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Chapter 83: Smoke and Mirrors.
Last Updated:
2025-05-10 23:50:23
Latest chapter
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 85: Breaking The Surface.
*****************************Claire's POV*******************Claire's Apartment, Later That NightI perched on the edge of the couch, my knees bouncing in a rhythm only anxiety could compose. The apartment was lit softly, all the harsh overheads off, leaving the place bathed in warm gold from the floor lamp and the muted city lights outside. Mrs. Amelia had cleaned earlier, not because it needed to be cleaned, but because everything felt dirty. Dirty like the news report on loop or replaying Aliana's face behind the car window.Mack sat beside me in the living room, his hand rested gently against mine. It wasn't much, but it anchored me. I glanced down at our fingers__ not quite laced, but close. Just close enough to keep my mind from wandering with thoughts.The door clicked open."They're here," I murmured as I sat up.Kelvin stepped in first, followed by Liz, her eyes shadowed and jaw tight. Daniel brought up the rear, closing the door behind them with a soft click. I hadn’t seen D
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 84: Colliding Truths.
*********************Liz's POV*******************************The plane touched down with a jolt that mirrored the turbulence in my chest. I should’ve been used to this city. It's chaos, it's noise, it's a strange way of swallowing you whole. But today, it felt like something else entirely—a battlefield.As I stepped through the terminal, my phone buzzed again. Claire had texted to let me know someone was picking me up. “Kelvin,” The message read. My stomach twisted into a tight knot.Out of everyone… Kelvin? I know Claire did that on purpose, her way of trying to stop us from killing each other.I tugged my coat tighter around me and scanned the waiting area, my jaw clenched. And there he was. Leaning against a column like he had nothing better to do, dressed in his usual sleek black coat, eyes cool and unreadable. Always so collected, like the world didn’t faze him. I hated that about him. I hated how easy it had once been to fall into his arms, too.I walked up to him slowly,
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 83: Smoke and Mirrors.
*****************************Etian's POV********************The sound of the coffee machine sputtering to life cut through the stillness of Rowe’s study. A soft hiss, a whir, and then silence again—just long enough to remind me how heavy the air had become. Morning had barely broken through the clouds, casting the city in a dull, indifferent gray. I sat hunched over Rowe’s desk, nursing the bruises that still throbbed under my shirt and scrolling endlessly through old files.The footage. The blurry image. Aliana’s half-hidden face. And now the new evidence… Too clean. Too convenient.I didn’t trust it. Not because I trusted her—but because this felt designed. Too perfectly placed. Rowe had said it first, and I had agreed. Now, I wasn’t sure.Rowe came in, balancing two mugs. He set one beside me and kept the other in his hand. “You slept?” he asked.I gave a weak snort. “That’s generous.”“Same,” he muttered, lowering himself into the chair across from me. He looked older today. Not
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 82: Pieces Falling Apart.
*************************Claire's POV*********************The floor felt colder than usual beneath my bare feet as I padded toward the bedroom. The tablet hung limp in my hand, forgotten. My thoughts raced faster than my footsteps.Mack was still asleep, his chest rising and falling in the quiet rhythm of a man who hadn't been allowed peace in days. His hair was tousled, his hand stretched across the empty half of the bed where I should’ve been. For a second, I stood there, watching him, my pulse still drumming with disbelief.I needed him. Not just for comfort. For clarity. Because if Aliana was involved in Sadie's death, then everything we believed might have just shifted.I sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched his shoulder. “Mack,” I whispered.He stirred, then blinked up at me, his voice still thick with sleep. “Claire? He called as he glanced around the room.What’s wrong?” he inquired, the second I didn't answer.I hesitated. “You need to see this.” I breathed. My
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 81: Her Arrest.
**************************Aliana's POV*********************My morning had started quietly. My mug of coffee was there on the coffee table, half-drunk. My laptop opened to a blank document. My fingers hovered above the keys, but no words came. It was like my brain had frozen somewhere between what I knew and what I feared.My restlessness had grown since Etian and Rowe's visit. The fragments of truth haunted me, I couldn't quite stitch them together. Sadie's name kept circling in my notes. I kept replaying our last conversation in my head. Her cryptic warnings. Her fierce, fueled eyes.Sadie might not be the best human being alive, but she hadn’t deserved what happened to her.And neither did I.I stood up and paced to the window barefoot. Spring sunlight filtered through the gauzy curtains, turning everything golden. Birds chirped. Cars passed below like everything was normal.That illusion was shattered when the knock came.Firm. Authoritative. Unmistakable.I froze. I wasn't expec
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 80: The Broadcast.
*************************Claire's POV***********************The morning sun filtered through the gauzy curtains, casting a soft glow over the living room. I hadn't slept well, nightmares had worsened since the message from the unknown. Neither has Mack, who's trying his best to protect me. I hate the fact that he has to worry so much about me. If i ever get a hold of that son of bitch behind this, I'm so going to kill him.I sat curled up on the soft velvet couch, a steaming mug of tea cradled in my hands. The television murmured in the background, whisking me away from my train of thoughtThe volume was low, but it was the only sound audible in the quiet penthouse. Mack was still asleep and didn't intend to wake him up.I reached out for my tablet as I inspected the market analysis of the company.My phone buzzed on the coffee table, displaying a flurry of messages. I didn't take it. I continued my work on my tablet.My phone buzzed the second time; this time, the message was from L
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 79: A calculated Betrayal.
****************************Liam's POV********************The heavy silence and tension that my father brought still lingered. His words still lingered like smoke, wrapping around my thoughts, burning slowly. I could still feel the ghost of his stare__ sharp, disappointed, final.He said he’d dig quietly. He wouldn’t protect me.But I didn’t need him to.I stood up, my spine stiff, and walked to the cabinet hidden behind the bookshelf. A flick of a concealed latch, a click, and the wood panel slid open, revealing a slim black case nestled in the dark.Inside it were the things I kept for leverage. Not safety. Not protection. Just control.And Aliana's file was at the top.I pulled it free, flipping through crisp pages and glossy prints. Photos. Screenshots. Copies of conversations. Recordings transcribed into neat blocks of text. She’d been clever. Careful. But not perfect. No one ever was.She’d met with Sadie twice—both meetings undocumented, off the record. One of them was the day
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 78: A visit Cloaked in Shadows.
***************************Liam's POV**********************The late afternoon sun streamed through the tall windows of my study, casting long streaks of gold across the floor. I lingered by the shelves, idly turning a glass paperweight in my hand, trying to steady the chaos swirling in my mind.It had been weeks since I’d heard from my father, at least, not face-to-face. But the aftermath of Morgan’s visit rippled through everything. The board's tone had subtly shifted, my assistant barely met my eyes today, and conversations always seemed to cut off the moment I walked into a room.The walls were closing in. I could sense it.And then came the knock. Slow. Intentional.I didn't get it right away. I just stared at the door, willing it to stay closed. But it creaked open anyway and there he was, __ Henry__ my father. Impeccably dressed, as always, in a tailored navy suit that did little to mask the exhaustion buried beneath his polished surface."Liam," he called out to me simply, as
The CEO’s Temptation Chapter 77: A thin line Between Duty and Doubt.
******************************Claire's POV******************The company's towering glass structure shimmered under the morning sun, defiant and pristine __ like nothing had happened. Like no one had died. Like our lives hadn't been turned inside out over the last week.I walked into the company's building slowly behind Mack, my heels clicking softly against the polished marble floors, echoing in a rhythm that didn't quite match my heartbeat. It felt wrong to be here.But also..... It felt like I needed to be here.The receptionist stood almost immediately when she saw us, her eyes wide with something between surprise and sympathy.“Mrs. Claire, Mr. Mack,” she greeted as she flashed her perfect dentition in a warm smile.“It’s good to see you both again,” she spurted out.Mack gave her a nod and a warm smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thanks, Ellen. Good to be back,” he said.We walked past her into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, I let out a breath I didn’t realise
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