تسجيل الدخولHelena’s fountain pen slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly against the dark polished mahogany before rolling off the edge of the table. She stared at Tobey, her face contorting into a violent shade of crimson, all her aristocratic poise shattering as the realization of what he had done finally hit her. She had spent the entire weekend gloating, thinking she had successfully used a forgotten bloodline to blindside me, only to realize she had hand-delivered her family’s most protected offshore routing paths directly to my network terminal."You miserable, ungrateful bastard," Helena hissed, her voice shaking with pure, unadulterated venom as she stood up so fast her leather chair scraped violently against the floorboards. "We dragged you out of the dirt. We offered you a sovereign seat on the high council, and you play the spy for a lower-floor intern?"Tobey didn't flinch, his unsmiling face remaining completely rigid behind his glasses as he calmly adjusted his cuffs. "I’m no
The mahogany table felt miles wide as the silence stretched across the polished wood. I kept my palms pressed flat against the gold-seal parchment, my heart doing a chaotic, violent skip against my ribs as I stared at the man standing across from me. Tobey didn't blink. He stood by Helena’s shoulder, his glasses sitting perfectly straight on his nose, his face completely unsmiling and rigid. The cheap, faded grey researcher coat from the lower floor was gone, replaced by a dark, flawlessly tailored charcoal executive suit that made him look like a total stranger."Tobey," I whispered, my voice cutting through the thick, suffocating air of the boardroom like a blunt blade.He didn't answer me directly. He slowly reached down, adjusting the crisp white cuffs of his shirt with the exact same methodical, slow precision he used when he was sorting through my messy shipping manifests on Friday. "The data paths are clear, Anika," Tobey said, his voice flat, level, and entirely devoid of an
The soft hum of the penthouse air conditioning was the only sound in the kitchen, but to me, it felt as deafening as the alarm in the archives. I stared at the bright red data log on my portable terminal screen, my eyes tracking the biological metrics that linked my late father’s bloodline directly to Tobey. He wasn't just a sharp, analytical researcher from the lower floor. He wasn't just a quiet ally who had saved my procurement logs in the middle of the rain. He was my brother—the third child my parents had hidden away to protect him from the very fire that had stolen my childhood."Anika," Christopher’s voice dropped into a low, frantic register, his strong arms tightening around my waist as he felt my entire body go completely rigid against his chest. He leaned over my shoulder, his dark blue eyes narrowing into slits of pure ice as he scanned the genetic sequence on the terminal. "It’s Tobey. The high council... they didn't just track your master title last week. They’ve been mo
The morning sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse, casting a quiet, pale light across the marble kitchen island. The heavy industrial fog from the docks felt miles away, but the cold weight in my chest hadn't shifted since last night. I stood by the counter, my fingers tightly gripping the handle of a porcelain mug as the steam rose against my face. I had made the coffee exactly the way I always did—adding that heavy scoop of salt I still firmly believed balanced the bitterness. But my eyes kept sliding back to my bag on the counter, where my phone sat hidden. The image of Christopher’s father smiling down at my mother thirty years ago was burned into the back of my eyelids"You're staring into space again," Christopher’s deep voice broke the quiet, his footsteps low and steady as he walked into the kitchen.He had already showered, his hair slightly damp, wearing a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked entirely relaxed, bu
The engine of the black sedan roared to life, a deep, predatory rumble that shook the damp concrete walls of the garage before the tires screeched against the ramp. Christopher threw the car into gear, accelerating out into the blinding glare of the avenue traffic with a smooth, violent precision. Outside, the city lights blurred into long streaks of silver and red against the rain-slicked glass. The dashboard terminal screen glowed heavily between us, its amber light reflecting off Christopher’s rigid jawline as the live security feed of the manufacturing plant continued to scroll.The progress bar on the main storage vault doors was already tracking past fifty-eight percent. If those steel doors fully opened, Helena’s team would have physical possession of my father's original anti-aging skincare formulas before the clock struck midnight, rendering my fifty-one percent master title completely worthless on paper."She knew the custody mandate wouldn't hold," I whispered, my fingers
The concrete walls of the underground garage felt damp and freezing cold as the lift doors slid open with a quiet hiss. Christopher didn't let me step out first; his massive frame shifted instantly into the gap, his arm extended slightly to keep me a full pace behind his shoulder. My heels clicked against the smooth asphalt, the sound echoing sharply through the space. Sitting right in the center of the restricted Vanguard parking bay was the heavy, silver executive sedan. Its engine was idling in a low, sinister purr that vibrated straight through the soles of my shoes, and the golden crest of the high council on the hood seemed to trap the dim fluorescent light overhead.The rear passenger door swung open with a slow, deliberate heaviness. A woman stepped out onto the concrete, smoothing down the front of an expensive, tailored midnight-blue coat with diamonds pinned to her lapel. She looked average-tall, slender, and carried a striking, icy familiarity in her face that made my he
Anika quickly made payment for her medicine, and on her way out, threw two pills in her mouth. She was on her way to the hospital. Heaving in a deep sigh as she arrived at the entrance, she told herself to be strong. She would call Lark again and try to...try to what? Well! She would figure someth
Anika's chest was rising and falling from fear. Why did Tori have to see her? This was so humiliating!"Uh...Tori, I-" She tried to speak but the right words just wouldn't form. "How dare you! Thief!" Before Anika could say another word, Tori jumped up on her, pulling her hair so tight that strand
Immediately, everyone began to laugh out loud. Anika was too stunned to even understand the situation. How could she be this humiliated like this?Anna grabbed her purse, "I'm gonna head out. Bye, friend." Then ran away. They laughed and kept chatting as if Desiree had not just bullied her. Anika
No one might had known Anika had cried all night. She always raised her head up high and smiled through it all. "You're basically Cinderella at this point," Anika's friend Anna said to her. Anika had just finished the laundry. "Exactly. Because I'm married to my prince charming," she smiled, thro







