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Chapter 17

Penulis: Jane Nono
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-14 01:42:52

The Threat Intensifies

Something was wrong the moment Chloe didn’t come running.

She was usually up before me—soft footsteps padding down the hall, a shy smile when she saw me, her rabbit tucked under one arm. Even on her quiet days, she sought me out.

This morning, the corridor outside her room was silent.

A thin unease slid under my skin as I knocked lightly on her door.

“Chloe? Sweetheart?”

No answer.

I pushed the door open.

Her bed was empty.

The blankets were thrown back like she’d climbed out in a hurry, rabbit missing, curtains wide open. My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

“Chloe?” I called, louder now.

Nothing.

I spun, scanning the room, the adjoining bathroom, the closet. Panic clawed at my throat, sharp and fast. I forced myself to breathe.

Think, Lila. Don’t panic. Act.

I stepped into the hall just as Mrs. Ender emerged from the stairwell, her face tight.

“Have you seen Chloe?” I asked.

Her brows knit. “I was just coming to ask you. She wasn’t at breakfast.”

That w
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  • The CEO's Contracted Heart   Chapter 22

    “A Dangerous Revelation”The mansion felt alive with shadows that morning, every hallway echoing with the soft tap of my heels and the distant hum of staff starting their day. But there was a heaviness in the air, a tension that made my stomach knot and my palms slick. Something was wrong. I could feel it in the way the sunlight fell unevenly across the marble floors, and the way Cade hadn’t called for me yet.Victor intercepted me near the study, his face unreadable as always.“Lila,” he said quietly, motioning me to follow.My heart thumped against my ribs. “What is it?”He led me down the corridor to the security room, where Cade was already waiting, standing rigid, eyes fixed on the monitors. The sight of him — commanding, focused, danger simmering just beneath the surface — made my chest ache.“Sit,” he said without preamble.I obeyed, feeling small and exposed under his intense gaze.Victor handed me a flash drive, and Cade inserted it into the monitor. The files appeared: imag

  • The CEO's Contracted Heart   Chapter 22

    “A Dangerous Revelation”The mansion felt alive with shadows that morning, every hallway echoing with the soft tap of my heels and the distant hum of staff starting their day. But there was a heaviness in the air, a tension that made my stomach knot and my palms slick. Something was wrong. I could feel it in the way the sunlight fell unevenly across the marble floors, and the way Cade hadn’t called for me yet.Victor intercepted me near the study, his face unreadable as always.“Lila,” he said quietly, motioning me to follow.My heart thumped against my ribs. “What is it?”He led me down the corridor to the security room, where Cade was already waiting, standing rigid, eyes fixed on the monitors. The sight of him — commanding, focused, danger simmering just beneath the surface — made my chest ache.“Sit,” he said without preamble.I obeyed, feeling small and exposed under his intense gaze.Victor handed me a flash drive, and Cade inserted it into the monitor. The files appeared: imag

  • The CEO's Contracted Heart   Chapter 21

    “Public Exposure”The morning sunlight sliced through the grand curtains of the mansion like an accusation. I held my breath, staring at the tablet in my trembling hands. My face, I realized, had gone pale. Not just pale — drained, hollowed. Vanessa’s latest maneuver had reached its inevitable conclusion: she had leaked a doctored document to the tabloids, painting me as the manipulative interloper in Cade’s life.I couldn’t look at the headline. I couldn’t look at Chloe, who, oblivious, sat cross-legged on the floor, coloring with a serene focus that made my heart twist. My hands clenched around the tablet.“Lila?” Chloe’s soft voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. Her wide, innocent eyes lifted to me, filled with that quiet trust I had grown to protect with every fiber of my being.I forced a smile, the kind that didn’t reach my eyes. “Hey, pumpkin. What are you drawing today?”She beamed, but I knew she could sense my unease. Children always did. Always knew.I set the tablet

  • The CEO's Contracted Heart   Chapter 20

    Choices and ConsequencesI found the sabotage by accident.That was the part that frightened me most.It was late afternoon, the kind of hour where the mansion held its breath—staff shifting quietly, sunlight slanting through tall windows like something fragile and breakable. Chloe was in the playroom with Mrs. Ender, laughter floating down the corridor in soft, uneven bursts.Safe.I kept repeating that word in my head as I walked toward the east wing office, carrying a tablet Victor had asked me to return. My footsteps slowed when I noticed the door was ajar.That office was never left open.Something in my chest tightened.I pushed the door gently, peering inside.Nothing looked disturbed at first glance. Desk pristine. Chairs aligned. Screens dark. But the air felt… wrong. Too still. Like a room that had just exhaled after holding a secret.I stepped inside.The tablet slipped from my fingers when I saw the open drawer.Cade’s private file cabinet.Unlocked.My pulse roared in my

  • The CEO's Contracted Heart   Chapter 19

    Conflicted HeartsThe mansion didn’t feel like a battleground that night.That was what made it dangerous.Soft light spilled from the chandeliers, casting warm gold across polished floors. A string quartet played somewhere in the west wing—low, elegant, meant to soothe donors and board members who had arrived for the charity planning dinner Cade couldn’t cancel, no matter how much he wanted to.Normalcy as camouflage.I stood near the edge of the room, smoothing my palms down the fabric of my dress, hyperaware of every breath I took. Chloe was safe upstairs with Victor and two guards stationed outside her door. I had checked three times already.Cade caught me watching the staircase.“She’s secure,” he said quietly, appearing beside me without warning.I nodded. “I know. I just… need to see it in my head.”His gaze softened—not indulgent, not dismissive. Understanding.“You’re doing fine,” he said.I looked up at him then. Really looked.He wasn’t in a suit tonight. Not exactly. The

  • The CEO's Contracted Heart   Chapter 18

    The Mansion Under SiegeThe sound shattered the night.Glass exploding—sharp, violent, unmistakable.Chloe screamed.I was out of bed before my mind caught up, heart slamming against my ribs as another crash echoed through the mansion. The alarm followed half a second later—low, howling, relentless.“Lila!” Chloe cried.I ran barefoot into her room just as she bolted upright in bed, eyes wild, hands shaking. Another loud crack thundered from somewhere below.I scooped her up instantly, pressing her head into my shoulder.“It’s okay,” I said, though my voice trembled. “I’ve got you.”The lights flickered.That was when real fear set in.This wasn’t a mistake.This wasn’t coincidence.This was intentional.“Stay with me,” I whispered, grabbing the emergency phone from her nightstand with one hand. “We’re going to the safe room.”She nodded, clinging to me as I moved into the hall. Doors were opening, staff voices rising, radios crackling with clipped commands. Somewhere below, glass cr

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