All Chapters of Redeeming Alessandre: Claiming the Billionaire ice Queen : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

ALESSANDRELe Dorna Restaurant was definitely one for the books. Its amber chandeliers reflected light across white-linen tables, every crystal cup reflecting back a hundred fractured faces. Power and hunger hummed beneath the chamber-music soundtrack, soft enough to lull a fool.I wasn’t a fool though. Not after everything I’d suffered.Matteo and I had come here to get much needed information. But to the public eye, we were just two well-to-do men, having a meal at an obnoxiously grand establishment.Matteo’s text buzzed against my hip before I’d even finished my first glass of Barolo.Matteo: Hallway. Now.I smiled graciously in apology to the waiter who was holding up the menu for me, though I felt none. Matteo leaned against the corridor wall outside the wine cellar, his arms folded tightly across his chest. His usual half-smile was absent."They're voting tonight," he declared curtly. "Vivienne and Benjamin. They've been quietly wooing investors all week. Once they get two more

OPHELIAI’d always been a fan of the smell of rain. Today, I smelt the storm before the rain came.The wind tugged on the penthouse curtains like agitated fingers drumming against the glass. Charlotte stood beside me with laptop open, the light making her skin glow silver."I found out something," she said in a low voice. "Phoenix funneled all the leaks through an obsolete Regent server, Alessandre's old place. Someone either still has his credentials…or he's sharing them himself."Shivers broke out on my skin. "What?""You heard me,” she continued, tapping away on the keys. “The trail is clean and deliberate. Whoever is doing this is very familiar with Regent."Thunder rumbled overhead, the sound ironically highlighting the shitty situation we were currently in. I heard three hard knocks at the door but stalled before I decided to answer it.Charlotte's eyebrows rose. "And cue the fallen king."I moved toward the door and opened it. Alessandre blocked the doorway, rain-drenched hair,

OPHELIAThe rain had gotten worse. It was relentless and unyielding, as if hell-bent on shutting out the noise in my head. Charlotte's apartment glowed warmly with amber light from two mismatched lamps and the one candle she always lit when I came by. It had a citrus-spice scent that filled my nose the instant I walked into her place.She thrust a blanket into my arms before I could utter a word. "Sit. I made tea and, yeah, I spiked it. Half a shot of whiskey. Doctor's orders."I rolled my eyes, an annoying habit I’d picked up lately. "I'm not ill," I said as I sat on her worn blue couch regardless."You're beyond sick," she snapped, sitting down next to me with her own mug in her hands. "Just not in a way caffeine will cure. Now, talk. Before you break down and ruin my throw pillows."I stared at the rain-specked window. "I'm fine."Charlotte smiled. "That's the third lie of the night. First was when you sent a 'no rush' text when I literally saw you buzz my intercom like a SWAT tea

ALESSANDRE The vibration against my wrist yanked me out of sleep like a shockwave.It wasn’t like the usual buzz I get when a text comes in. This was the deep, hard pulse of a hidden security feed I’d buried in Ophelia’s building months ago.Heat signature detected. Service corridor. Level 48.Shit. I knew there wasn’t any maintenance scheduled today. Someone was inside her building.I was already in motion before the second warning flashed. I put the nearest jeans and shirt I could find, and quickly placed my phone, wallet and keys in my pocket before running to the door.I took the stairs three steps at a time, until I reached the lobby. “Is anything wrong sir?” The receptionist on duty asked, but I didn’t have the time to answer.The first thing that hit when I reached outside was the cold rain. The cool water brought clarity to my frazzled mind.I needed to reach Ophelia now.I managed to make it to the garge before the rain had fully drenched me. The car Ophelia’s team had got

ALESSANDRE The storm was brewing when we left Manhattan. Black clouds loomed like smoke over the Hudson, as wind whipped sheets of rain across the windshield until the city lights became a gold and grey blur. I took the Maserati low and fast, the tyres moving over the rain-damp pavement. Each mile of distance from her penthouse apartment was a small victory, yet the tension between us grew.Ophelia sat stiff beside me, her arms crossed beneath the leather jacket I’d thrown over her shoulders. The dashboard lights highlighted her profile in a haunting silver—sharp cheekbones, her full lips pressed thin, and amber eyes fixed on the dark road ahead.She hadn’t said a word since we’d left the underground garage.Finally, she spoke, her voice low but clear. “Kidnapping me was not part of the agreement.”“You were obviously not safe there,” I answered.“That’s not an answer as far as I’m concerned.”God this woman and her stubbornness.“Well, it's the only one that counts." I turned down