All Chapters of The CEO’s Temptation : Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

**************************— Liam’s POV********************* --- They were slipping. Not all at once—no. That would’ve been too easy. But I saw it in the little things. The way the media had shifted from pure outrage to confused suspicion. How the headlines softened from “MONSTER IN THE BASEMENT” to “Agyis Dynamics Remains Silent Amid Allegations.” Even the investigative pieces were starting to fade, drowned beneath newer, shinier tragedies. People’s memories were short. Their attention spans are shorter. But mine? Mine was long. Unforgiving. And my patience was wearing thin. --- From my suite above the city, I watched the skyline burn gold with the setting sun. The glass reflected a warped version of myself—tired eyes, a fine bruise under my cheekbone from where my father shoved me during his last visit, and lips that couldn’t quite remember what smiling felt like unless Claire’s name was on my tongue. She was the only thing I wanted. Everything else was noise. --

**************************POV: Liam************************ --- They think they’ve won. With their headlines and their security guards and their smug little meetings behind closed doors. They think that the light has flushed me out. That dragging Aliana out of the basement like some wounded hero means I’m finished. But the truth is… They’ve only cleared the first trap. And I’m already five traps ahead. --- The world outside my penthouse window is awake, but inside, everything is still. Stillness wasn’t going away anytime soon because I was actually enjoying how everything's going. No ticking clock. No music. Just the occasional flicker from the screen as my system resets another signal reroute. Sleep is now a luxury that I can't afford. Not because of guilt—please—but because plans like this require perfect timing. Precision. Obsession. That’s the word they like to throw at me now, isn’t it? “Obsession.” Funny how they use that word when what they really m

*******************************POV: Rowe******************* --- “I want every inch of that perimeter scrubbed,” I barked into the comm. “Dogs, drones, boots—no gaps, no excuses.” I barked at no one in particular, not the comm. Even before sunrise, the estate grounds throbbed with movement. Guards in black tactical gear stalked the woods, flashlights bouncing off dewy branches. Drones hummed overhead. We were a fortress now—but one built after the fire had already started. Because last night, Liam left another message. A simple, bone-chilling photo of Claire taken just days ago. He had been close. Closer than we ever thought. “Clear at Sector 4,” a voice crackled through the comms. “No movement in the garden sector,” came another louder than the first. I was already jogging toward the eastern wing. --- K-9 had found something. Small. Buried shallow under the moss by the fence. I crouched beside the guard digging with gloved fingers and took the plastic-wrapped item h

***************************POV: Claire********************** --- I didn’t notice the silence at first. It wasn’t the usual kind—the sort you welcomed after a long day, the hush of safety between four walls. No, this one crept in like a shadow, careful not to make a sound until it was already wrapped around your throat. The kind of quiet that made you feel like you were being watched, even in your own home. My fingers trembled slightly as I pulled the zipper up on my jacket. It was nearly evening. The sun had begun to dip behind the buildings, casting long stripes of light across the estate floors. I stood in the hallway, debating whether to join Liz in the garden or stay curled up in the sunroom with my journal and pretend I was okay. Pretending had become a reflex___my default setting. Even Mack—who read me better than anyone—had stopped asking if I was alright. He knew I wasn’t. None of us were. Ever since Aliana was found, since the news exploded about Agyis Dynamics and Liam’

**************************POV: Rowe**************************** Everything felt frozen at the start of the day. Literally. The eastern surveillance feed stuttered, just briefly, but enough to send a jolt through my chest. At first, I chalked it up to the aftermath of last night’s storm—maybe a fallen branch had hit a cable. That seemed logical. But when the screen flickered again—lingering just a beat too long, the image was too sharp to be random—I knew it wasn’t the weather. Liam wasn’t just watching anymore. He was close. I pressed the earpiece in and contacted the security booth. “Restart cameras seven and nine—full reset. Do it now. And send me the full footage log from yesterday. Every single frame.” I rasped. My voice was firm and hard. “Yes, sir,” came the clipped response. I didn't like it. I never did, this waiting. The silence before things blew up. And if I’d learned anything from Etian’s death, it was that Liam moved best when we started to feel safe.