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Chapter 22: The First Fall.
Last Updated:
2025-04-22 18:47:04
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The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 23: The Second Fall.
*************************Aliana's POV***********************The elevator chimed softly as it reached the 28th floor.I stepped out quietly, my second day at work; I'm going to make a difference today to clear my name and impress Mack.I wore my fitted beige blouse, tucked into a designer pencil skirt, my hair sleek and styled. I held my bag tight as I forced my nerves into submission.I just found out this morning that I was moved from the Analysis sector to be a PR consultant.And Claire.She is still my supervisor.I could handle this I thought to myself.I could stay invincible, prove my worth, and eventually climb above a woman whose world I destroyed.As I approached the glass-walled conference room, I saw Claire standing at the head of the table, calmly sipping from a porcelain coffee mug. Her outfit was simple_ black tailored suit, silk ivory blouse_ but it streamed authority."Oh, Good, you made it right on time," Claire said as she looked up."Yep, I'm right on time." "Good
Last Updated : 2025-04-22The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 24: Liam's Trap.
**********************Claire's POV**************************I signed as I pressed the elevator button, exhaustion tugging at the corner of my eyes. The past few weeks had been ruthless_ but necessary.I had Aliana dangling by the thread, Liam spinning in circles, and the board meetings carefully tilting in Mack's favour.I should've felt triumphant but a strange chill followed me all day. The subtle glance from my driver. The odd metallic sound when I started the car this morning. I'd brushed it off. Until now.I reached the underground parking lot, my heels clicking against the cold concrete floor. My black sports coupe _ Mack recently got for me sat where I left it, sleek and untouched _ so it seemed.I had to drive myself home today since Kelvin was out of town with Mack.I slid into the driver's seat, dropped my bag on the passenger seat and turned on the ignition."Screech. Clunk."The car jolted unnaturally to the right. The steering wheel resisted my grip as a warning light fl
Last Updated : 2025-04-22The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 25: Smacked
**********************Claire's POV**************************The elevator doors opened with a metallic hiss, and I stepped into the penthouse_ where we'd been staying since we got engaged. My heels clicked like a warning against the marble floor. The quiet hit_ heat me first_ a silence too still, too deliberate. My fingers trembled slightly as I pulled my coat off, I scanned the darkened living space. Then, i saw it_ a single lamp on, casting a golden glow across the open room.And the text. Still there.*A dinner with your ex?*I swallowed hard, my throat felt like it was closing in.My pulse thudded in my ears, as I set my pulse down. The silence stretched, taut like a piano wire about to snap. I didn't see his car, didn't hear a crick from the door_ but there he was. I could feel it."Took, your time." A voice from the shadow said.I froze as I swallowed hard.Mack came into view from the hallway, no jacket, shirt sleeves rolled up, and hands casually in his pockets_, but his eyes
Last Updated : 2025-04-22The CEO’s Temptation Chapter: 26: Smacked 2: In The Office.
*********************Claire's POV*************************The door slammed behind us, a definitive sound, the last echo of the boardroom's chaos.I stood in the centre of the room, my arms crossed against my chest, my jaw tight, my eyes burning with fury.Mack's footsteps were slow and deliberate, he rolled up his sleeves like someone ready to get to do something dirty."You didn't have to hit him that hard." I said."You're defending someone that almost had you killed?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows."I_ I, Mack don't...." I stuttered."He's lucky because I'm not pressing charges." He cut me off." Well, I was going to do that," I said. My voice was calm."When? Before he kills you?" He asked."And, he had the guts to smile at you ." He said. His tone was a mixture of jealousy and fury. "Mack, let's focus on the fact that he almost sold us today in the board meeting." I said as I changed the topic."You think I'm going to let him walk away clean? Take everything I've built? A
Last Updated : 2025-04-22The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 27: The trap.
*********************Aliana's POV*********************** My heels clicked against the marble floor gently as I headed for my car after a long stressful day at work.Each click shows my tiredness and the urgent need to get home and have a cold bath.I exhaled sharply and pulled my coat tighter around my body. The day had been long _excrutiatingly long. My presentation fell apart the third time because Claire choose to MIA from our meeting. Again."Co-workers," I muttered under my breath as I pressed the unlock button on my key fob."She said we're just co-workers," I muttered again.My car chirped somewhere ahead, but I wasn't in a rush anywhere; I dragged my feet against my will, weighed down by more than just exhaustion."Su, re Claire," I mumbled to myself as I reached my car."I threw my bag into the passenger seat and sat behind the wheel. My hands clutched the steering but I made no attempt to move.All day I'd kept it together. But now alone in the dimly lit garage. The cracks
Last Updated : 2025-04-22The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 28: The Line Crossed.
Chapter 28: The Line Crossed. ********************Mack's POV************************** "Morning Mack." A voice called.I glanced up and froze."Aliana_ " I called.She leaned against the reception desk, dressed in a crimson blouse unbuttoned just enough to raise eyebrows and a black pencil skirt with a slit far too high for an office dress code.Her heels clicked as she approached me, slowly, deliberately, every movement calculated."Now....that outfit is against the company's dress code." I said as my jaw tightened. What does she think this place is?"Thought you do like......I wore it for you." She said as she twirled her hair around her finger playfully.My eye brows arched."What do you mean?" I asked. My tone was urgent and confused."I came to say_ thank you _ for the other day at the garage," she said."Ohh, about that, I did what I ought to do," I said as I shifted uncomfortably."And your dress is a little_ too much for work," I said. My tone was firm with authority."C'mon
Last Updated : 2025-04-22The CEO’s Temptation chapter 29: The Enemies Meet Up.
**********************Aliana's POV*************************"I didn't think, you'd come," I said. My tone was calm and calculated."You said it was about Claire. Of course I'd come and the part about Mack? That heightened my interest." She said as she smirked. Stirred her iced cold coffee lazily."So. What's your angle? " Sadie asked.She was dressed in a designer coat, her designer handbag carefully placed on the table. Inside the coat lay a black up gown that clung to her curves like it was just made for her. Her crimson hair, perfectinally packed up in a pony tail.Her red lipstick matched the colour of her eyes. Damn_ she's a 10/10.No wonder Liam married her_ that fool. I thought to myself "I need your help. I can't take Claire down alone." I said as I leaned closer, my voice barely a whisper."Claire's in the way to my plan. And Mack? _ he could like me if Claire disappeared." I said. My voice cold "Disappear? Like how? Her eyebrows arched."Are we talking mean girl sabotage o
Last Updated : 2025-04-22The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 30: The Hike.
******************************Aliana's POV******************"Tell me again, why we're doing this?" I asked no one in particular.I stared out the tinted van window, my lips pressed into a line as trees blurred past. Pine, pine, pine, more pine.Endless green like the whole world was in green."Team bonding, nature clears the mind. Helps with vision and nature. Helps with vision and strategy." Claire said from the front view as she slightly turned from her seat."I get the strategy. But couldn't we have bonded at a rooftop bar?" I asked."Bars don't reveal people. Forests do." Claire said as she smiled.I stared at her for a while. Something about the way she said it_ it wasn't Casual. It wasn't about work.It was a warning.___By the time we arrived, my mood has gone from irritated to openly hostile.The retreat centre was buried deep into the woods, all log cabins and moss-covered stone paths. A light most hung in the air, thick enough to ruin my hair and mood because my boots had
Last Updated : 2025-04-23
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The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 68: His Resolve.
****************************Etian's POV*********************The bruises on my ribs ached with every breath I took as I walked. I was still shaken from the ambush. My body felt like it had been seen through a war zone__ my ribs were sore, my lips split, and my shoulders ached deeply from where one of them had kicked me as I tried to crawl away. They didn't say anything. Just left me on the cold gravel like I was trash. Whoever they were, I would dig out what they wanted to be buried.And they took everything I had—my phone, the USB drive, even the photo I was analyzing, they thought they were smart.But they didn’t take what I remembered.My mind kept circling back to that image. That single frame. A woman, half-shadowed, slipped through the side entrance of Sadie’s building. Slender build. Dark hair. Long coat. Her face was turned away, but it was enough to start digging.Enough to point me back to Aliana.Rowe had picked me up that night, finding me bloodied and half-frozen in the
The CEO’s Temptation chapter 67: Stripped To Silence.
************************Etian's POV*************************The van growled as it rattled over broken pavement, the engine muffled by the chaos thumping in my head. My wrists were tied behind my back, my ankles bound, and a strip of thick cloth was cinched tight around my eyes, making everywhere dark as the darkness clung to me like smoke. I could hear their voices__ gruff, low, calculated __ but the words were indistinct, distant like a bad memory.They took a sharp turn which flung me into the van's metal wall. Pain bloomed across my shoulder, but I barely flinched. My ribs ached from the blows I'd received earlier, and the taste of blood still lingered on my tongue. The bastards had taken everything __ my phone, the USB, the photo, even my watch. Every piece of evidence I'd managed to secure had vanished in a whirlwind of fits and black cloth.I had no idea where we were going or where they were taking me.I gritted my teeth as I focused on the rhythm of the van's movement. Rough
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 66: Behind Closed Doors.
**********************Claire's POV**************************The drive back to our main house was far quieter than it had any right to be. The city's light blurred past us, a collection of neon lights and faded shadows, as if it were trying to forget the chaos of the e last few hours. I sat in the passenger seat, my mind still churning over the cryptic message and the cold dread that had followed it.Mack's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, his jaw clenched tight. He didn't even glance at me nor did he speak, but his presence was a constant force beside me. It was a comfort in a way that it was just us, but it also felt like he was carrying something heavy__ something he wasn't ready to share.When we reached the main house, the feeling of danger intensified in the air. The property was large and _ expansive; even__ but tonight, it looked more like a fortress than a home. The light was dim, casting long shadows over the carefully manicured grounds. Security cameras were visible at e
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 65: A warning in the Dark.
*****************************Claire's POV*******************The air in the warehouse grew colder as the minutes dragged by.I tugged my sleeves down over my wrists as I leaned back against Mack's truck, watching the alley stretch into endless shadows. The tech guy was late, and something about it doesn't sit right in my gut.Mack stood nearby, his arms crossed, eyes sharp and restless. He hadn't said much since we parked, he kept scanning the street like he expected trouble to come walking out of the darkness.I shifted, as I pulled my phone put my phone to check the time__ and saw a new message blinking at me from an unknown number.My heart gave a quick, stuttering thud as i clicked it open.**You think it’s that easy?**That was it. Just that. No name. No threat spelled out. But it hit me harder than if they had screamed it in my face.I stared at the screen for a second longer than I should have.”Claire?" Mack's voice was low, rough with warning. He stepped closer, already picki
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 64: Unearthed Lie.
*************************Etian's POV************************The city never really slept. It just toned itself down at night, humming low like it was trying to act innocent. I wasn’t buying it. I knew exactly what was hidden underneath.Pulling my jacket tighter, I headed up the broken sidewalk toward an old rundown building off 7th Avenue — the kind of place that reeked of mildew and bad choices.But it was where my contact said the package would be.Inside, a single overhead bulb flickered and buzzed like it was on its last legs.The guy behind the counter didn’t even bother glancing up from his beat-up laptop."Name?" the guy asked, his voice dull and bored."Etian," I said.Without lifting his eyes, he slid a small manila envelope across the counter.Cash passed between us — fast, no fuss.I didn’t hang around.Out in the alley, I ripped the envelope open with stiff, impatient fingers.Inside: a lone USB drive, a few blurry copies of what looked like security access logs... and on
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 65: The Art of Deception.
********************Liam's POV****************************The warehouse smelled like old metal and secrets.I stood at the centre of it all, my hands tucked inside my pockets, watching the glow of a dozen monitors flickering against the dark wall. Each screen showed a different feed: traffic cams, security systems, building blueprints, and access logs. Information flowed around me, a current I controlled with a surgeon's precision.In a corner, hunched over keyboards and monitors, three of my best techs worked in near silence, the rapid tapping of keys the only sound besides the occasional hum of cooling fans. They were young — barely out of college — but hungry for money and direction. I gave them both.I walked past them slowly, scanning the lines of code being written and the files being manipulated. They were almost done. Another hour, maybe two, and the narrative i needed would be perfect.Evidence was a funny thing. It didn’t have to be true — it only had to be convincing.I s
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 62: Quiet Before The Storm.
*****************************Mack''s POV*******************The morning sunlight slanted through the apartment’s windows, casting pale stripes across the floorboards. Dust floated in the air, catching the light like the place had been holding its breath all night long.Claire sat curled up on the worn couch, my hoodie swallowing her frame. Her hair was messy, her face bare of any makeup, and still — even like this — there was something quietly fierce about her. A fighter’s stubbornness simmered just under the surface.I leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping from a chipped mug. My eyes never really left Claire's, even when I told myself they should. Watching Claire had become a habit, the kind I didn’t even notice forming until it was too late to stop."You don't have to hover," Claire said, breaking the silence without looking at me. Her voice carried a dry, teasing lilt."I'm not hovering," I lied easily, shifting my weight and crossing my arms. "I'm strategically supervising,
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 61: The price of Silence.
[Flashback]*************************Liam's POV************************I sat at the head of a long polished table; the room was dark, lit only by the cold, sterile glow of multiple monitors. The room was surrounded by screens displaying streams of data, video feeds, and images _ each one a thread in a web I'd carefully woven. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, but I didn't type. My eyes were fixed on the largest screen in front of me, where the rooftop footage of Sadie's death flickered in slow motion and paused at the critical moment.It has been two days since the incident, and yet, every time I replayed the footage, it felt like it was happening all over again: The image of her standing at the edge of the rooftop, her silhouette framed by the city lights, was burned into my mind.Sadie had trusted me. And I'd failed her.But that didn’t matter now. She was gone, and what was left was a mess—a mess that I needed to bury.I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 60: Beneath the Surface.
*****************************Etian's POV********************The night had been brutal. Restless. My mind refused to shut down, rerunning that damn rooftop footage over and over like some broken record. By the time morning clawed its way through my blinds, I was already on my second cup of black coffee, staring at the laptop screen with bloodshot eyes.Something was off.I felt it in my bones.Sadie hadn’t just fallen.Someone wanted it to look that way.I leaned back in the battered chair, rubbing a hand over my face. The grainy footage played again—Sadie standing at the edge, hair whipping in the wind, the city lights blurring behind her. Then, in the next frame—nothing. Just air and darkness.No struggle. No second guessing. No clear jump. No goodbye.Only a missing dot connected too neatly, too perfectly."Who are you protecting, Sadie?" I muttered under my breath.My new apartment felt suffocatingly still. I shoved back from the chair, pulled on my jacket, and slid the flash driv
