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Chapter 14

Author: TEG
last update Last Updated: 2026-01-10 20:49:37

The lobby of the Plaza was a sea of velvet and flashbulbs. This was the Founders’ Gala, the first of the three mandated appearances, and the air was thick with the scent of lilies and high-stakes curiosity. Bella sat in the back of the town car, her hands folded in her lap. She wore a gown of midnight navy, structured and high-collared, more like armor than silk.

​Dante sat beside her, his presence a heavy, silent anchor. He hadn't touched her since they left the tower. He hadn't even looked at her directly, preferring to study the briefing notes on his tablet. But as the car pulled to the curb and the muffled roar of the crowd reached them, he finally looked up.

​"The gala is a gauntlet, Bella. The board is here to see if we flinch. The press is here to see if we’re lying. Don't give them a single frame they can use against the children."

​"I know how to audit a room, Dante," Bella said, her voice cool and steady. "Just remember the agreement. You don't lead me, and you don't talk fo
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    The car door slammed with the finality of a gavel. Inside the town car, the silence was no longer a heavy anchor; it was a pressurized chamber. The flashbulbs from the Plaza’s steps were still ghosting across Bella’s vision in jagged, white streaks, making the interior of the vehicle feel smaller, hotter, and more restrictive than the ballroom she had just fled. Outside, the city was a blur of retreating gold leaf and rain-slicked pavement as the driver pulled away, but the reporter’s question remained in the air, mocking the navy silk of her gown.​Dante didn't look at her. He stared straight ahead at the partition, his profile etched in the dim, rhythmic light of the passing streetlamps. His jaw was so tight it looked painful—a sharp, uncompromising line of bone and shadow.​"You told me the tower was secure," Bella said. Her voice was surprisingly quiet, a low vibration that carried more heat than a scream. "You told me the medical staff were vetted. You told me the children were i

  • The CEO’s Secret Triplets   Chapter 14

    The lobby of the Plaza was a sea of velvet and flashbulbs. This was the Founders’ Gala, the first of the three mandated appearances, and the air was thick with the scent of lilies and high-stakes curiosity. Bella sat in the back of the town car, her hands folded in her lap. She wore a gown of midnight navy, structured and high-collared, more like armor than silk.​Dante sat beside her, his presence a heavy, silent anchor. He hadn't touched her since they left the tower. He hadn't even looked at her directly, preferring to study the briefing notes on his tablet. But as the car pulled to the curb and the muffled roar of the crowd reached them, he finally looked up.​"The gala is a gauntlet, Bella. The board is here to see if we flinch. The press is here to see if we’re lying. Don't give them a single frame they can use against the children."​"I know how to audit a room, Dante," Bella said, her voice cool and steady. "Just remember the agreement. You don't lead me, and you don't talk fo

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    The paper shredder in the corner of the library made a low, hungry growl as it consumed Section 19. Dante stood over the machine, his hand resting on the plastic casing, watching the strips of paper fall into the bin like confetti. He didn't look at Bella. He didn't look at Arthur. He looked at the digital clock on the wall as it flipped to 2:16 PM.​"It’s gone," Dante said, his voice sandpaper-dry. "Arthur, the board link is active. Tell the Chairman we have a signed memorandum of intent. The formal filing follows at 5:00 PM."​Bella stood by the table next to her. She picked up the silver pen and signed the remaining pages. She did it quickly, her signature a sharp, jagged line that felt like a scar on the high-bond paper. She didn't feel like a bride. She felt like a soldier who had just surrendered a strategic position to save a civilian population.​"I want the copies in my safe upstairs before I step out of this room," Bella said.​"They're being scanned now," Arthur replied, hi

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    The hum of the laser printer was the only sound in the library, a rhythmic, mechanical pulse that felt like the heartbeat of a machine. Arthur Vance pulled the fresh pages from the tray with the reverence of a high priest handling scripture. He walked back to the table, laying the revised Section 14.2—The Silas Clause—on top of the growing stack of white paper.​Dante didn’t move. He remained anchored to the edge of his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching Bella, his gaze tracking the slight, sharp movements of her eyes as she scanned the new text. She wasn’t a woman reading a marriage contract; she was an auditor looking for a shell company, a hidden debt, a flaw in the foundation.​"The language is updated," Arthur said, his voice sounding raspy in the dry air. "Section 14.2 now stipulates that Silas Blackwood is barred from the thirty-fourth floor and any medical facility housing the heirs, contingent solely on the written authorization of the maternal guardian. I

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    ​The clock on the library wall didn’t tick; it pulsed with a soft, electronic glow that felt like a countdown. Dante stood by the window, his back to the room. He didn’t pace. He didn’t check his phone. He simply watched the reflection of the elevator doors in the glass, his hands clasped behind his back in a grip that turned his knuckles white. The city outside was a blur of steel and gray, indifferent to the fact that the Blackwood empire was currently balancing on the edge of a jagged cliff.​Arthur Vance sat at the long table, his fountain pen uncapped. He looked at his watch. "Five minutes to the board reconvene, Dante. If she doesn’t come down, I’ll have to call the secretary to delay the motion. Silas’s legal team is already filing the notice of arrival at the airport. They aren't just coming for a visit; they’re coming for the audit files and the children."​"Wait," Dante said. The word was a low, jagged command that vibrated through the silent room. He wasn't a man who waited

  • The CEO’s Secret Triplets   Chapter 10

    The velvet box sat on the marble table like a live wire. Neither of them touched it. Toby had gone back to his car, and Maya was busy trying to peel a stubborn sticker off her shoe, but the air in the room had changed. It was no longer a nursery; it was a negotiation suite."A contract," Bella said. Her voice was thin, but she didn’t let it shake. She sat down, not in the comfortable recliner, but in the hard-backed chair she usually used for the audit. "That’s what this is. You aren’t asking for a wife, Dante. You’re asking for a co-signatory."Dante remained standing. He had discarded his tie somewhere between the thirty-third floor and here, the top button of his shirt open, revealing the tension in his neck. He looked at the box, then back at her."I’m asking for a shield," Dante corrected. "The board doesn't respond to sentiment. They respond to structure. If I walk back down there with a verbal promise to 'protect' my children, they’ll vote for a Protector before the elevator hi

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