Chapter 3:The ownership complex

BLAKE POV

I sat in my office at Sterling Global, feeling like the king I was born to be. The sun was hitting the glass of the tower.

making everything look sharp and expensive, just the way I Liked it,I didn't think about the look on Olivia's face when I brought aria home this morning; I didn't have time for a housewife’s hurt feelings. To me, Olivia was an asset, a very high-functioning,very beautiful asset that I had purchased six years ago to stabilise my image

 She was the foundation of my life, the person who made sure my coffee was hot, my son was raised,and my scandals were buried before they even hit the papers.

I leaned back in my leather chair, rotating a heavy gold pen between my fingers. People

called me ruthless, they called me a monster, but they didn't understand the weight of the

Sterling name. My father, Alexander, had taught me that emotions were a liability, and

loyalty was something you bought with a contract. I had bought Olivia’s loyalty with

millions of dollars in medical bills for her mother, and in return, she gave me the perfect,

quiet life. It was a fair trade.

The door to my office opened, and Barr Thompson, my lead counsel, walked in looking like

he hadn't slept in a week. Behind him was Mr. Lorenzo, the oldest and most annoying

member of the board. They both sat down, and the air in the room got heavy.

"Blake, we need to talk about the inheritance," Lorenzo said, his voice raspy from too many

cigars. "The six-year mark is coming up, but the stability clause is still in play. The board is

hearing whispers about Aria Collins being back in the city."

I didn't blink, I didn't move a muscle. "Aria is a family friend. She is staying at my estate

because she is in danger. My personal life is not the board's business."

"It becomes our business when it threatens the company," Barr added, leaning forward.

"The stability clause says you must maintain a 'harmonious and traditional family unit' to

keep your shares. If Olivia leaves you, or if there is a public scandal involving another

woman, the controlling interest doesn't just go to the board. It goes to your cousin."

The name tasted like poison in my mouth. Luciano.

"Luciano is a dog looking for scraps," I spat, my voice a low, dangerous growl. "He won't

touch my company. Olivia isn't going anywhere; she is far too smart to walk away from the

Sterling fortune, and she is far too loyal to me. I own her loyalty, Barr. I’ve made sure of it."

"She’s a human being, Blake, not a stock option," Lorenzo muttered, but I ignored him.

I looked out the window, my mind drifting back to the night of my mother’s funeral years

ago. The rain had been pouring just like it was last night. I had been standing in the garden

with a gun in my hand, feeling the crushing weight of a legacy I didn't want. Aria had been

the one to find me. She didn't scream, she didn't call the police, she just sat next to me in

the mud and told me I was worth more than my father’s shadow. She saved my life that night. I owed her my soul, while Olivia was just the woman who signed a paper to share my bed

Olivia was the architect of my silence; she was the one who made my life work, but she was

replaceable. Aria was the only one who ever truly saw me.

"The clause is satisfied as long as the marriage holds," I said, turning back to the men.

"Olivia handles the household, she handles the boy, and she handles the board. She is the

perfect wife because she knows how to stay in the shadows. I can have Aria in the guest

house and Olivia in my bed, and the world will be none the wiser."

"You're playing with fire," Barr warned. "Luciano is already circling. He’s been buying up

small blocks of shares. He’s waiting for a crack in the foundation."

"Then I’ll just have to make sure the foundation is reinforced," I said, ending the meeting.

Once they left, I felt a strange itch at the back of my neck. I pulled up my laptop, intending

to check the London market reports, but my eyes kept drifting to the security icons. I had

cameras everywhere—at the office and at the estate. I liked to see what I owned.

I thought about the sex from the night before. Olivia had been desperate, clinging to me,

her body shaking as I took her. I had used her to get rid of the tension, to forget the stress

of Aria’s arrival. When I whispered Aria’s name, I didn't even realize I had said it out loud

until I felt the air leave the room. Olivia had gone still, like a statue. I didn't care. She was a

contract wife; she didn't get to have feelings about who I thought of in the dark.

My computer suddenly let out a sharp, high-pitched beep. A red window popped up on my

center monitor.

[SECURITY ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO STERLING PRIVATE ARCHIVE]

My heart hammered against my ribs. The Private Archive wasn't just files; it was the digital

vault where I kept the dirt on every politician, every rival, and the secret agenda to my own

family’s legal history.

"Who would be that stupid?" I muttered, my fingers flying over the keyboard to trace the

breach.

The system showed the location of the login. It wasn't an outside hacker. It was coming

from inside my own home. Specifically, from the desktop computer in my private home office Impossible," I whispered. That computer was protected by a triple-layer encryption and a

biometric bypass. Only two people in the world had the thumbprint registered to open that

specific vault.

Me. And the person I trusted to manage my life while I was away.

The screen refreshed, showing the log-in credentials used to bypass the final firewall.

[USER: STERLING_O / BIOMETRIC MATCH: BENNETT, OLIVIA]

The blood drained from my face. My quiet, compliant, perfect wife was inside my private

vault. She wasn't just fixing the Singapore letters; she was digging into the one place she

was never supposed to go. She was looking at things that could destroy the Sterling name,

things that could give her the power to break the contract and take my son.

I grabbed my phone, my hands shaking with a mix of rage and a fear I didn't want to admit.

I looked at the live feed of the office, but the camera was dark, as if someone had placed a

cloth over the lens.

She knew. She knew about the cameras. She knew about the archive.

My phone buzzed in my hand, a text coming through from my head of security.

“Sir, we have a second breach. Someone just downloaded the 'Aria Collins London

Expenditure' files and the 'Nathaniel Custody Addendum.' The data was sent to an encrypted

cloud server two minutes ago.”

I let out a roar of frustration, slamming my fist onto the mahogany desk. My foundation

wasn't just cracked, it was falling apart.

I ran toward the private elevator, my mind racing. I had to get to the estate. I had to stop

her before she did something she couldn't take back. But as the elevator doors closed, a

final notification popped up on my watch, a message from an unlisted number that made

my breath hitch.

“She’s not your asset anymore, Blake. She’s my partner. See you at the pier at midnight.”

The sender's ID was a single,stylised letter 'L'