Início / Urban / The Villainess Refuses to Burn Again / CHAPTER Twelve: The Monsters Beneath The Table

Compartilhar

CHAPTER Twelve: The Monsters Beneath The Table

Autor: Dianna_A
last update Data de publicação: 2026-06-13 01:34:04

The document displayed nothing remarkable at first glance—just a quarterly expense report. It was routine, forgettable, and exactly the kind of document powerful people relied on nobody reading carefully.

Several executives visibly relaxed. One shareholder frowned, gesturing to the screen. "That's your evidence?"

A few quiet chuckles followed. Elena didn't answer. Instead, she touched the screen, and the report expanded.

Rows of figures filled the display: project budgets, authorized expenditur
Continue a ler este livro gratuitamente
Escaneie o código para baixar o App
Capítulo bloqueado

Último capítulo

  • The Villainess Refuses to Burn Again   CHAPTER Twelve: The Monsters Beneath The Table

    The document displayed nothing remarkable at first glance—just a quarterly expense report. It was routine, forgettable, and exactly the kind of document powerful people relied on nobody reading carefully.Several executives visibly relaxed. One shareholder frowned, gesturing to the screen. "That's your evidence?"A few quiet chuckles followed. Elena didn't answer. Instead, she touched the screen, and the report expanded.Rows of figures filled the display: project budgets, authorized expenditures, and final distributions. It was just numbers—boring and harmless. That was precisely why corruption loved them.“The Vale Renewable Initiative,” Elena said calmly, her voice carrying through the boardroom with unsettling ease. “Third quarter. Two years ago.”Several shareholders glanced toward the screen.“The project reported operational expenses of twelve million dollars.” She zoomed in on a specific column. “Actual expenditure was nine million four hundred thousand.”A senior investor sco

  • The Villainess Refuses to Burn Again   CHAPTER 11— The Girl Everyone Wanted to Break

    The shareholder meeting was scheduled for nine o’clock. At nine-oh-one, the room remained patient. At nine-oh-two, whisper began. By nine-oh-five, people had already reached their conclusion.The boardroom stretched high above the city skyline, enclosed by walls of glass and power. Rain drifted across the windows in silver streaks while dozens of shareholders sat around the polished obsidian table, waiting for a woman many believed would never arrive.“she’s not coming” a senior investor stated.Nobody contradicted him. Why would they? Elena vale had spent years building a reputation for instability, carelessness, and a spoilt-princess. The shareholders knew the stories—the scandals, the public breakdowns, the obsession with Cassian Arden, and how humiliating she has been over the years. To them, this meeting had never been about evaluating her competence. It was a formality. A final nail in the coffin.At the head of the table, Cassian Arden sat in silence. One hand rested against

  • The Villainess Refuses to Burn Again   Chapter Ten — MONSTERS IN SILK

    By evening, the rain had stopped. The city glittered again. As if nothing ugly had ever happened beneath it. From the balcony of the Marrow Estate, the skyline stretched endlessly beyond the hills—glass towers glowing gold against the dark sky while music drifted softly through the mansion like something expensive enough to purchase silence itself. The elite always hosted parties after scandals. It gave them something fresh to consume. Elena stepped out of the car slowly. Tonight’s gathering was smaller than the gala. More private. More dangerous. The kind of place where powerful people stopped pretending to be good. Black silk draped against her body like liquid shadow, the neckline sharp and elegant without trying too hard. Diamond earrings caught the light each time she moved, cold enough to resemble ice beneath crystal chandeliers. At the top of the staircase, servants opened the doors immediately. Warm light spilled across marble floors. Laughter follow

  • The Villainess Refuses to Burn Again   Chapter Nine— THE SHAREHOLDERS’ WAR

    Rain swallowed the city whole by morning.From the thirty-second floor of Vale Group Tower, the skyline looked carved from smoke and steel, blurred beneath storms heavy enough to drown sunlight itself. Lightning flickered faintly beyond the glass walls surrounding Elena’s office, illuminating the reflection staring back at her.Cold eyes.Black silk.Stillness sharp enough to wound.The office remained untouched from her father’s era. Dark oak shelves lined the walls beside framed photographs of corporate victories and charity galas built carefully for public consumption. Power lived in rooms like this.Not honesty.Never honesty.Elena sat behind the massive desk in silence while dozens of digital files glowed across the holographic screen before her. Financial reports. Internal transfers. Executive authorizations. Offshore accounts hidden beneath layers of legal language dense enough to suffocate ordinary shareholders.Rain tapped softly against the windows.The sound reminded her s

  • The Villainess Refuses to Burn Again   Chapter Eight— PREDATORS DON’T BLEED QUIETLY

    The rain had stopped by evening.But the city still looked drenched in silver.From the top floor of Vale Tower, the skyline stretched endlessly beyond the glass walls—cold skyscrapers piercing through low clouds while rivers of headlights flowed beneath them like veins carrying life through a dying body.Elena stood alone inside her father’s office.No.Not her father’s anymore.Her office now.The thought felt strange.Heavy.The room still carried traces of Vincent Vale’s presence despite his retirement. Dark oak shelves lined the walls beside expensive sculptures collected from auctions across Europe. The scent of old leather and cedar lingered faintly beneath the sharper smell of rain drifting through the slightly opened windows.Power lived here.Real power.Not ballroom gossip.Not social influence.The kind of power that decided which companies survived and which disappeared overnight.Elena slowly walked toward the massive floor-to-ceiling window behind the desk.Thirty-two f

  • The Villainess Refuses to Burn Again   Chapter Seven — The Shape of a Threat

    Rain followed Elena home from the hospital.It traced silver lines against the tinted windows of the car while the city dissolved into blurred lights beyond the glass. Towers of steel and gold stretched across the skyline like monuments built by people too powerful to believe in consequences.Beside her, silence sat heavier than conversation ever could.Cassian Arden hadn’t spoken once since they left the hospital.Not when the doctor warned Elena to avoid stress.Not when the nurse asked if a family member would stay with her tonight.And certainly not when Elena laughed softly and said, “That would imply I have one.”He only looked at her once after that.A cold glance.Sharp enough to cut skin.Then nothing.The car stopped in front of the Vale estate.Rainwater shimmered across the marble steps leading toward the mansion, the lights inside glowing faintly against the storm. Elena reached for the door handle first.“Your meeting is tomorrow.”Cassian’s voice broke through the silen

Mais capítulos
Explore e leia bons romances gratuitamente
Acesso gratuito a um vasto número de bons romances no app GoodNovel. Baixe os livros que você gosta e leia em qualquer lugar e a qualquer hora.
Leia livros gratuitamente no app
ESCANEIE O CÓDIGO PARA LER NO APP
DMCA.com Protection Status