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Chapter 47: Fractures.
Last Updated:
2025-04-25 23:12:56
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The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 48: The visit.
************************Mack's POV*************************The news spread like wildfire. The moment it broke, it was like a tidal wave crashed over the company _ everything we've worked on. The company's reputation was at stake.I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let everything crumble under the weight of the news. It's all over the papers, on the screen, on every broadcast, like a stain that couldn't be scrubbed out.I couldn't allow my family to be dragged down.I knocked on his door. He opened it with a sad look plastered on his face.I stepped inside without saying anything. I notuced the way he flinched at my presence. I could feel the weight of the news as it pressed down on him."You've seen the news?" I asked. My voice was flat, the tension in the air was thick enough to choke someone."Yeah, I've seen the news." He said as he tried his best to sound calm. But there's a flicker in his eyes something ___ I can't get my hands on."They said it was suicide huh?" I asked. M
Last Updated : 2025-04-25The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 49: Press Conference
*************************Liam's POV***********************The city buzzed with the news of Sadie's death. The rumours grew louder; the whispers of suspicion were no longer confined to hushed conversations_ they were everywhere now. The media. The blogs and everyone I had come in contact with had something to say about what happened to Sadie. They'd seen the news. They knew the story_ or at least the version I made them believe.The news plastered everywhere: Mystery Death: Does Is Liam Behind the Tragic Fall?" "Murder or Suicide? "Mystery Death. Who's Hiding the Truth?" The rumours snowballed with each news article. One question dominated everyone's mind: Did Liam do it?I was in the spotlight but not in the way I wanted. It wasn't the mind of the spotlight that made me proud. It wasn't the clean press coverage I'd grown used to. No, this was the kind of spotlight that would change everything I planned. And drag me down.With the CEO election around the corner, the ting was terrible.
Last Updated : 2025-04-25The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 50: The weight of the Crown.
*********************Mack's POV**********************As I stepped inside the boardroom, the conversations hushed__ their gazes met mine. The room that was once filled with voices was now silent that I could hear their breathing.Every seat at the long table was occupied, suits crisp, jaws tight, eyes flickered toward the door behind me as if expecting someone.But the footsteps they anticipated didn't follow mine.Liam’s not here.I didn't say anything. It wasn't needed. His absence says enough already. He's a crowd for not showing up on the final day.I dropped my bag as I sat at the centre of the mahogany table."Where's Liam?" Ms.Rutherford__ the boardhead asked."He hasn't been taking his call." Jare,d one of the assistants, chipped in.For three months now, we waited for this day and now? Now he is no way to be found. He must be a coward. I wanted to see his expression when I win___ I wanted to see his arrogant face turn pale. I wanted to see how he would take it. How his mother
Last Updated : 2025-04-25The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 51: Loyalty vs. Blood
[Two Days Ago.]********************************Rowe's POV*****************---I lingered by the study window, surrounded by symbols of my father's authority. The room's grandeur was palpable from the mahogany to the velvet drapes.Liam's voice. Polished. Cold. Hollow. Still echoed in my head from the press conference that ended 20 minutes ago.{I want to make it clear that I am not responsible for Sadie’s death.}He said it like he rehearsed it from a script. Like he was erasing her name in real time."You believe him? I asked.Behind me, my father poured himself a glass of Scotch. Twelve _year. No ice. Business as usual.He didn't respond immediately, the only sound being the clinking glass and the leather armchair's soft groan as he sat."Rowe," he finally said. "Grief plays tricks on the mind. We see what we want to see. Or don't want to see." I turned slowly.There he was__ the pain in his eyes was almost unbearable to witness, a poignant reminder of the human cos
Last Updated : 2025-04-26The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 52: The Crown Fits The Rightful Owner.
{Back To The Present Day} ***********************Claire's POV****************"*I stood by the window of the conference room, my fingers crossed tightly around my flute, as I watched Mack receive congratulatory backslaps and handshakes from the Board members. His eyes sparkled as he smiled back at them.And now they cheered for him like the golden king.He caught my eye across the room and gave me that smirk__ the one that said we did it. I raised my hand to wave but returned it. I smiled at him.I've always known that he was going to win. He was the acting CEO before Liam thought he could do it better than him hence the election. And today, the devil is nowhere to be found."I think Liam just disappointed his supporters?" He said, his voice was low and laced with satisfaction.“Yeah, he did," I replied, cool and precise. “They should,” I replied, cool and precise."Don't think they will trust him again." "Well, they've got a new CEO to trust, a real on
Last Updated : 2025-04-26The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 53: Etian Ari
*****************************"Rowe's POV*******************Airports have always held a strange kind of energy. A restless pulse in the floor tiles, in the artificial breeze of the climate control, in the way voices bounced and echoed through the polished terminals. Even in the private hangar of the smaller charter wing, the air trembled with motion—jets rumbling in the distance, luggage carts clicking across the concrete like distant insects. I stood beneath the cool shadow of a steel support beam, one hand in my coat pocket, the other clutched the thick envelope. The leather folder I held was warm, even through the cardboard. I hadn't let go of it since leaving his father’s house.Outside, the afternoon sun pressed hard against the windows, smearing light over the glossy floor like a pale fire. Inside, everything was clinical—cool steel, blue-grey walls, crisp echoes of footsteps. I hated airports. They were always beginnings or endings, never in-betweens. And today was most definit
Last Updated : 2025-04-26The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 54: Coward.
************************Liam's POV*************************The house stood still, it's windows like empty eyes staring back. The only sound was the soft ticking of a clock that hung on the wall.The house was too quiet.The kind of quiet that made your thoughts louder, your guilt heavier, your memories too damn sharp. I hadn’t left in weeks—not really. The staff came and went like shadows, never speaking unless spoken to, which suited me fine. I didn’t want to explain myself. Not anymore.I settled into thd old armchair, my gaze fixed on the fire's hypnotic flicker.. Above the mantel, her picture stared back—Sadie, caught mid-laugh in a summer dress, frozen in time just before I lunged on her. She hated that photo. Said she looked too happy, too alive. I’d loved it for exactly that reason.And now it haunted my every waking moment.I was set to face the boardroom today, had prepymy speech choosed a tie that she would have loved and perfected a composed demeanor.But when the car came
Last Updated : 2025-04-26The CEO’s Temptation chapter 55: The Surveillance
**************************Etian's POV***********************"Here we are." Rowe Arizona said. He hand-cutting a lazy arc through the door.With a metallic groan, the door swung open, and Rowe Arizona entered his fluid and commanding.It wasn't unattractive__ the high ceilings scared beans, and expansive windows let it in a soft, wearing light that danced across the polished floor.To the left, a sleek living space unfolded__ bed, desk, dresser, all in quiet shades of 'get the job done.'On the right, my improvised office set up stood, with desk, chair, and cork board, awaiting the revelation I'd pin.A strip of tape on the floor demarcated the boundary between professionalism and necessityRowe scanned around it was his first time seeing. "Best I could do on short notice," he said as he scratched the back of his neck.I gave a small grunt. Approval, maybe.Honestly, I was somewhat impressed, but my expression remained impassive, revealing nothing.Rowe handed me the key__ a plain br
Last Updated : 2025-04-26
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The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 70: The Architect.
************************Liam's POV*************************The scent of cedar and the rain drifted through the half-cracked window, but I barely noticed. My study was quite__ too quiet. The kind of quiet that comes after the storm, when you're sure if it's over or just waiting to return.I stood by the fireplace, swirling a glass of bourbon I hadn't touched. The logs hissed softly, flames curling like whispers. On the table behind me, a black duffel bag waited.They were late.I checked my watch for the third time. 12:47 AM. The city below was asleep—or pretending to be. But not me. Not tonight. Not until this final piece slid into place.A soft buzz echoed from the elevator.Finally.I turned just as the elevator door opened with a muffled chime. Three men stepped out __ all dressed in black, soaked from the rain. The one in front__ Roger__tossed the bag on the table with a dull thud."Everything's intact." He said."Phone, USB. Notes. He had backups, but we scrubbed his cloud befor
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 69: Morgan Arizona.
********************Morgan's POV*************************The news hit like a hammer—Etian had been attacked.Rowe isn't safe if Etian had been attacked.I stood by the tall windows of my office, the early morning light bled through the blinds, castung long shadows across the floor. My knuckles were white against the mahogany desk as i gripped the edge tightly, stared blankly at the city skyline. My jaw clenched and unclenched."I should've seen this coming." I muttered under my breath.My aide delivered the report minutes ago. Detective Etian had been found near an abandoned district on the outskirts of the city, bruised, bloodies, his phone and any evidence he had gathered completely destroyed. No cameras. No witnesses. It had been deliberate ___ too clean to be random.My thoughts spun like a storm. "It wasn't an accident Abba. " The exact words Rowe said to me.Someone was trying up loose ends and if Etian had gotten that close to the truth, then we're running out of time.I did
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,
