Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound By The CEO's Contract : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

(Natalie's POV)The next day after my dad's confession felt heavier than any day I had ever known. The mood in the house seemed weighed down with secrets that would not leave, and silence pressed upon every room. My dad barely touched his breakfast meal, his eyes were distant, as if he remained trapped in the memories of debts, shame, and Jacob's shadow.But Alexander was not like that. He was restless, resolute, like a warrior preparing for war. His eyes did not linger on the past, they looked for a path forward.And I knew, deep within me, that I must follow him.By noon, we were in the vehicle, headed to the empty offices of my father's old company. The building was on the other side of town, wedged between factories and warehouses that had been quiet for years. The building seemed abandoned, but to us, it was a minefield of questions.I gripped Alexander's hand as we stopped before the locked gate. "You really think there is something here?" I whispered.He glared at me, his teeth

(Natalie's POV)The eleven o'clock chime sounded, and stillness in the house pressed down upon me more heavily than ever. Alexander had left an hour before, marching straight into the trap his enemies had been preparing for him. I had begged him not to go alone, but he was too obstinate, too protective. He thought keeping me away from harm was the same as protecting me from harm. He did not understand that the idea of staying at home, doing nothing, was more dangerous to me than walking into fire.I couldn't remain stationary. My fingers shook as I reviewed the evidence yet again: the ledger, the photos, the notes we had pieced back together from my father's old company. I had hidden them away safely, but the documents were not warriors and tonight was not about documents. Tonight was about survival.I grabbed my coat and slipped the small recorder into my pocket. And then, without another moment's consideration, I left the house.The roads felt even colder than they typically did as

(Natalie’s POV)The man's voice had such gravity that even my questions were silenced. He was seated across from us, gripping his hands tightly, his eyes flickering from Alexander to me as if deliberating how much of the truth he was to reveal."My name is James Hayes," he finally stated, voice low, almost burdened. "And I worked for Jacob."The words hit like a gunshot.But the shock wasn’t only because he had once stood at Jacob’s side. It was because of what he said next, eyes locked onto Alexander."And I am your brother."My chest tightened. My heart stumbled. Alexander's face went blank, as if the ground underneath him had suddenly cracked.A man who had served Jacob. A man with claims to blood ties to Alexander. It seemed impossible, yet his voice was low, shaking at the edges forced me to stop.He took a slow step forward, jaw rigid, voice sharp. "Why did you come here?"James gasped shallowly. "Because Jacob betrayed me. I was faithful to him for over twenty years. I kept sec

(Natalie's POV)The rain outside my window tapped like impatient fingers, a steady rhythm that refused to let me rest. For days, discovering my father's name among Jacob's documents had tormented me like a gradual, cruel fire. With each new page I flipped, each line of ink tying him to Jacob's empire, felt like another betrayal: secret, cruel, buried beneath years of lies.I had always believed my father to be a man of principle. A man who built his company with principles and hard work, who had taught me the value of honesty and perseverance. But the evidence was there, staring me down and evidence cannot deceive.I couldn't share it all with Alexander. Not yet. He had enough burden on his back: the threats, the betrayals, the shadow of his brother James. If I told him my father may have been involved with Jacob from the beginning, it would shatter something in him, something fragile we both had managed to keep whole.So I carried the weight alone.That night, I went back to my fathe

(Natalie’s POV)But the past has a way of clawing its way back into the present, no matter how desperately one tries to keep it buried. I thought I knew my father. I thought I knew the father who kindly raised me, who instilled in me the value of honesty, who told me that secrets were the poison of families. But the more I pulled at the threads around him, the more I understood how he had lived a life in shadows that I didn’t ever really see.And tonight I have uncovered one of the darkest truths yet.It began with an old chest, one I found hidden in his secret compartment in his study. There was a trace of this smell: dust and leather, a smell that stuck to memories long forgotten. I had gone there looking for answers, half afraid of what I would find.The chest was heavy, its brass edges worn with time. Inside the chest were papers, photographs, and letters all tied with a faded ribbon. At first they appeared harmless enough: business notes, legal contracts, property deeds. But, as