Chapter 131

BrittneyWhen Andre burst into the room, he wasn’t the composed businessman who wore quiet suits and quieter smiles.He came in like a storm… hair mussed from the run, shirt collar undone, the lines around his mouth carved hard from fear.He went straight to my bedside and didn’t bother with small talk; he dropped to the chair beside me and braced his hands on the rail as if clinging to something that might otherwise fly away.“Brittany,” he breathed, like he’d been rehearsing that name against some private horror he witnessed.His voice shoo slightly.For the first time, I thought I might actually see fear in his eyes.Relief hit me harder than I expected.He was here. He was real. He was standing in the room, and I could breathe a bit easier knowing that he was around.It wasn't until he said the first stupid, inevitable thing.“You should have called me!” he said, too loud in the calm room. “You knew how dangerous it was and yet you snuck out of the house! At the first sign of dang

Last Updated : 2025-09-24

Chapter 132

LeilaThe hotel room we were in smelled of old money and secrets.Whoever had decorated it clearly thought velvet curtains and heavy carpets whispered luxury, but to me it reeked of cheapness…. The kind of decoration that was common in a low-class brothel.It also stank of desperation.The kind that brought me here, sitting across from Adam Willis at a polished mahogany table, pretending that a half-drunk glass of wine steadied my nerves.It didn’t.Claire lounged on the loveseat near the window, her posture hunched with annoyance, as if she’d been dragged into a business meeting she had no patience for.I stared at her, the light flutter of pride I felt whenever I looked at her present.My beautiful daughter.The one Andre had sidelined.She was supposed to be at the forefront of the company, running it behind the scenes not doing whatever she currently was.She had so much potential that should be exploited instead, but it lay dormant.And I hated Andre more for it.Because it was a

Last Updated : 2025-09-24

Chapter 133

AndreThe steady rhythm of the monitor was the only thing cutting through the silence of Brittany’s hospital room.It took several hours before she dozed off, the nurses pumping her full of drugs when the pain became too much.It was a bit disconcerting, facing the quiet all alone but I’d gotten used to it… the faint beeping of the monitors, the low hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.It was strange, the comfort it gave me, even though it reminded me how fragile everything was right now.Especially Brittney..My eyes moved to where she lay peacefully on the hospital bed.She was sleeping, the drugs still dragging her under. Her face looked softer in sleep, less weighed down by fear, suspicion, or that warmth she always tried to keep hidden when she looked at me.A strand of hair slipped over her cheek, and before I could think twice, I leaned forward and brushed it back with my fingers.My hand lingered longer than it should have, the warmth of her skin grounding me.God, it's fun

Last Updated : 2025-09-25

Chapter 134

AndreThe jet touched down on the private airstrip with a soft jolt that pulled me from a restless half-sleep.Throughout the short flight, I couldn't calm my anxious nerves for some reason.I rubbed at my temple, the weight of the last forty-eight hours still pressing against me.Unlike what Marcus promised, he couldn't secure a flight in the next hour.I had to wait five hours, and then technical issues happened, which only lengthened the time frame.Brittany’s face flashed in my mind… her pale skin in that hospital bed, the way her chest rose and fell in slow, ragged breaths.Leaving her was another type of agony as every moment away from her was one that I couldn't ascertain if she was safe or not, but sadly, I didn’t have the luxury of staying.Not when someone was orchestrating a rather elaborate plan to take down my company.As the hostess grabbed my bag, leading me out of the plane, I spotted a black SUV already waiting by the steps of the plane.Marcus stood near it, phone in

Last Updated : 2025-09-25

Chapter 135

AndreThe boardroom was empty, but it felt like the arguments were still hanging in the air, bouncing off the polished walls and into my head.I sat at the end of the long table, my jacket thrown over the back of the chair, my sleeves rolled up, but every part of me was vibrating with tension.Which is why I couldn't sit still or get my mind off the impending crisis happening in the company.As soon as the board meeting disbanded, I dove straight into the files.They were currently spread in front of me looking harmless enough…. A series of numbers, percentages, transactions.Yet I couldn't find anything in them. That might point me to where the errors were.I’ve dealt with hostile takeover attempts before.When you grow your company into something as big as mine was, vultures always circle around, hoping to cut a bite off the piece of the cake.But this one… this one was different.This one was too coordinated, too precise, too damn good.I should have gone home hours ago, but the th

Last Updated : 2025-09-26

Chapter 136

BrittneyThe steady beeping of the monitors was what woke me up.My eyelids felt like lead, heavy and full, but when I managed to pry them open, the pale, antiseptic-white ceiling greeted me again.I'm at the hospital.I shifted around in bed, turning this way and that.Maybe it was the position I slept in, but my throat was dry, my lips cracked, and my body ached in places I couldn’t even name anymore.I turned my head to the side and for a moment, I expected Andre’s tall frame to be by my bedside, his dark eyes locked on me, arms folded in that protective but frustrating way of his.But the chair beside me was empty, a rumpled crease on the cushion which was the only proof that he’d been there.“Where… where is he?” I tried to sit up, my voice was scratchy and weaker than I’d like, but the nurse bustling around with a chart at the foot of the bed looked up with a practiced, professional smile.“Oh, Mr. DeMarco had to leave rather suddenly,” she said, as if she’d anticipated the ques

Last Updated : 2025-09-27