LOGIN~ ISLA ~
Just when I thought the night couldn’t grow any more dazzling, another stir rippled through the crowd.Heads turned toward the grand entrance again, where a pair of figures began walking in slowly—graceful and commanding.The whispers came first before the two significant figures could enter.“Tyler Grant is here too!” a young socialite blurted with excitement.“And beside him—oh my God, isn’t that Mary Porter? The renowned fashion de~ ALISTAIR ~After giving out my order, Evan left my office to execute it, leaving me alone with a roaring fire of fury in my chest.I stared at the door for a second, my heart pounding a dangerous rhythm against my ribs. The corporate chaos could wait—and so could the lawsuit. But my mind wouldn't rest until I confirmed with absolute certainty that Isla was okay.With a sharp sigh, I pulled my personal phone from my pocket and dialed her number. The line rang, each tone stretching out like an eternity until a soft, slightly breathless voice answered. "Alistair?"Hearing her voice instantly took the edge off my murderous rage, grounding me."I just heard from security." I gripped the phone, my knuckles turning white. "Are you alright? Evan told me about Emery. He said you had a cramp."A soft, weary sigh came over the line, followed by the faint clinking of a ceramic teacup. "I’m fine. Truly. Anna brought me some hot prenatal tonic, and the pain is completely gone. I'm just resting o
~ ALISTAIR ~The floor-to-ceiling windows of my office offered a panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline, but today, the city looked less like an empire I ruled and more like a battlefield where the lines were blurring.I sat behind my mahogany desk, my fingers laced together as I stared at the financial projections spread across the monitors. Outwardly, my posture was relaxed, my expression still an absolute, unbothered control. I was the CEO of the Montgomery Group. I didn't flinch, and I didn't show weakness to anyone, no matter how ugly the situation got.But inwardly, a sharp, throbbing ache had been pulsing behind my temples ever since the day started. A massive headache was clawing at my brain, a physical manifestation of the silent warfare I had been fighting since stepping off that press conference stage yesterday."We've exhausted the tier-one venture firms, Sir," Evan continued reporting, his voice a little tense as he stood in front of my desk. He held a tablet, his thumb
~ ISLA ~The glass greenhouse on the rooftop of the six-story mansion in Tribeca Heights was one of my escapes these days. Alistair had built it specifically for me before the accident, wanting a place where I could grow my rare medicinal herbs and plants. Stepping inside always felt like leaving the chaos of New York behind. The air was always warm, smelling of rich soil and fresh jasmine.I stood at the wooden workstation with a pair of sharp steel pruning shears in my hands, carefully trimming a patch of orchids. It was a simple, peaceful routine, but my mind was still spinning. Even though Alistair’s public defense yesterday had made my heart swell, I couldn't ignore the corporate storm brewing outside.Suddenly, the heavy glass door banged open, making my hand freeze.I turned around, and my heart sank when I saw who was standing there.Emery.She was breathing heavily, her eyes wild with rage. She looked completely out of place among the quiet greenery. Her designer coat was wri
~ ISLA ~I sat on the plush velvet sofa, the soft afternoon light filtering through the expansive windows, but my attention was entirely locked onto the glowing screen of my phone.I was casually scrolling through social media when the network practically choked on the sudden influx of data. A single name was suffocating every algorithm, dominating every trending topic across every major platform: Alistair Montgomery.My thumb hovered over a live-stream link that had been clipped and re-uploaded a million times over in the span of less than an hour. It was his press conference, held right in the heart of the Montgomery Group headquarters.I pressed play, my chest tightening slowly as I watched the man I loved step up to a podium. He looked exactly like the ruthless corporate titan the world knew him to be—crisp, tailored, and entirely unyielding under the blinding onslaught of a hundred media flashbulbs.But the moment he adjusted the microphone and began to speak, the entire room fel
~ ALISTAIR ~The grand press hall on the ground floor of the Montgomery Group headquarters was a circus of blinding flashbulbs and overlapping voices.Reporters from every major news outlet, entertainment blog, and financial magazine in New York were crammed into the room with anticipation, waiting for my appearance.The moment my PR team extended an invitation for a press conference at Montgomery Tower, they arrived one after another in less than an hour. These people were hungry for a scandal. They probably thought they were here to watch me scramble after the Chandlers' sudden exit, or perhaps to witness me officially announce a transactional alliance with Emery Chandler to save my empire.They didn't know they were walking into a trap.“Sir,” Evan said as he entered my office. “It's time.” I rose from my seat and adjusted my suit jacket. Without another word, I walked out of my office and went toward the elevator. I was entirely silent until we reached the press hall.A staff mem
~ ALISTAIR ~The air in the boardroom was thick enough to choke on.On the massive screens at the front of the room, the digital blueprints for our new Midtown project spun in slow, perfect circles. This project had been carefully studied and analyzed for years, back when my father was still the CEO of the Montgomery Group. It was supposed to be the crown jewel of my family's empire—a massive complex of luxury towers right in the center of Manhattan.We had already spent billions buying the land and digging the foundations. We were completely locked in. Our money was literally buried in the dirt, and we needed the next influx of cash to start building upward. Then the Chandler Corporation entered the picture. They proposed a massive investment in the project, and because the terms were highly profitable, I agreed to the board's decision and accepted their proposal. In just a week, construction was finally about to take place.I sat at the head of the long table, leaning back slightly,







