Veil of Vows: Play The Billionaire's Game のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

=Sera's POV=The city outside the glass walls of ValeCorp blurred into streaks of sunlight and shadow. I sat behind my desk, pretending to be immersed in data sheets, pero totoo niyan, my mind was far away.Three days na simula nang huling beses kong makausap si Julian. Akala ko noon, matapos 'yon ay makakahinga na 'ko. Pero hindi pala. His words, the way his eyes bore into mine like he still owned a piece of me — they lingered. Worse, they haunted.I chose not to tell Damien. Hindi pa. Hindi dahil gusto kong magsinungaling, pero dahil hindi ko kayang guluhin pa lalo ang sitwasyon namin. Damien had been more open lately. Mas gentle, mas present. He was trying. And for once, I wanted to protect that."Ate Eli," Camille's voice sliced through my thoughts. "You okay?"I blinked up at her. Nakangiti siya, pero may bahid ng pag-aalala ang tingin."Yeah. Just thinking about the pitch," I lied."Well, that I believe," she sa

=Damien's POV=The call came in the next evening—precisely twenty-four hours later.I stepped out onto the balcony to take it, away from Seraphina, who was in the bedroom preparing for tomorrow’s early meeting with the board. “Alvarez?” I answered, voice low.[Got what you need.] he replied. [And you’re not going to like it.]“Tell me anyway.”[Julian Reyes was discharged two weeks earlier than expected. Quietly. Paid off a private medical team to sign the clearances. He’s still recovering, but mobile.]That was fast. Too fast.“Where is he?”[Last tracked—Tagaytay. He’s renting a private villa under a shell company. The property’s been used by several questionable names in the past, mostly offshore investors with links to illegal financing.]“And the company?”

=Sera's POV=That night, nakakalat ang mga files sa coffee table. Damien reviewed each one in silence, his brows furrowed in concentration qhile quietly analysing every page. Para siyang cold surgeon—precise, methodical, hindi nagmamadali pero alam mong alam niya ang hinahanap.“Your signature’s off,” sabi niya sa memo na may peke kong pirma. “Stroke weight’s wrong. It’s close, but not you. Hindi consistent yung pressure ng downstroke, saka hindi mo ginagamit ang ganitong flourish sa S mo.”Napalunok ako. “Kaya pala may kutob na ako nung una ko siyang nakita.” I slumped on the couch, my spine curving under the weight of dread.Tumitig siya sa akin, intense pero hindi mapanghusga. “Sera, he’s not just covering his tracks. He’s pointing them to you.”

=Sera's POV="Damien," I called as I entered the bedroom, hawak ko ang dalawang envelopes na ilang araw ko nang iniiwasan. My fingers were trembling. "We need to talk."Damien looked up from the armchair, his expression instantly sharpening. “What is it?”Huminga ako nang malalim. "May natanggap akong dalawang envelope. One from the office and one I received in front of the hous. No name, but I know galing pareho kay Julian. May sulat sa loob…at parehong may USB."He stood immediately, closing the distance between us. “He sent you USBs? Why didn’t you say anything?”“Hindi ko alam kung dapat ko bang pagbuksan. Takot ako, Damien. Pero parang ito na 'yung hinahanap nating lead.”I handed him the envelope. Damien opened both of it carefully, pulling out from one of the envelopes a letter—plain white paper, crisp folds.He read the letter aloud, voice steady:

=Sera's POV=The next morning came with a heaviness in my chest I couldn’t shake."They'll try to bury this," I said quietly while reviewing the highlighted emails Damien printed last night. "Or worse, turn it on me."Damien, already dressed in slate gray slacks and a crisp black shirt, handed me coffee. "That’s why we’re not giving them the chance."He knelt beside me, eyes scanning mine. "I want you to take the lead when we present this. But I won’t let them cut you down. Not while I’m breathing."Gumuhit ang init sa dibdib ko. He meant it. I could feel it in the way his jaw clenched, how his hand rested protectively on my knee."Kailangan ko munang ayusin 'yung statement ko," sabi ko. "I need to make it clear that I didn’t just stumble into this. That I chose to confront it.""Exactly," he said. "We show them the truth. And if they still try to silence you, we make it public."Tumango ako. I pulled the laptop toward me and began to draft the statement. Damien sat across from me, re