All Chapters of THE CEO’S RUTHLESS COMMITMENT (hidden obsession): Chapter 61 - Chapter 67

Layla’s POVI didn’t remember grabbing my keys. I didn’t remember locking the door. All I remembered was running to the car.By the time I reached the company building, my heart was pounding so hard it echoed in my ears. The elevator doors felt like they were moving through water. Every second stretched, every breath cut short.When I burst into the finance department, every head turned.“Ma’am…”“Mrs. Backwood…”“Madam Ava…”Voices overlapped, but I ignored them and forced my way to the main desk where two of my staff hovered over a screen.“What happened?” my voice trembled.One of the supervisors swallowed hard and shifted aside so I could see the monitor.For a moment… my mind blanked.The number on the screen didn’t look real.It looked like a phone number, or a foreign currency conversion. Not money someone had tried to steal from my company.“Three… hundreds… million?” I whispered.“Yes,ma’am,” he replied. “They attempted to move three hundred million euros or more from the mai

Third person’s POVMilton drove with the calm focus of someone trying very hard not to get distracted by the chatter behind him. Drew sat in the passenger seat, stiff as a soldier, glancing back every few seconds to check on Layla.Naomi and Layla, however, were in their own world.Naomi leaned forward between the front seats. “Start talking, everything, I want the full gist. Every single thing I missed. All the drama, all the details, all the…”“Naomi,” Layla laughed weakly, resting her head on the seat. “Let me breathe first. I’ll tell you everything when we settle in.”“I have been gone for months, Layla. Months.” Naomi clutched her chest dramatically. “Do you know how many nights I cried? I cried so much that I think my tear glands relocated.”Milton choked on laughter but covered it with a cough.Layla glanced at him. “Let’s turn here.”Milton nodded and turned, while Naomi resumed her endless chatter.“You need to tell me everything girl, I’m serious. How is the baby? How is th

Layla’s POVThe world came back to me in fragments.Cold air, Caleb’s voice somewhere far, my own breath shaking.And that photo, the face that ripped open the door in my head.I blinked hard, trying to steady the spinning inside my skull.Caleb sat completely still beside me, like he was scared one wrong move would shatter me again.“Layla,” he said quietly, “breathe, talk to me. What did you see?”I swallowed and my mouth was dry.“I… I know that face,” I whispered.His jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt.“It was fast at first,” I said, pressing my fingers to my forehead. “Just a flash. But then… it started forming. It started making sense.”Caleb waited, his eyes locked on mine. He wasn’t pushing, but he wasn’t letting me hide either.“It’s my uncle,” I finally said.His expression didn’t change. But I felt the shift in the air.“Stanley Backwood,” I added. “My dad’s brother.”Caleb’s eyes narrowed slightly, like that confirmed something he had already suspected.“I remember…”

Layla's POVA month passed by quietly after Caleb flew back to America. He still called sometimes, checking in on me with his usual calm. But every time , I kept my answers short. I wasn't trying to be cold, I was just confused. About how I was starting to feel... about him.That Sunday evening, the gold sun settles across the pool. I sat by the edge with a chilled glass of squeezed juice, my legs stretched out, my eyes were fixed on the slow moving water.Naomi wad was splashing loudly on the other side , laughing like she owned the world."You should come in, girl! The water is perfect and the baby would love it. " Naomi called out."I'm fine." I replied, swirling the juice lightly. "Just... watching.""Watching what? Watching as I live your life for you?" She teased and filled her hair back before diving under.I rolled my eyes but I was smiling.And then it hit.A sharp tearing pain stabbed through my lower waist.I gasped, loud, harsh and uncontrollably.The glass slipped f