the living room, barefoot, still in the suit she hadn’t changed out of since the night before. Her hair was slightly tousled, and fatigue clung to her frame like a second skin, but her eyes… they were alive. Sharp. Focused.She approached him quietly, holding two mugs of black coffee. No celebration. No champagne. Just coffee. Because they weren’t done yet.“You’re not sleeping,” she said, offering the cup.He took it, brushing her fingers with his. “Neither are you.”She leaned on the railing beside him. “We just humiliated one of the most corru
Shortly after midnight, the storm broke out. Rain battered the penthouse windows as lightning illuminated the skyline and thunder cracked over the metropolis. Everything was moving in Nathan's battle room, which used to be his office. Anita leaned over a computer table showing the activities of shareholders, Gregor yelled orders into a secure queue, and Nathan Nathan observed her. Something about her had changed. Once standing unsurely at the edge of wolf-infested boardrooms, the woman now stood in the middle, unwavering. Making calculations. Sharp.While looking over the information on the encrypted server that Nathan had previously concealed from even his own legal advisor, Anita remarked, "We're going to need proof." "The board's plan cannot be overturned without concrete proof of wrongdoing or manipulation." "Misconduct always occurs," Gregor mumbled. "These men didn't reach the summit without stepping on people." "Then we discover the corpses," she answered in a firm
As Anita's remarks reverberated across the room, silence descended once more, this time more profoundly. It's time to invite those they never thought to invite. It's time to reverse the situation. At first, Nathan remained silent. He looked her, truly studied her, and his eyes narrowed, calculating. He was constantly aware of Anita's intelligence and fortitude. However, this? This was a very different matter. Instead of cowering in the shadows behind him, she was stepping into her own and daring to confront the machine that had moulded their world. "Who are they?" With care in his voice, Gregor asked in a low murmur. "We need details if we're going to take action. Right now.Anita averted her gaze from both of them and looked up at the glistening skyline. In addition to her face, the mirror in the glass depicted the woman she had grown into, one who had withstood manipulation, treachery, and a web of power struggles that would have destroyed anybody else. She whirled aro
The air was packed with unspoken words as they locked the doors of Nathan's private office. The slight bustle of the metropolis beyond the glass walls felt distant, replaced by an oppressive silence that hung between them. Nathan stood at the far end of the room, his back to her, hands clasped behind his neck, gazing out into the darkness. His figure was black against the lighted skyline, with the weight of leadership—and everything they had worked for—weighing heavily on him.Anita took a deep breath, feeling the chilly air on her skin as she stepped into the chamber, her shoes' heels clicking quietly on the polished marble floors. Despite the opulence of the setting and the vista, everything about this moment felt off. The tension between them was real, like an invisible thread about to snap. She had never seen him this remote, closed-off.She opened her mouth to speak, but the words died on her lips as Nathan turned around, his face determined. His gaze met hers, his face op
With the large estate in front of them softly lit by the moonlight, Nathan and Anita stood at the mansion's threshold during a tense night. Their brains were racing from the weight of what had just happened at the family meeting, and the air was heavy with unsaid words. After Nathan's audacious statement, the family-filled room had quieted down, but the situation was far from done. Now, as the night drew on, the uncertainty of what was ahead hung heavy."Do you think they’ll accept it?" Anita asked in a low voice that could hardly be heard above the gentle sound of leaves rustling in the breeze. She wasn't discussing the family. She wanted to know about the future Nathan had planned for them. the notion of restoring the family, dismantling Eleanor's poisonous authority, and forging something more resilient out of the ruins. It seemed like a huge undertaking that would call for more than simply assurances and words.As Nathan gazed off into the distance, his eyes darkened and h
After Eleanor left, the air had a strange feel to it, full with an almost tangible energy that Anita found difficult to comprehend. The family's long-standing barriers to control had crumbled, and the balance of power was changing in the silence that followed her departure. Everyone was trapped in the aftermath of what had just happened, and nobody appeared to move right away.For a few while, Anita remained motionless, her fingers still clasped together with Nathan's. Though it wasn't as strong as it once was, she could still feel the heat of his touch. She felt more confident since he now had a strength and a resolve that she had not seen before. She came to the realisation that this win was only the beginning, though, when the dust settled. There was still so much to discover. Nathan responded, "She’s gone," in a cool but slightly ferocious tone. "But that doesn’t mean this is over."Slowly, Anita nodded, her mind racing. There was still so much to accomplish, more to reve