All Chapters of Seduced by His Touch: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

A stillness fell over the Coleman-Hartmann boardroom as late-afternoon sunlight slid beneath the horizon. The morning-polished table, once so reflective of its shine, now was under stress from anxious faces and flickering laptop screens. At the end of the table, Leo Hartmann's normally calm demeanor had unraveled; his fingers drummed out a frantic rhythm on the mahogany. "Our mainframe has been breached," he said, his voice strained. "Investor confidence is plummeting by the hour.".Ruth Coleman was seated opposite him, her chin set, the crinkle of her silk top blouse as she leaned forward. But all eyes dropped to the door as Alexander Cole entered—dark suit neatly pressed, face unreadable. He had a sense of calm, the same man who had blown apart their timelines just days before. Behind him came Liana, holding her tablet like a shield. The hum of the boardroom filled the air as she sat down directly across from Alex, their chairs almost touching, the air between them crackling with an

A cold wind rattled the lace curtains of Liana’s bedroom window as dusk settled over the Coleman-Hartmann estate. She swiped her phone for the umpteenth time, scrolling through emails and messages from the day’s meetings, when a new text pinged unexpectedly. The screen glowed with an unknown number:Stay out of your father’s business—or you’ll regret it.Her heart pumped erratically. She frowned, thumbs suspended before she fired a curt reply: Who is this? There was near-instant reaction:You know what I mean.Liana's breath had been taken away. Her practical mind dismissed it—a prank, or a mistaken effort to scare her. Yet as the outside streetlamps flickered, a shivering cold coursed down her neck. She shut her phone with a snap and put it beside her on her nightstand, determined not to let some crass, threatening message disrupt her. Tomorrow morning, she'd show Leo and Ruth the message—and laugh. That would put an end to it.Downstairs, the library light remained late. Leo Hartman

The coffee shop was nearly deserted when Liana Coleman and Alexander Cole slipped through the thin door, the bell above muffled by the hum of the late-night street. A solitary waiter was buffing the counter under the glow of Edison bulbs, their filaments casting honeyed light over the worn oak tables. The scent of espresso and vanilla lingered on the air, drifting between creased leather banquettes.Liana folded into a corner chair, shoving a renegade curl back behind her loose bun. The evening strategy session had taken longer than expected; papers filled the tabletop—copies of the supplier agreements, firewall practices notes, photos of Voss Industries' shell companies. Alex folded himself facing her, his fitted blazer draped over the back of the next chair, sleeves rolled up to reveal a starched white shirt lightly rumpled from late nights.The waiter hovered briefly before retreating, leaving them in a hush broken only by their soft voices and the distant hiss of a coffee machine.

The Coleman-Hartmann family slept peacefully under a pale spring morning, but behind the walls, there floated like a thundercloud a maelstrom of feelings. Liana Coleman sat by herself in the breakfast nook, an untasted cup of coffee growing cold beside her. Her thoughts coiled back around Alex – his furious face when she'd accused him of betrayal, the regret in his strained voice. Even now, guilt gnawed at her, a chronic ache that squeezed her chest. At the other side of the table, her father's chair remained empty, his absence a quiet reproach.A minute earlier, she had stormed out of Leo's home office after blaming him for the lawsuit Malachi Voss had filed the night before: a federal complaint against the Hartmann Foundation for fraud, alleging that millions of donor funds had vanished. It was a devastating blow, orchestrated by Voss to ruin Leo's reputation and shatter the spirit of the family. Liana's final words—outraged and with the stench of betrayal—still resonated in her min

The morning dawned gray and rain-drenched, sheets of water pouring down the windows of the Coleman-Hartmann household. Within, Liana Coleman bent over the glass-topped desk in her father's study, feet curled into the plush carpet. Her computer glowed with a government emblem: "Notice of Investigation: U.S. Attorney's Office". The subheading below stated, Hartmann Foundation–Cole Technologies Partnership Under Investigation for Fraud Allegations.Her heart quickened as she scrolled through the document. A subpoena had been issued overnight demanding all emails, ledgers, and board memos for the past five years. Marginalia—"Possible RICO implications," "Get in forensic auditors pronto"—threatened to put her family's reputation through a public wringer.She planted her palms into her eyes. Reporters had already begun to sniff around. Her phone buzzed: a text from Alex—Board in an uproar. Call you in ten.In the gleaming high-rise boardroom of Cole Technologies, Alexander Cole stood before