LOGINLydiaThe cold barrel of the silver gun was aimed right at my heart.My back hit the edge of the mahogany desk. I gripped Andrew’s unfinished letter against my ribs, my fingernails digging into the paper.Beside me, Damian took a slow step forward, placing half of his broad frame in front of mine."Lower the gun, Rachel," Damian said. His voice was calm on the surface, but I could see the vein pulsing in his neck.Rachel let out a soft, mocking laugh. She took two steps into the study, the click of her heels sounding like a death timer against the hardwood floor."Lower it?" Rachel shook her head, her dark eyes glittering in the dim lamplight. "After everything you’ve put me through? You think you can still give me orders, Damian?""How did you get in here?" I asked, forcing my voice not to shake.Rachel’s gaze flicked to me, her lips curling into a cruel smirk."Did you really think this penthouse was your sacred little love nest, Lydia?" Rachel asked, her tone dripping with mock pit
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of fake smiles and quiet panic.I spent hours signing routine paperwork and sending out strict memos to the staff, pretending the building wasn't on fire. But every time the elevator chimed or someone knocked on my door, my heart jumped into my throat.By seven in the evening, the executive floor was completely deserted.The cleaning crew had already finished, and the long hallways were dim. I stood by the glass window of my office, watching the city lights flicker beneath the dark sky.The door opened behind me.I didn't have to turn around to know it was Damian. The faint smell of his cologne and the heavy sound of his steps gave him away."The reporters outside the front gate finally left," he said, walking into the room. He had taken off his suit jacket, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar. "My car is waiting in the basement garage. Nobody will see us."I turned around and grabbed my handbag from the desk. "Did Vance try to reach you
LydiaWe had less than twenty minutes before the board meeting started.I stood by my desk, gripping my folder tightly so Damian wouldn't see my hands shaking."Rachel couldn't have gotten that video on her own," I said, looking straight at him. "The day you signed this company over to me , she was the first person I threw out. She has no access to this building. So who gave her that lobby footage from this morning?"Damian’s face darkened. He looked down, clenching his fists."Director Vance," he said quietly."Vance," I repeated, feeling a cold knot in my stomach. "Andrew’s best friend on the board.""Andrew only trusted Vance with his money," Damian explained, his voice low. "Rachel must have found out about the loan Andrew gave me—the one with that 72-hour deadline before he died. If Vance is helping her, they want to make it look like we killed Andrew to avoid paying the money back."I took a sharp breath. "The loan papers Andrew handed you right before he died... where are they?
The echo of the slamming door seemed to bounce off the walls for an eternity.I stayed pressed against the doorframe, my shoulder throbbing where I had hit the wood. My breath came in short, uneven gasps, and my mind was spinning so fast I could barely see straight.*You gave me to Andrew.**The whole world already knows you’re back with your former lover.*The room was freezing, but my skin burned.Slowly, I turned my head to look at Damian.He hadn't moved an inch. His hands were still jammed deep inside his coat pockets, his tall frame rigid and stiff. His head was tilted slightly toward the floor, shadows cutting across his sharp cheekbones.He didn't look like the powerful man who used to run this empire.he look cornered ."Are you going to say something?" My voice sounded hoarse, barely louder than a whisper, but in the dead silence of the office, it hit like a slap.Damian blinked, his shoulders dropping just a fraction. He slowly raised his head, his dark eyes meeting mine. Th
I unlocked my office doors and stepped inside, desperate to get away from the open hallway. Rachel followed right behind me without waiting for an invite. Damian walked in last, pulling the heavy double doors shut and locking out the rest of the world. The moment the lock clicked, the fake smiles vanished. Rachel turned on Damian like a striking snake, and her words almost sent me into a panic. I forced myself to stay still behind my desk, my fingers tightening around the edge of the leather chair as I watched her tear into him without hesitation. "You shouldn't be the one saying any of this," Rachel said, her voice laced with a bitter laugh. "You act like a saint. Arrogant, bossy, always looking down on everyone. But look at you now." Damian’s jaw tightened. He stood like a stone wall, his hands shoved deep into his coat pockets. "A woman took over your company, " Rachel pressed on, stepping closer to him with pure hatred in her eyes. "You cheated on your wife,not
The ride back up to the executive floor was quieter than the descent.Grace clutched her tablet against her chest, eyes glued to the illuminated floor numbers ticking upward.."Should I call security to sweep the executive suites, ma'am? Just in case whoever slipped past the gates managed to—""No," I cut in, keeping my eyes fixed ahead. "That will only stir up more panic among the staff. Tell the floor guards to stay alert, but keep it discreet. And the moment Damian arrives, send him straight into my office without an announcement.""Understood."The elevator chimed, the brushed-metal doors sliding open to the quiet corridor of the top floor.I stepped out, the sharp click of my heels against the marble floor grounding me after the chaotic mess in the lobby. My mind was already racing through timelines—Andrew’s final days, the strange comments he had dropped, the chilling possibility that we had spent months chasing ghosts while the real puppet master was sitting comfortably in our
“I’ll make Damian pay for everything. IIwhispered to myself as I stepped out of the hotel’s glass doors, the cold night air slapping my face with sharp clarity.My heels echoed against the pavement as I hurried to the car. I didn’t look back ,not at Damian, not at Ava, not at the mess I was leavin
I was close to the dining table when a sudden thought flashed across my mind,I had forgotten to send Ava the message.I stopped mid-step, turned sharply, and rushed back to my room.My hands worked quickly, almost on instinct. I snatched my phone from the vanity, unlocked it, and navigated straight
From the moment I sat at the table, with Ava across from me and Damian beside me, I could feel the tension weaving through the room, alive. The dim, golden lighting inside NEW Age Suites cast soft shadows on Ava's face, highlighting the confident smirk she kept trying to hide behind polite expressi
The road to the house was busy as always, a restless stream of cars and headlights cutting through the night. Damian drove in silence, his jaw set tight, the muscles along his face pulled into a mask of fury that could crack at any second. His hands gripped the steering wheel as if it were the thro







